Editorial

Language policy takes many forms, including regulating the status of languages at national or international levels, managing and evaluating language use in different social sectors, and supporting different interventions in education, training and public attitudes. It can be understood through a wide variety of methods, for example through the study of policy documents, through case studies or through narrative representations. European Journal of Language Policy/Revue européenne de politique linguistique is open to all of these approaches and welcomes innovation in both the subject matter and the methodologies adopted to understand it. This issue of the journal contains examples of several of these approaches.

In the first article, Marco Civico discusses language policy at the level of an entire state, reviewing Chinese language policy of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and relating it to its social and economic effects. He analyses three areas of policy: the standardisation and dissemination of the national language; openness to the English-speaking world; and the promotion of Mandarin abroad. He argues that linguistic policy always produces extralinguistic effects, and needs to be addressed in a complex way in order to put in place measures that are effective and well targeted.

Turning to language policy in business settings, Dieter Vermandere, Lieve Vangehuchten and Rebecca Van Herck discuss recent research related to language policy in multinational companies. They examine language management strategies used in companies, illustrated by recent case studies, and argue that there is need for an evaluation of language policies within a business setting. They identify a research gap here, especially in the context of multinationals.

Obaidul Hamid addresses issues of micro language planning, from the perspective of education in language policy and planning courses. Noting the shift from national (macro) to supra- (supra-macro) and sub-national (micro) contexts in language policy, Hamid examines the major models and research traditions that have been developed but suggests that they are not adequately reflected in postgraduate students’ understandings and conceptualisations of micro planning.

Noting the recent upsurge of internationalisation in higher education, Maria del Carmen Arau Ribeiro and Margarida Coelho present the case study of Portugal where the introduction of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is playing an increased role. They question the existing definitions of internationalisation, and reflect on national policies and the potentially broader scope of strategic action in Portuguese HEIs in areas such as the internationalisation of curricula content, student development of intercultural skills, and institutional foreign language learning policies.

These concerns are echoed by Susan Jeffrey, María Dolores Rodríguez Melchor and Andrew Walsh in terms of the new linguistic demands that have arisen with the growth of English as a Medium of Instruction and bilingual undergraduate single and double degrees. Examining 14 universities in the Community of Madrid, they analyse the requirements made of students and teaching staff in language certification and entrance tests. They examine the rationales and future implications of these developments.

Finally, David Spieser-Landes examines the interaction of migration, regionalism and national language policy, reflected in the work of Martin Graff, a contemporary Alsatian journalist and essayist. Analysing the pamphlet, Invitation à quitter la France (2001), he shows its relevance to the current immigration crisis, and argues that it points towards possible solutions for language policy in the context of France and of the European Union more broadly.

The Interventions section of the journal is a platform for policy statements, reports and other published documents relating to language policy. In this issue, we publish key sections from the European Commission’s recent proposals on language education, aimed at addressing the inadequate progress made towards multilingual competence. Among other things, it urges member states to engage more energetically with productive approaches such as CLIL, online learning and language awareness.

This issue of the journal demonstrates the efforts that are being made to develop multilingual proficiency, in many different contexts. We expect future issues to reflect innovative thinking from Europe and from other parts of the world, both in examining what is at stake and in developing strategies and tools to promote multilingualism.