Conference Agenda

In Europe, the assessment of language proficiency in the Second Language (SL) of migrants once they arrive in the country of immigration, if not even prior to this moment, is crucial for permanence in the destination territory of migration. Consequently language can tip the scale that decides against the fate of migrants in the migratory context, based on the assessment of linguistic and grammatical skills, founded on the criteria defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Beyond these regulatory and normative connotations, SL has a central role in the path of social inclusion in the host society and, for this reason, the right to language education is fundamental to the migrant's effective and active participation and, indeed, can be defined precisely as the most important skill to be acquired with a view to medium- or long-term stay in the host country (OECD, 2021).

The linguistic dimension, however, is much more heterogeneous, biographical and, at the same time, cultural. For these reasons, in addition to the acquisition of grammatical and lexical skills alone, it is unthinkable not to consider identity and social aspects as well in the construction of pathways of education, hosting and inclusion. Such consideration ensures that the formative and educational experience is not characterized by the assimilationist paradigm, but, rather, by a curious, supportive and humanizing attitude toward otherness.

The intercultural perspective in SL learning allows for the recognition of all the cultural and identity aspects that characterize the linguistic biography of the subject who, in migration, finds himself interacting with other languages and other identities. In the communicative relationship with otherness, dialogue is fundamental and cannot be excluded from pedagogical and cultural reflection, which is essential in order to effectively direct educational interventions toward an intercultural and socially inclusive society. In this perspective, plurilingualism arising, also, from migration encourages and promotes forms of participation of "otherness" that, among other things, predisposes the overcoming of power dynamics inherent also to the linguistic dimension. Indeed, it is recognized that forms of cultural racism also find in language a mode of expression of relations of domination and that Fanon (1952), specifically, identifies the promotion of the colonizer's language as a civilizing language, defining a relational hierarchy dependent on cultural and identity factors. The risk inherent in the imposition of the acquisition of the language of the country of immigration at the expense of the linguistic and cultural background of which the migrant person is the bearer would, in fact, entail the adoption of the assimilationist paradigm by the country of immigration, favoring passive coexistence instead of social interaction resulting from inclusive processes.

For these reasons, the realities of non-formal language training for migrants were investigated, paying attention to the inclusion practices applied in these contexts and noting the criticalities of this sector and the unmet needs of users. At the theoretical level, the project is guided by the analysis of migration, the encounter between cultures and the processes of inclusion captured through an intercultural, post-colonial and intersectional perspective of the phenomenon under investigation. The three research questions that guided the investigation of the phenomenon are: 1. What are the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of non-formal language training practices for migrants? 2. What are the educational, cultural and social needs of migrants?3. In particular, what training tools are effective in empowering migrants attending SL courses (also in the recent pandemic situation)?

English as a global language has predominated over languages other than English (LOTEs) in language education studies for ages. This trend has been emphasised in non-Anglophone countries' higher education systems, which resulted in a decline in LOTE education worldwide (Gao & Zheng, 2019; Lanvers, 2018). On the other hand, the Chinese government has initiated a programme of multilingual reform in education as a concomitant of the “Belt and Road Initiative” (B&R) in 2013. As a substantial China-led infrastructure project, the B&R initiative focuses on transnational construction, railways, and highways which has connected East Asia and Europe and extended to Africa, Oceania, and Latin America within a decade. To date, 147 countries are participating or showing interest in the B&R initiative which involves more than 50 official languages other than English. Since the scope of the bilateral economic relations between China and other non-Anglophone countries has been expanded, the significance of LOTEs has drawn the attention of the government of China mainland, which promotes the development of LOTE education in Chinese tertiary education (Chen et al., 2021). The promotion of LOTE programmes in national language policies in China will diversify the multilingual journey of stakeholders at the local level, such as language teachers and college students. However, there is a general paucity of empirical research describing how the national language policy is being understood by meso-level (institutional) actors in higher education in China. Meanwhile, few studies have examined the potential contribution of institutional agency work to the language policy and planning (LPP) concerning LOTEs (Hamid et al., 2018) and the consequences of current LPP for the learner agency of LOTE students in Chinese universities.
Generally, agency is the ability to make decisions, on which people act to change their lives. A widely circulated definition of agency was proposed by Ahearn (2001, p. 112) as ‘a socio-culturally mediated capacity to act’, which includes socio-affective factors like motivation, attitudes, and actions (Hatoss, 2018). Lantolf and Thorne (2006) further explain agency as ‘socioculturally mediated and dialectically enacted’ (p. 238), which can be in relation to the reciprocal influence of language teaching and learning (Glasgow & Bouchard, 2019).
To address the above-mentioned research gap, this study aims to investigate the agency meso-level LPP actors in a prestigious university in China underpinned by Glasgow and Bouchard (2019)’s Model for studying agency in LPP. Overall, the objective of this research is to explore how individual actors including educators and students exercise their agency in shaping different LOTE programs and investigate the interaction of individual agency between actors across different social layers.

This qualitative case-study research explores the role of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers in the language in education policy context.

In the modern society it is very common to promote bilingual or even trilingual educational policies, where learners will be able to acquire languages which are recognised by the government as essential for its development (Ferguson, 2006; McKay, 2010, Spolsky, 2003; Mehisto, Kambatyrova and Nurseitova, 2012). Considering economically, socially, and politically important goals for the development of Kazakhstan in future, English became the strategic language of international relations in the trilingual policy on a par with Kazakh (the State language) and Russian (the inter-ethnic language) in Kazakhstan. However, the task was about how to make the implementation of English successful since it was not used widely in the country. The EFL teachers are not only those who promote foreign language knowledge and skills, but as well they play one of the essential roles in imparting educational values which are the basis of education in the language policy context. In this study the role of English language teachers in Kazakhstani mainstream schools in urban and rural contexts in trilingual policy in education enactment process is explored through the analysis of multiple case-studies conducted in secondary school system in Kazakhstan. As noted by Radha (2016) teachers’ role is vital in nation building since they build every single student’s character. We might even assume that future generations depend on teachers, as teachers shape them to prepare to the world. This study presents the preliminary findings of a wider research (PhD) which is been conducted during 2020-2024.

The main research objective is to offer insights how the policy is understood and enacted in specific teaching context.

The main theoretical framework for this research is the Spolsky's triad of language policy and language planning, where professor Bernard Spolsky (2022) suggested the theory on how to analyse language policy through the perspective of both top-down and bottom-up decisions, practices, and beliefs of education policy makers and language teachers (2004). This triad is important to this study, as the trilingual policy in Kazakhstani mainstream schools is being viewed through the perspective of teacher beliefs (ideology), teacher practice (power), and teacher agency. In this study I was following the critical realist case study approach. Critical realism philosophical paradigm can be defined as there are two dimensions of the world where one is observed, and the other is real (not observed). Ontologically speaking, in this project I have observed whether teachers’ ideologies are reflected in their practice, as critical realists claim knowledge is partial and context dependent (Creamer, 2018). It means that if teachers have any beliefs or attitudes related to teaching and learning process considering educational values as one of the ways of effective trilingual policy enactment, then do they use their teacher agency and power to implement the elements of value-led education in their practice. From the epistemological view of critical realism, I want to know how teachers perceive their role in relation to imparting educational values as one of the main directions of trilingual education policy in Kazakhstan aslso viewed as curriculum-based values. As it is described, critical realists admit the possibility of multiple valid interpretations of the same phenomenon (Maxwell and Mittapalli, 2010). That is why the phenomenon of trilingual education policy and its constituencies might differentiate in teachers’ viewpoints which might hypothetically be caused by their personal viewpoints, ideologies, agency, and power they either possess and exercise or do not.

The present quantitative study is a secondary data analysis of lower secondary foreign language school teachers’ professional development from 30 OECD countries who participated in the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Study (TALIS). The analysis focuses on the OECD countries as they subscribe to shared educational aims of promoting policies that will improve the economic and social wellbeing of people in the member states (OECD, 2013).

The data analysis aims to cross-nationally estimate foreign language (FL) teachers’ self-efficacy and how it is related to continuous professional development (CPD) across the countries as perceived by the participants of the survey in terms of its content, form, impact on teaching practices and to review what types of CPD are crucial for teachers in order to promote, sustain teachers' CPD and keep them up to date as “teachers are called upon not only to acquire new knowledge and skills but also to develop them continuously” (Teachers’ professional development 2010:12).

This study uses three research questions to investigate the correlation between the CPD and teacher self-efficacy. These research questions include the following:

1.How much of the variation in FL teachers’ self-efficacy can be explained by differences between school and teachers’ characteristics across the OECD countries?

2. Which teacher and school characteristics explain variations in lower secondary school teachers of FL self-efficacy?

3. What types of professional development activities explain variations in teacher self-efficacy?

The secondary data analysis not only endeavors to extend evidence about relationship between CPD and FL teachers’ self-efficacy but also presents compelling support for the cross-national investigation as only a small number of studies cross nationally examine these issues in the field of foreign language teaching. A greater understanding of the relation between different areas included into CPD and teacher efficacy beliefs may be valuable to those who develop, deliver, and evaluate foreign language teachers’ preparation, accreditation, and certification programs.

In order to provide a solid conceptual foundation for this secondary analysis, different research on the relationship between CPD and FL teachers’ self-efficacy have been reviewed. A range of previous research has highlighted the contribution of CPD towards teacher self-efficacy. According to Darling-Hammond et.al (2017), professional development aims to expand teacher knowledge and might impact teachers' practices, self-efficacy and, as a result, student learning outcomes. Although self-efficacy has been extensively researched, comparatively few studies have directly examined self-efficacy within the field of language learning and teaching. In investigating teacher efficacy in this area, research examined teacher self-efficacy in a number of cross-cultural contexts exploring the correlation between FL teachers’ self-efficacy and their CPD, demographic variables (qualification, years of experience, gender) and second language proficiency (Atay, 2007; Chacon, 2005; Göker, 2006; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007; Swanson, 2010a; Tsui & Kennedy, 2009; Choi & Lee, 2016, Thompson, 2020).

The conceptual framework for this secondary data analysis draws on Thomson’s (2020) conceptual framework of the Japanese FL teacher efficacy beliefs. Modified from Borg’s conceptual framework of teacher cognition for FL teacher self-efficacy beliefs (Borg. 2006) and integrated triadic reciprocal causation from Bandura’s social cognitive theory (1977, 1986), Thomson’s (2020) conceptual framework is a solid foundation for the current research as it enables the researcher to explore the correlations between personal factors (self-beliefs), environmental factors (teaching context) and behaviours (teaching activities). The present research also adopts Bray & Thomas’s (1995) model of multilevel analysis which enables the researcher to compare the relations between constructs engaging different dimensions. Two dimensions have been employed in the current research: personal factors of teachers (individual level) and environmental factors (school level and country level).