This edited book is about the rationale, practice and classroom implementation of English-medium instruction courses in Chinese universities. It specifically focuses on classroom discourse analysis across different disciplines and settings. The main themes of this book are: describing the state educational policies toward English-medium instruction at the tertiary level; distinguishing English-medium instruction from mainstream foreign language learning; analyzing curricula and discourse at the classroom level and evaluating the learning effectiveness of these courses. This book covers the widespread implementation of English-medium courses in China across different disciplines, and it provides a window for researchers and practitioners from other parts of the world to see the curriculum design, lesson planning, discourse features and teacher-student interaction in English-medium classrooms in China. Contributors to this volume consists of a panel of highly respected researchers in the fields of bilingual education, English-medium instruction, classroom discourse analysis and language program evaluation. Chapters include, Balance of Content and Language in English-Medium Instruction Classrooms English-Medium Instruction in a Math Classroom: An Observation Study of Classroom Discourse Asking and answering questions in EMI classrooms: What is the Cognitive and Syntactic Complexity Level?

"Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Schooling, Second Edition" maintains its original purpose of synthesizing the research on successful bilingual education in order to demonstrate that quality bilingual education is possible and desirable.
Findings from a wide range of studies are integrated to provide a clear picture of bilingual education in today's schools, and a professional understanding of the foundations and issues surrounding bilingual education programs. The recommendations offered provide a comprehensive basis for planning, developing, improving, and evaluating bilingual programs. For clarity, these recommendations are discussed with respect to the whole school, the curriculum, and the classroom, but it is stressed that they need to be applied in a holistic way because they depend on each other. All educators who work or will work with bilingual students--classroom teachers, administrators, and curricula developers--will find the information in this text essential and will appreciate the straightforward approach and easy reading style.
New in the Second Edition:
*A new Chapter 1, "Pursuing Successful Schooling, " includes the definition of success that frames the content of the book, and a review of how the research on bilingual education has changed.
*Chapter 2, "Bilingual Education Debate, " is substantially revised to address major changes in demographics and legislation.
*Chapter 3, "Contextual and Individual Factors: Supports and Challenges, " is updated to include important new research on the external and internal factors affecting learners and a new section on peers.
*Chapter 4, "Creating a Good School, " is reorganized and updated.
*Chapter 5, "Creating Quality Curriculum, " is updated throughout, particularly the sections on teaching content areas and assessment.
*Chapter 6, "Creating Quality Instruction, " includes extensive new material in the sections on "Teaching English and In English" and "Teaching Students with Limited Schooling."
*Chapter 7, "Beyond the Debate, " has an extensive new section describing and analyzing how the framework for quality education can be used as a guide to help create a new program.

The National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) published electronic issues of Volumes 1 and 2 of the "NABE Journal of Research and Practice" to offer archival records of 2002 and 2003 NABE conferences presentations. Beginning with Volume 3, the title of the publication is changed to "NABE Review of Research and Practice" and is published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. for NABE.
"NABE Review of Research and Practice, Volume 3" fulfills the following goals:
*to establish an annual archival record of cutting-edge NABE conference presentations that generate new knowledge and advance the field of bilingual education research;
*to mentor junior scholars within the academic setting by providing an outlet for developing a publication record with the assistance of established scholars, and by publishing guidelines for developing high-quality dissertation research proposals and completed studies, and for university-based efforts to mentor doctoral students in bilingual education;
*to offer, in the "Research" section, an outlet for theoretical and applied research studies that represent innovative conceptual and philosophical perspectives, and that also implement innovative methodologies for solving theoretical and applied problems in bilingual education;
*to provide, in the "Applied" "Education/Action Research" section, an outlet for case studies, position papers, and action research that comes from practitioners in the field of bilingual education who are implementing research methodologies in their own classrooms or school districts (e.g., teacher-based research, evaluation studies conducted in the implementation of bilingual educationfederal and state grants); and
*to present, in the "Position Papers and Reflections" section, reflections of experiences of bilingual researchers, practitioners, and public school and higher education students that give insightful self-accounts of the experiences of ethnic minority students, scholars, and educators that allow readers to learn from them as role models and advocates.
For further information on NABE conferences and publications visit the NABE Web page at www.nabe.org.

This volume--along with its companion "Ethnolinguistic Chicago: Language and Literacy in the City's Neighborhoods"--fills an important gap in research on Chicago and, more generally, on language use in globalized metropolitan areas. Often cited as a quintessential American city, Chicago is, and always has been, a city of immigrants. It is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the United States and home to one of the largest and most diverse Latino communities. Although language is unquestionably central to social identity, and Chicago has been well studied by scholars interested in ethnicity, until now no one has focused--as do the contributors to these volumes--on the related issues of language and ethnicity.
"""Latino Language and Literacy in Ethnolinguistic Chicago" includes:
*ethnographic studies based in home settings that focus on ways of speaking and literacy practices;
*studies that explore oral language use and literacy practices in school contexts; and
*studies based in community spaces in various neighborhoods.
It offers a rich set of portraits emphasizing language use as centrally related to ethnic, class, or gender identities. As such, it is relevant for anthropologists, sociologists, linguists, historians, educators and educational researchers, and others whose concerns require an understanding of "ground-level" phenomena relevant to contemporary social issues, and as a text for courses in these areas.

This volume--along with its companion "Ethnolinguistic Chicago: Language and Literacy in the City's Neighborhoods"--fills an important gap in research on Chicago and, more generally, on language use in globalized metropolitan areas. Often cited as a quintessential American city, Chicago is, and always has been, a city of immigrants. It is one of the most linguistically diverse cities in the United States and home to one of the largest and most diverse Latino communities. Although language is unquestionably central to social identity, and Chicago has been well studied by scholars interested in ethnicity, until now no one has focused--as do the contributors to these volumes--on the related issues of language and ethnicity.
"""Latino Language and Literacy in Ethnolinguistic Chicago" includes:
*ethnographic studies based in home settings that focus on ways of speaking and literacy practices;
*studies that explore oral language use and literacy practices in school contexts; and
*studies based in community spaces in various neighborhoods.
It offers a rich set of portraits emphasizing language use as centrally related to ethnic, class, or gender identities. As such, it is relevant for anthropologists, sociologists, linguists, historians, educators and educational researchers, and others whose concerns require an understanding of "ground-level" phenomena relevant to contemporary social issues, and as a text for courses in these areas.

Over the last thirty years, the work of the political theorist Ernesto Laclau has reinvigorated radical political and social theory. Taking concepts previously ignored or unused within mainstream political theory, such as the political, hegemony, discourse, identity, and representation, he has made them fundamental to thinking about politics and social theory. Resisting the dead end of postmodern politics, his work has drawn in stimulating ways on Gramscian, poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory.
"Laclau: A Critical Reader "is the first full-length critical appraisal of Laclau's work and includes contributions from several leading philosophers and theorists. The first section examines Laclau's theory that the contest between universalism and particularism provides much of the philosophical background to political and social struggle, taking up the important place accorded to, amongst others, Hegel and Lacan in Laclau's work. The second section of the book considers what Laclau's "radical democracy" might look like and reflects on its ethical implications, particularly in relation to Laclau's post-Marxism and thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas. The final section investigates the place of hegemony in Laclau's work, the idea for which he is perhaps best-known.
This stimulating collection also includes replies to his critics by Laclau and the important exchange between Laclau and Judith Butler on equality, making it an excellent companion to Laclau's work and essential reading for students of political and social theory.

Over the last thirty years, the work of the political theorist Ernesto Laclau has reinvigorated radical political and social theory. Taking concepts previously ignored or unused within mainstream political theory, such as the political, hegemony, discourse, identity, and representation, he has made them fundamental to thinking about politics and social theory. Resisting the dead end of postmodern politics, his work has drawn in stimulating ways on Gramscian, poststructuralist and psychoanalytic theory.
"Laclau: A Critical Reader "is the first full-length critical appraisal of Laclau's work and includes contributions from several leading philosophers and theorists. The first section examines Laclau's theory that the contest between universalism and particularism provides much of the philosophical background to political and social struggle, taking up the important place accorded to, amongst others, Hegel and Lacan in Laclau's work. The second section of the book considers what Laclau's "radical democracy" might look like and reflects on its ethical implications, particularly in relation to Laclau's post-Marxism and thinkers such as Jurgen Habermas. The final section investigates the place of hegemony in Laclau's work, the idea for which he is perhaps best-known.
This stimulating collection also includes replies to his critics by Laclau and the important exchange between Laclau and Judith Butler on equality, making it an excellent companion to Laclau's work and essential reading for students of political and social theory.

Backed by evidence and research, this practical book presents an innovative yet comprehensive approach to teaching non-native English speakers the main communication and cultural competencies that are required to succeed in an international English-speaking workplace. Each unit includes strategies for teaching key skills, tasks to encourage reflection and notes on relevant cultural and technological issues. Practical features in each unit include lesson plans and materials, insights from the research, extension tasks, reflection activities and further readings. Supported by current learning theories, key teaching methodologies and assessment materials, the chapters address the challenges that non-native English speakers may face in the international English-speaking workplace. Areas of focus include: Job hunting Job applications Interviews Interpersonal, written and spoken communication Performance appraisals Applying for promotions Written for pre-service, practicing and future teachers, with specific guidance for each role, this is an essential resource for all educators who want to confidently address the challenges that non-English speakers may encounter at work, including linguistic proficiency, cultural awareness and the use of technology.

Practical and accessible, this book comprehensively covers everything you need to know to design, develop, and deliver successful online, blended, and flipped language courses. Grounded in the principles of instructional design and communicative language teaching, this book serves as a compendium of best practices, research, and strategies for creating learner-centered online language instruction that builds students' proficiency within meaningful cultural contexts. This book addresses important topics such as finding and optimizing online resources and materials, learner engagement, teacher and student satisfaction and connectedness, professional development, and online language assessment. Teaching Language Online features: A step-by-step guide aligned with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages: Learning, Teaching and Assessment, and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) standards Research-based best practices and tools to implement effective communicative language teaching (CLT) online Strategies and practices that apply equally to world languages and ESL/EFL contexts Key takeaway summaries, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading in every chapter Free, downloadable eResources with further readings and more materials available at www.routledge.com/ 9781138387003 As the demand for language courses in online or blended formats grows, K-16 instructors urgently need resources to effectively transition their teaching online. Designed to help world language instructors, professors, and K-12 language educators regardless of their level of experience with online learning, this book walks through the steps to move from the traditional classroom format to effective, successful online teaching environments.

"Imagined Communities and Educational Possibilities" focuses on three main themes: imaged communities expand the range of possible selves, technological advances in the last two decades have had a significant impact on what is possible to imagine, and imagination at even the most personal level is related to social ideologies and hegemonies. The diverse studies in this issue demonstrate convincingly that learners and teachers are capable of imagining the world as different from prevailing realities. Moreover, time and energy can be invested to strive for the realization of alternative visions of the future. Research in this special issue suggests that investment in such imagined communities offers intriguing possibilities for social and educational change.

'[P]erhaps the best analysis of the English-only movement in the US and the ramifications worldwide of language policies favouring English ...It displays a dazzling grasp of the many meanings of language and the politics that underlie language policy and educational discourse.' Stanley Aronowitz, City University of New York 'In the present political climate, racism and classism often hide behind seemingly technical issues about English in the modern world. The Hegemony of English courageously unmasks these deceptions and points the way to a more humane and sane way to discuss language in our global world.' James Paul Gee, University of Wisconsin, Madison The Hegemony of English succinctly exposes how the neoliberal ideology of globalization promotes dominating language policies. In the United States and Europe these policies lead to linguistic and cultural discrimination while, worldwide, they aim to stamp out a greater use and participation of national and subordinate languages in world commerce and in international organizations such as the European Union. Democracy calls for broad, multi-ethnic participation, and the authors point us toward more effective approaches in an increasingly interconnected world.

Contents:
Prologue 1. Thomas Aquinas 2. Nicolaus Cusanus 3. Francis Bacon 4. René Descartes 5. Thomas Hobbes 6. Giambattiata Vico Epilogue

Is knowing a purely passive reception of something concrete outside the mind, or when we know something are we creating something too?
Spanning more than 500 years of philosophical enquiry from the Middle Ages to the present day, Robert Miner clarifies modern philosophical conceptions of knowing as making or constructing, and contrasts this view with the theological understanding of knowing as a participation in divine creation.
This study demonstrates how 'creative knowledge' has its roots in the theologies of Thomas Aquinas and Nicholas Cusanus. It explores the multiple ways in which this idea influenced the architects of modern philosophy, most notably Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes and Thomas Hobbes, despite their secular stance. Miner contends that, well in advance of Kant, one of these thinkers, Gaimbattista Vico provided a remarkably succinct formulation of the metaphysical and epistemological core of modernity in his principle verum et factum convertuntur: 'the true and the made are convertible'.
In Truth in the Making, Robert Miner challenges the standard assumption that Kant was the first thinker to conceive of knowing as constructive activity, and shows how contemporary theology can reclaim a concept of knowing that is both creative and participant in divine wisdom.

This book describes the development process and dynamics of change in the course of implementing a two-way bilingual immersion education program in two school communities. The focus is on the language and literacy learning of elementary-school students and on how it is influenced by parents, teachers, and policymakers. Perez provides rich, highly detailed descriptions, both quantitative and qualitative, of the change process at the two schools involved, including student language and achievement data for five years of program implementation that were used to test the basic two-way bilingual theory, the specific school interventions, and the particular classroom instructional practices.
The contribution of "Becoming Biliterate: A Study of Two-Way Bilingual Immersion Education" is to provide a comprehensive description of contextual and instructional factors that might help or hinder the attainment of successful literacy and student outcomes in both languages. The study has broad theoretical, policy, and practical instructional relevance for the many other U.S. school districts with large student populations of non-native speakers of English.
This volume is highly relevant for researchers, teacher educators, and graduate students in bilingual and ESL education, language policy, linguistics, and language education, and as a text for master's- and doctoral-level classes in these areas.

We often hear that our world 'is more multilingual than ever before', but is it true? This book shatters that cliche. It is the first volume to shine light on the millennia-long history of multilingualism as a social, institutional and demographic phenomenon. Its fifteen chapters, written in clear, accessible language by prominent historians, classicists, and sociolinguists, span the period from the third century BC to the present day, and range from ancient Rome and Egypt to medieval London and Jerusalem, from Russian, Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires to modern Norway, Ukraine, and Spain. Going against the grain of traditional language histories, these thought-provoking case studies challenge stereotypical beliefs, foreground historic normativity of institutional multilingualism and language mixing, examine the transformation of polyglot societies into monolingual ones, and bring out the cognitive and affective dissonance in present-day orientations to multilingualism, where 'celebrations of linguistic diversity' coexist uneasily with creation of 'language police'.

Contrary to previously held beliefs that bilingualism wonder hinder cognitive and language development in children, research has shown that bilingual children show enhanced cognitive flexibility and an ability to better focus their attention. This book explores both emergent literacy and bilingualism in children in four Asian countries - Hong Kong, Singapore, Myanmar, and Taiwan, giving specific examples of how adults (including parents, teachers, and other education professionals) can use creative interaction - as opposed to rote learning - to increase children's interest in learning English as a second language. This is especially important in the increasingly computer-connected world, where innovation can be key in making second language learning both interesting and effective. Specific contributions to this volume include a case study of Taiwanese families analyzing home videos of their children's responses to the task of reading a Mandarin picture book; of vocabulary instruction in Hong Kong which requires children to gain triple language proficiency (Cantonese, English, and Mandarin); of the relation between Cantonese proficiency amongst 5 year olds in Hong Kong and their receptiveness to learning new English vocabulary; of the relation between English reading ability and Mandarin speaking ability amongst Singaporean children; of the importance of teachers' sensitivity to gender differences among 6 year olds in Singapore learning English as a second language; of the active promotion of storytelling by teachers in Myanmar, in order to develop children's interest in story structure, and to stimulate early language skills; and of an emphasis on family-based emergent literacy activities for children in Taiwan. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Child Development and Care.

This book examines the changing linguistic and cultural identities of bilingual students through the narratives of four Japanese returnees (kikokushijo) as they spent their adolescent years in North America and then returned to Japan to attend university. As adolescents, these students were polarized toward one language and culture over the other, but through a period of difficult readjustment in Japan they became increasingly more sophisticated in negotiating their identities and more appreciative of their hybrid selves. Kanno analyzes how educational institutions both in their host and home countries, societal recognition or devaluation of bilingualism, and the students' own maturation contributed to shaping and transforming their identities over time. Using narrative inquiry and communities of practice as a theoretical framework, she argues that it is possible for bilingual individuals to learn to strike a balance between two languages and cultures. Negotiating Bilingual and Bicultural Identities: Japanese Returnees Betwixt Two Worlds: *is a longitudinal study of bilingual and bicultural identities--unlike most studies of bilingual learners, this book follows the same bilingual youths from adolescence to young adulthood; *documents student perspectives--redressing the neglect of student voice in much educational research, and offering educators an understanding of what the experience of learning English and becoming bilingual and bicultural looks like from the students' point of view; and *contributes to the study of language, culture, and identity by demonstrating that for bilingual individuals, identity is not a simple choice of one language and culture but an ongoing balancing act of multiple languages and cultures. This book will interest researchers, educators, and graduate students who are concerned with the education and personal growth of bilingual learners, and will be useful as text for courses in ESL/bilingual education, TESOL, applied linguistics, and multicultural education.

This book examines the changing linguistic and cultural identities of bilingual students through the narratives of four Japanese returnees (kikokushijo) as they spent their adolescent years in North America and then returned to Japan to attend university. As adolescents, these students were polarized toward one language and culture over the other, but through a period of difficult readjustment in Japan they became increasingly more sophisticated in negotiating their identities and more appreciative of their hybrid selves. Kanno analyzes how educational institutions both in their host and home countries, societal recognition or devaluation of bilingualism, and the students' own maturation contributed to shaping and transforming their identities over time. Using narrative inquiry and communities of practice as a theoretical framework, she argues that it is possible for bilingual individuals to learn to strike a balance between two languages and cultures. Negotiating Bilingual and Bicultural Identities: Japanese Returnees Betwixt Two Worlds: *is a longitudinal study of bilingual and bicultural identities--unlike most studies of bilingual learners, this book follows the same bilingual youths from adolescence to young adulthood; *documents student perspectives--redressing the neglect of student voice in much educational research, and offering educators an understanding of what the experience of learning English and becoming bilingual and bicultural looks like from the students' point of view; and *contributes to the study of language, culture, and identity by demonstrating that for bilingual individuals, identity is not a simple choice of one language and culture but an ongoing balancing act of multiple languages and cultures. This book will interest researchers, educators, and graduate students who are concerned with the education and personal growth of bilingual learners, and will be useful as text for courses in ESL/bilingual education, TESOL, applied linguistics, and multicultural education.

Shadowing, an active and highly cognitive technique for EFL listening skill development, in which learners track heard speech and vocalize it simultaneously, is gradually becoming recognized. However, there remain a lot of mysteries and misunderstandings about it. This book uncovers shadowing in terms of theory and practice. This book cements shadowing as a separate technique from other similar techniques such as Elicited Imitation, Mirroring, and simple repetition, and provides ample empirical data to explain the function of Shadowing. It also elaborates on how Shadowing should be used in terms of materials, procedure, and learners' psychology, which would aid in instructors' use of Shadowing in teaching. A guide on a method effective in improving learners' bottom-up listening skills, this book will certainly prove useful to English Language learners and instructors in their linguistic pursuits.

The rise of global mobility has had a deep impact on the study of urban multilingualism. Once associated with research on minority speech communities and inner-city ethnolinguistic enclaves (Chinatowns, Little Italies, etc), it is now concerned much more with the use of multiple languages in diverse neighbourhoods across the city. In this book the authors take an innovative approach that builds on previously published work in two ways. First, it focuses on a single city and, second, it adopts a multidisciplinary approach to multilingualism. By examining the phenomenon of multilingualism in a single city from a range of perspectives this book paints a more comprehensive picture of the current dimensions of urban multilingualism. A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of contributions from scholars with expertise in education, geography, media, health communication and international studies, in addition to community practitioners. Sydney is the largest city in Australia and, on most counts, it is also among the most linguistically diverse cities in the world. As such it is an ideal site for a multidisciplinary study of urban multilingualism. The selection of 18 multidisciplinary case studies on multilingualism in Sydney, Australia represents some of the strongest and most innovative research on urban multilingualism in the world today. This book examines how multilingualism permeates institutional and everyday practice in the city, raising important questions about what a 'multilingual city' can and should be.

As the number of Chinese students learning English increases worldwide, the need for teachers to understand the characteristics and challenges facing this group of learners grows. This is particularly true for those students moving from an English as a Foreign Language context to an English as a Second Language/International Language one where they experience academic, linguistic and sociocultural transitions. Drawing on over 20 years' experience teaching English courses to Chinese learners, the author aims to highlight key findings to aid understanding, improve teachers' practice and offer pedagogical recommendations. Using students' voices, the book covers: how the traditional Chinese culture of learning plays a role; how new learning contexts provide opportunities and empowerment; how learners' beliefs and strategies are interconnected; how their motivation and identity underscore the power of real and imagined communities, and finally, that affect matters, showing how learners are propelled by the trajectory of their emotions. The book cites from the rich data collected over a five-year period to authenticate the findings and recommendations but also to give voice to this group of learners to challenge the stereotype of the passive "Chinese learner". The essential insights contained within are useful for pre- and in-service teachers of English and researchers interested in language education around the world.

The narrowing of English language education curriculum in many contexts has negatively impacted classroom teaching and learning. High-stakes standardized testing, scripted curricula, and the commodification of English have converged to challenge socially meaningful classroom literacy instruction that promotes holistic development. Although in different ways, these factors have shaped the teaching of English as both first and second language. How can English educators respond? This book argues that the first step is to take account of the broader policy, political and cultural landscape and to identify the key constraints affecting teachers, students and parents. These will set the broad parameters for developing local pedagogic approaches, while still recognizing the constraints that actively push against them. Using Singapore English language teaching as a case study, this book illustrates how this process can unfold, and how media literacy principles were vernacularized to design English classroom pedagogies that stretched the bounds of what is acceptable and possible in the local context.

This text offers pre-service and in-service teachers pragmatic strategies for teaching middle grades literacy in culturally proactive and sustaining ways. By demystifying big ideas and complex concepts, Dominguez and Seglem provide clear pathways and lessons for illuminating and engaging with race, ethnicity, culture, and identity in the middle grade English Language Arts classroom. While addressing social justice, equity , diversity, and liberation can seem intimidating or unrelated to classroom practice, the authors demonstrate how weaving such questions into instruction benefits students' development. The guidance, strategies, and lessons in this book provide an answer to the question, What does decolonial literacy teaching look like? Concrete but not prescriptive, the authors encourage us to reconsider accepted logics of schooling, so that we can better support adolescents as they navigate complex identity landscapes. Bringing together disparate conversations around reading, writing, identity, and decolonial thinking, and specifically tailored to the middle grades, this book serves as a comprehensive toolkit for praxis and covers such topics as cultural change, community connections, and racial literacy. Each chapter features tips on reading and writing instruction, Teacher Spotlights, Planning Questions, and Additional Resources to make it easy for educators to apply the strategies to their own contexts. An accessible entry to addressing challenging questions around identity in the classroom, this book is essential reading in courses and professional development on ELA and literacy methods as well as teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students. For teachers looking to push toward equity and reshape literacy education so that it serves all middle grade students, Dominguez and Seglem offer plenty of accessible and motivating places to start.

"Teaching and Learning in a Multilingual School: Choices, Risks, and Dilemmas" is for teachers and teacher educators working in communities that educate children who do not speak English as a first language. At the center of the book are findings from a four-year critical ethnographic case study of a Canadian high school with a large number of emigrant students from Hong Kong and rich descriptions of the multitude of ways teachers and students thought about, responded to, and negotiated the issues and dilemmas that arose. The solutions and insights they derived from their experiences of working across linguistic, cultural, and racial differences will be extremely valuable to educators in other locales that have become home to large numbers of immigrant families. The book is designed to help readers think about how the issues and dilemmas in the case study manifest themselves in their own communities and how to apply the insights they gain to their own teaching and learning contexts:
* Each chapter includes four components: an excerpt from the ethnographic study; an analytic commentary on the ethnographic text drawn from a variety of theoretical perspectives and academic disciplines (including interactionist sociolinguistics, language minority education, English as a Second Language education, critical literacy, anti-racist education, and critical teacher education); a pedagogical discussion; and suggestions for further reflection and discussion.
* The book features the use of ethnographic play writing to engage readers with the issues that arise in multicultural/multilingual schools. The author's play "Hong Kong, Canada" is included in its entirety and is used to stimulate further discussion of the issues raised in each of the chapters.
* Although it is organized around two different kinds of schooling dilemmas--dilemmas of speech and silence, and dilemmas of discrimination--everyday dilemmas of curriculum and assessment are also discussed throughout the book.
* A methodological discussion of the choices the author made while designing, conducting, and writing up the critical ethnographic case study makes the book useful in qualitative research methodology courses.
* A set of strategies and activities is provided for helping students develop English oral presentation skills.

"La Clase Magica: Imagining Optimal Possibilities in a Bilingual Community of Learners" vividly captures the social and intellectual developments and the promises of an ongoing after-school project called La Clase Magica. It is a blow-by-blow description of the early transformations of a project that began as an educational activity and slowly but deliberately turned into a social action project whose aim was to serve those with low economic and political means and little access to educational resources. This multivocal account details research in action for effectively serving Spanish-English bilingual speakers from a Mexican origin community, as well as--on a broader level--the diverse populations that increasingly characterize American society today. The focus is on the early foundational work of the project between 1989-1996, though attention is also given to the national and international recognition the project has subsequently received, the college-going patterns of its long-term participants, and the transplantation of the project to other cultural communities.
The book speaks out from the "zones of contact" between the university and a language minority community about new ways to extend and intersect theory and practice in many areas of the educational enterprise. Contact is defined not only in the physical sense of face-to-face interaction but also as symbolic interaction between languages, cultures, histories, and epistemologies. Thus, Vasquez speaks of optimal possibilities situated in the middle grounds, or more technically speaking, in the borders between Spanish and English, Mexican and mainstream culture, minority and majority designations, and between school and community contexts where contact is made and new arrangements are imagined.
This account uses the reflections of participants at times to take readers from the scientific to the everyday, to make real and concrete the theoretical conceptualizations that box in human behavior. In this way, it defines the theories, methods, and philosophies for linking multiple disciplines, institutions, and participant groups into a concerted effort with potential to reframe the educational opportunities of under-served populations. A close look is provided into the intricacies and the fundamental principles for building and sustaining effective learning environments and institutional relations necessary for enhancing the potential of learners of all ages. In the process, the book also suggests ways in which community members and institutional agents can play an active and integral role in creating learning opportunities that serve both constituencies. Educators and policymakers will find the systems approach for pursuing parent and community involvement in the educational enterprise useful. In sum, the book offers researchers, practitioners, and policymakers much needed guidance, insight, and perhaps inspiration for rethinking educational goals and objectives.