Reconceptualising Language in Education

Education Policy for All

In this episode we are joined by Elvis ResCue from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is sociolinguist with a research focus on Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, Bilingual Education, Language Planning and Development; and Language Contact in multilingual contexts.

Our discussion takes us into the social and linguistic experiences of students and teachers in multilingual classrooms, specifically focusing on Ghana. Ghana has about 79 indigenous languages which lends to a diverse classroom environment. Through an interdisciplinary lens we discuss the experiences of students and teachers, the country's socio-linguistic situation itself, and how these factors aid in formulating language in education policy.

Additional resources:

Further links

• Intersectionality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality
• Bell Hooks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks
• Kimberlé W. Crenshaw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberl%C3%A9_Crenshaw
• The Reformation Project: A faith-based organisation in USA, which promotes racial justice and equality generally through intersectionality. The values of the organisation are “Love for God”, “Love for the Bible”, and “Love for the Church”, and these values are promoted through Leadership Development Cohort programs and conferences. url: https://reformationproject.org/values/.

References & Bibliography

• Agbozo, E. G. & ResCue, E. (2020). Educational language policy in an African country: Making a place for code-switching/translanguaging. Applied Linguistics Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2020-2002.
• Bonacina, F. & Gafaranga, J. (2011). ‘Medium of instruction’ vs. ‘medium of classroom interaction’: Language choice in a French complementary school classroom in Scotland. International journal of bilingual education and bilingualism, Vol. 14(3), pp. 319-334.
• Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2011). Separate and flexible bilingualism in complementary schools: Multiple language practices in interrelationship. Journal of Pragmatics, Vol. 43(5), pp. 1196-1208.
• Creese, A. & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 94(1), pp. 103-115.
• Crenshaw, K. (July 1991). "Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color". Stanford Law Review. Stanford Law School. Vol. 43 (6), pp. 1241–1299. doi:10.2307/1229039. JSTOR 1229039.
• Cho, S.; Crenshaw, K. W. & McCall, L. (2013). "Toward a field of intersectionality studies: theory, applications, and praxis". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, special issue: Intersectionality: Theorizing Power, Empowering Theory. University of Chicago Press. Vol.38(4), pp. 785–810. doi:10.1086/669608. JSTOR 10.1086/669608.
• García, O. & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. England: Palgrave Macmillan.
• García, O. & Sylvan, C. E. (2011). Pedagogies and practices in multilingual classrooms: Singularities in pluralities. The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 95. pp. 385-400.
• Holmes, J., & Wilson, N. (2017). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Routledge.
• Holmes, J. (2013). 12 Doing Discourse Analysis in Sociolinguistics. Research methods in sociolinguistics: A practical guide, 177.
• Petersen, A. J. (2006). "Exploring intersectionality in education: The intersection of gender, race, disability, and class" Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 327. url: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/327/.
• Probyn, M. (2009). ‘Smuggling the vernacular into the classroom’: conflicts and tensions in classroomcodeswitching in township/rural schools in South Africa. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Vol. 12(2), pp. 123-136.
• Reilly, C., ResCue, E., & Chavula, J. (2022). Language policy in Ghana and Malawi: comparing approaches to multilingualism in education. In Gibson, H., Kula, N., Costley, T., & Reilly, C. (eds) (2022) Rethinking multilingualism: education, policy and practice in Africa. Supplementary issue of the Journal of the British Academy. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/010s4.069.
• Yevudey, E. (2017). Bilingual practices in Ghanaian Primary Schools: Implications for Curriculum Design and Educational Practice. PhD Dissertation. Birmingham: Aston University. url: http://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/39017/.
• 
  
• 
  
• Yevudey, E. (2013). The pedagogic relevance of codeswitching in the classroom: Insights from Ewe-English codeswitching in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Linguistics, Vol. 2(2), pp. 1-22. DOI: https://www.ajol.info/index.php/gjl/article/view/103237.