Language Education in the School Curriculum

Ken Cruickshank is Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Australia.Stephen Black is Senior Researcher in the School of Education, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.Honglin Chen is Associate Professor in TESOL in the School of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia. Linda Tsung is Associate Professor in Chinese Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Australia. Jan Wright is Emeritus Professor in the School of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia.

This book provides a welcome, powerful and insightful perspective on contemporary language education in schools focusing on the learning of languages other than English. Drawing on a robust five-year multilevel study into the provision and uptake of languages in schools in New South Wales, Australia, this research problematizes a wide range of social, cultural, educational and political issues in English-speaking contexts which signal a decline in the realization of inclusive multilingual and multicultural ideologies and their translated practices. In the face of increasingly exclusive provision and take-up, lack of continuity and concerns over achievement and accreditation, alongside the generally poor status of languages within the broader curriculum, the study details the complex nature of ‘enactment’ across case study schools. Data provide in-depth lived-through accounts of the complex factors which in some instances have led to the marginalization and inequitable access of language education and in others to successful experiences for young people and their communities. I strongly recommend the book to educators and researchers interested in Language Education not only in English-speaking contexts but across the globe - the message is thought-provoking and informative, uncomfortable and inspiring.

• 1. Issues in the Provision and Uptake of Languages 2. Principals’ Perspectives on the Study of Languages3. Secondary School Language Teachers' Identities and Experiences4. Being a Languages Teacher in NSW Primary Schools5. Parental Perceptions and Attitudes to Language Study6. Student Attitudes to Languages Study7. Language Provision in Primary Schools8. Secondary School Languages9. Teaching Chinese in Australia: A Case Study10. Languages Curriculum and ChangeReferencesIndex