Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide

Language policy and planning (LPP) is one of the fastest growing sub–disciplines of applied linguistics. This book is the first volume that is exclusively devoted to research methods in language policy and planning. As in other areas of applied linguistics, LPP scholars have drawn upon an array of research methods from a range of disciplines. This book is designed as a practical roadmap for those methods.

Each chapter is written by a leading language policy expert and provides a how–to guide to planning studies, gathering data, and engaging with data analysis. In addition to this accessible structure, the book includes a series of guidelines for public engagement to help researchers as they endeavor to incorporate their work into public policy. Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide will serve as both a foundational methods text for graduate students and novice researchers and a useful methodological reference that experienced LPP researchers will find themselves returning to time and again.

Notes on Contributors vii

Foreword xii

Thomas Ricento

1 Introduction: The Practice of Language Policy Research 1
Francis M. Hult and David Cassels Johnson

Part I Fundamental Considerations 7

2 Selecting Appropriate Research Methods in LPP Research: Methodological Rich Points 9
Nancy H. Hornberger

3 Researcher Positionality 21
Angel M.Y. Lin

4 Ethical Considerations in Language Policy Research 33
Suresh Canagarajah and Phiona Stanley

5 Language Policy and Political Theory 45
Stephen May

6 Language and Law 56
Dimitry Kochenov and Fernand de Varennes

Part II Methodological Approaches to Language Planning and Policy Research 67

7 Exploring Language Problems through Q ]Sorting 69
Joseph Lo Bianco

8 Ethnography in Language Planning and Policy Research 81
Teresa L. McCarty

9 Classroom Discourse Analysis as a Lens on Language ]in ]Education Policy Processes 94
Marilyn Martin ]Jones

10 Applying Corpus Linguistics to Language Policy 107
Shannon Fitzsimmons ]Doolan

11 The Economics of Language Policy: An Introduction to Evaluation Work 118
François Grin and François Vaillancourt

12 Analyzing Language Policies in New Media 130
Helen Kelly ]Holmes

13 Historical ]Structural Analysis 140
James W. Tollefson

14 Interpretive Policy Analysis for Language Policy 152
Sarah Catherine K. Moore and Terrence G. Wiley

15 Intertextuality and Language Policy 166
David Cassels Johnson

16 Mapping Language Ideologies 181
Adnan Ajsic and Mary McGroarty

17 Investigating Relationships between Language Attitudes and Policy Issues 193
Åsa Palviainen and Ari Huhta

18 Using Census Data and Demography in Policy Analysis 205
Minglang Zhou

19 Making Policy Connections across Scales Using Nexus Analysis 217
Francis M. Hult

Public Engagement and the LPP Scholar 233

Appendix A Interacting with Schools and Communities 235
Rebecca Freeman Field

Appendix B Participating in Policy Debates about Language 240
John R. Rickford

Appendix C Interacting with Politicians and Policymakers 244
Lava D. Awasthi

Appendix D Managing Media Appearances 248
Kendall A. King

Index 000

Francis M. Hult is Associate Professor at the Lund University Centre for Languages and Literature. He is the co–editor (with Kendall A. King) of Educational Linguistics in Practice (2011), editor of Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics (2010), and co–editor (with Bernard Spolsky) of The Handbook of Educational Linguistics (Wiley, 2008).

David Cassels Johnson is Assistant Professor of Language Education at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Language Policy (2013).