Through case studies from around the world, this book illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing families negotiating the issues of language maintenance and language learning in the home. Every family living in a bi/multilingual environment faces the question of what language(s) to speak with their children and must make a decision, consciously or otherwise, about these issues. Exploring links between language policy in the home and wider society in a range of diverse settings, the contributors utilize various research tools, including interviews, questionnaires, observations, and archival document analysis, to explore linguistic ideologies and practices of family members in the home, illuminating how these are shaped by macro-level societal processes.

Based on an eight-year study of a family on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, this book explores why the children in the family do not often speak Gaelic, despite the adults' best efforts to use the language with them, as well as the children's attendance at a Gaelic immersion school.

This volume is an up-to-date, concise introduction to bilingualism and multilingualism in schools, in the workplace, and in international institutions in a globalized world. The authors use a problem-solving approach and ask broad questions about bilingualism and multilingualism in society, including the question of language acquisition versus maintenance of bilingualism. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of multilingualism and multilingual communication presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field, offers solutions of everyday language-related problems international handbook with contributions from renown experts in the field

Even a cursory look at conference programs and proceedings reveals a burgeoning interest in the field of social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development. To date, however, research on this topic has been published in piecemeal fashion, subsumed under the more general umbrella of ‘bilingualism’. Within bilingualism research, there has been an extensive exploration of linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on the one hand, and educational practices and outcomes on the other. In comparison, social and affective factors – which lead people to either maintain or shift the language – have been under-researched. This is the first volume that brings together the different strands in research on social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development, ranging from the micro-level (family language policies and practices), to the meso-level (community initiatives) and the macro-level (mainstream educational policies and their implementation). The volume showcases a wide distribution across contexts and populations explored. Contributors from around the world represent different research paradigms and perspectives, providing a rounded overview of the state-of-the-art in this flourishing field.

An increasingly important field of research within multilingualism and sociolinguistics, Family Language Policy (FLP) investigates the explicit and overt planning of language use within the home and among family members. However the diverse range of different family units and contexts around the globe necessitates a similarly diverse range of research perspectives which are not yet represented within the field. Tackling this problem head on, this volume expands the scope of families in FLP research. Bringing together contributors and case studies from every continent, this essential reference broadens lines of inquiry by investigating language practices and ideologies in previously under-researched families. Seeking to better reflect contemporary influences on FLP processes, chapters use innovative methodologies, including digital ethnographies and autoethnography, to explore diverse family configurations (adoptive, LGBTQ+, and single parent), modalities (digital communication and signed languages), and speakers and contexts (adult learners, Indigenous contexts, and new speakers). Bringing to light the dynamic, fluid nature of family and kinship as well as the important role that multilingualism plays in family members' negotiation of power, agency, and identity construction, Diversifying Family Language Policy is a state-of-the-art reference to contemporary theoretical, methodological and ethical advances in the field of family language policy.

This book explores language practices, beliefs and management across a group of Polish immigrant families in Australia, drawing on these case studies as a lens through which to unpack dynamics of Family Language Policy (FLP) and their implications for future research on FLP. The volume begins by outlining the historical context of Polish immigration in Australia, charting two key waves of Polish migration in the 20th century and the subsequent unfolding of issues around language and culture maintenance in these families. This discussion paves the way for exploring key themes of language socialization, language ideologies and heritage language maintenance and the affordances of FLP research in elucidating these dynamics at work in the lived experiences of a group of Polish immigrant families in Melbourne. The book highlights the importance of a triangulated approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methods, in offering nuanced insights into parental approaches and children’s experiences of a bilingual upbringing and the wider impact of FLP on transnational families. Opening up avenues for future research on Family Language Policy and a better understanding of the language practices of specific communities in a globalised world, this book will be of interest to scholars in multilingualism, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics.

This book presents the forefront of research in the emerging field of family language policy. This is the first volume to explore the link between family language policy, practice and management in the light of state and community language policy in more than 20 ethno-linguistic communities worldwide. Contributions by leading scholars from eight countries and three continents offer insights in how family language policy might be interpreted from various theoretical perspectives, using innovative methodologies. In particular, the authors present novel data on successful family language practices such as faith-related literacy activities and homework sessions, as well as management, including prayer, choice of bilingual education, and links with mainstream and complementary learning, which permit the realization of language ideology within three contexts: immigrant families, inter-marriage families, and minority and majority families in conflict-ridden societies.