Uncovering Language Policy in Higher Education: Reflections from the Classroom

Authors

  • Carmina Makar Carmina Makar is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at The City College of New York. She received her BA in Communication Studies from ITESO University (Mexico) and then established residence in New York as a Fulbright Fellow to pursue graduate studies. She earned her MA in International Education Development with a focus on Bilingual and Bicultural Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a doctoral degree in International Development from the same institution. As a supervisor and P-12 coordinator, Carmina has also worked around developing clinically rich environments for bilingual educators as well as activating critical education practices across formal and non-formal education spaces. As part of her work with childhood, space and community development, Carmina has served as a consultant for UNESCO and UNDP in issues regarding education and development of children in urban environments.

Abstract

This paper analyzes salient issues that emerged over the course of a language policy action research course at the Graduate Center City University in New York. The course, embedded in the larger scope of the Futures Initiatives, allowed students to study different language communities across different campuses in New York. This piece describes these findings in light of language policy and higher education in super diverse contexts and argues for further exploration of language practices to inform the work of educators across different settings in higher education.

Keywords

language education policy, global languages, diversity, multilingualism

References

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Department of Urban Education, Graduate Center, City University of New York, NY.

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Vila, X., & Bretxa, V. (2014). Language policy in higher education: The case of medium-sized languages. Bristol; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

Author Biography

Carmina Makar, Carmina Makar is Assistant Professor in the School of Education at The City College of New York. She received her BA in Communication Studies from ITESO University (Mexico) and then established residence in New York as a Fulbright Fellow to pursue graduate studies. She earned her MA in International Education Development with a focus on Bilingual and Bicultural Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a doctoral degree in International Development from the same institution. As a supervisor and P-12 coordinator, Carmina has also worked around developing clinically rich environments for bilingual educators as well as activating critical education practices across formal and non-formal education spaces. As part of her work with childhood, space and community development, Carmina has served as a consultant for UNESCO and UNDP in issues regarding education and development of children in urban environments.

School of Education at The City College of New York

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/jtl3.675

Published

2016-06-20

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