29.2165, FYI: Call for Book Chapter Proposals

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-29-2165. Fri May 18 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.2165, FYI: Call for Book Chapter Proposals

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Date: Fri, 18 May 2018 12:06:08
From: Lauren Harvey [lnharvey at email.arizona.edu]
Subject: Call for Book Chapter Proposals

 
Proposal Deadline: May 30, 2018

Interface between ELT Policies and Practice: A Global Perspective

No English Language Teaching (ELT) context exists without policy documents.
These documents carry public vision on the process and learning outcomes and
are more commonly affected by innovations than any other aspect of ELT. This
justifies its pace setter role in ELT. ELT in most contexts, especially the
expanding contexts, seems to be seriously affected by issues emanating from
policy. Despite its centrality in determining the scope and value of English
in a given context, the levels, both those pertaining to those creating policy
and those affected by policy, are imprecise and not always easily defined
(Kennedy, 2011). It has been noted that whatever the policy, the predicted and
wished-for straight line from policy intention to classroom practice is often
problematic (Schweisfurth, 2013). 

Current literature in the domain suggests that, in most foreign language
contexts, ELT policies are drawn by people who have limited understanding of
the current realities of the classrooms, and the major agents of change
(teachers) are only left behind to implement the policies, whether they
consider the policies appropriate or not. Given the inattention given them in
the decision-making process (Bolitho, 2012), implementation tends to be
fraught with resistance, either on grounds of inadaptability of the policies
to local constraints or as a result of misunderstanding on how the policies
work. 

In most of the cases in developing countries, policy innovations are not based
on baseline research. They are borrowed from other contexts where they have
worked well. This tendency in particular has led to a naïve belief among many
policy makers and practitioners that policies and practices designed in one
context can be unproblematically transported elsewhere (Hayes, 2012). One
challenge is to implement policy to create a match between people’s
aspirations and the context in which they live and work, even if that means
that the policy may have to change the context in some way (Kennedy, 2011). In
some cases, resistance to the policies is collocated with resistance to
change, as most practicing teachers have developed robust understanding of
what works well and what does not. 

Given that practicing teachers have to implement any policy reforms, even
against their understanding and will, the need to investigate teachers’
commitment in translating the policies into practice tends to be urgent, as
this already suggests that practice, in one way or the other, is seriously
affected. This call for chapters hopes to attempt responses to questions
relating to:

 - Factors motivating the (re)designing of policies in different contexts,
given the importance of public views in setting out a vision of what role
English should play in society and citizens’ lives (Gil, 2016)
- Teacher’s perception of and attitudes towards the policies in different
contexts
- The relationship between policies in use and local realities where
governments’ interests in English is concomitantly related to the need to
equip its citizens to meet the changing pace of technological advancement and
interconnectedness in the global economy
- Teachers’ opinions on what counts as appropriate policies.

These have been problematized to hypothesise on what actually counts as THE
RELEVANCE OF POLICIES to meet the expectations of policy designers (most
especially) and the research and academic communities. This is based on the
argument that policy emanating from practice tends to be more responsive to
constraints than that which is the result of top-bottom orientation. Yet the
constraints are never going to be the same. Correlating policy implementation
constraints across contexts may give us insights into how the process of
change can be effectively managed on a more global scale. This project hopes
to collect researchand practice-based contributions that examine how ELT
policies affect language teaching in particular contexts around the world,
specifically in developing nations, which are often where there are the
largest disparities between policy and practice. Discussions within the book
are expected to complicate the roles and responsibilities of various
stakeholders (policy makers, practitioners, trainers, and researchers) while
also serving as a guide for ELT teachers and teacher trainees in their process
of translating theory into practice.

Chapter proposals are invited on topics relating but not limited to:

- ELT policy (re)design in varying contexts;
- ELT policy implementation in different contexts;
- ELT policymakers and concept mediation;
- Relationship between policies, resources, practice;
- ELT polices and other language policies;
- ELT policies and the question of proficiency;
- State vision and ELT policies
- ELT policies and ICTs
- ELT Policies and distance learning
- Etc.,
 
Authors are invited to submit a 300-word Chapter proposal to
lnharvey at email.arizona.edu or to eric.ekembe at yahoo.com not later than midnight
May30, 2018.

NB: Recommended style sheet: The APA

Important Dates:

May 30, 2018: Submission of 300 word Chapter proposal
June 28, 2018: Feedback to authors regarding the status of their abstracts
November 1, 2018: Submission of complete Chapters (4000-5000words)
December 1, 2018: Review feedback to authors of accepted Chapters
January 1, 2019: Final submission expected
January 15, 2019: Submission of manuscript to Press
February 30, 2019: Publication
 



Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics

Subject Language(s): English (eng)





 



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