The Handbook of Educational Linguistics

The Handbook of Educational Linguistics offers a scientifically grounded overview that provides guidance in dealing with the language education challenge produced by globalization and increasing immigration. From literacy to language acquisition and policy, this comprehensive text written by an international team of specialists gathers foundational information, core themes, major findings, and practical applications into one accessible volume. The forty-four chapters provide state-of-the-art reviews of the many fields that contribute to understanding the relationship between research and practice in language education, highlighting the ways in which knowledge of educational linguistics can both inform and be informed by applied education. The volume considers the influence of neurobiology, psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, educational studies and linguistic sciences on a field which includes language teaching and learning, language policy, education of minorities and migrants, literacy, language curricula, assessment, and endangered languages. The book reveals the complexity of this growing field while remaining accessible for students, researchers, language educators, curriculum developers, and educational policy makers.

Bernard Spolsky was Professor at McGill University, Indiana University, the University of New Mexico and Bar-Ilan University; he retired in 2000. He has written and edited two dozen books, including Educational Linguistics: an Introduction (1978), Conditions for Second Language Learning (1989), The Languages of Jerusalem (1991), Measured Words (1995), Sociolinguistics (1998), The Languages of Israel (1999), Concise Encyclopedia of Educational Linguistics (1999) and Language Policy (2004), and has published about 200 articles and chapters.

Francis M. Hult is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He has also taught at Lund University in Sweden and at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. He is the founder and manager of the Educational Linguistics List. His publications have appeared in the journals World Englishes (with King and Berg), Language Policy, and Current Issues in Language Planning.