Power and Inequality in Language Education

Download or read book Power and Inequality in Language Education written by James W. Tollefson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1995-02-24 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Power and Inequality in Language Education, James W. Tollefson assembles the work of twelve scholars who explore the relationship between language policy, wealth, and power. Their original research demonstrates how language planning and education reflect existing inequities in the distribution of economic, political, and social power, and how language policy is used to obtain and maintain power. Articles examine such timely topics as the growth of official language movements, the role of language teachers in reinforcing social inequality, and misconceptions regarding how first vs. second language competence is related to financial success. Together the articles illustrate the broad impact of sociopolitical forces upon language education, and underscore the need for language teachers and applied linguists to consider these forces in their work.