Ebook: Encyclopedia of Language and Education: Knowledge About Language

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION This is one of eight volumes of the Encyclopedia of Language and Educa­ tion published by Kluwer Academic. The publication of this work signals the maturity of the field of 'language and education' as an international and interdisciplinary field of significance and cohesion. These volumes confirm that 'language and education' is much more than the preserve of any single discipline. In designing these volumes, we have tried to recog­ nise the diversity of the field in our selection of contributors and in our choice of topics. The contributors come from every continent and from more than 40 countries. Their reviews discuss language and education issues affecting every country in the world. We have also tried to recognise the diverse interdisciplinary nature of 'language and education' in the selection of the editorial personnel them­ selves. The major academic interests of the volume editors confirm this. As principal volume editor for Volume 1, Ruth Wodak has interests in critical linguistics, sociology of language, and language policy. For Vol­ ume 2, Viv Edwards has interests in policy and practice in multilingual classrooms and the sociology oflanguage. For Volume 3, Bronwyn Davies has interests in the social psychology of language, the sociology of lan­ guage, and interdisciplinary studies. For Volume 4, Richard Tucker has interests in language theory, applied linguistics, and the implementation and evaluation of innovative language education programs.

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This book contains a collection of more than twenty state-of-the-art overviews of a variety of aspects of language awareness and the role of metalinguistic knowledge in language development and education. The contributions come from more than a dozen countries and offer a balanced perspective on a range of topics, including first and second language acquisition, classroom talk, language use in the multicultural work place, translation, Esperanto, whole language, historical perspectives from the UK and the Netherlands, critical pedagogy, the education of language teachers, the teaching of grammar, phonology, and writing, and others. In all, the book offers a comprehensive perspective on metalinguistic knowledge and processes, and presents a coherent argument for building an element of language awareness into the language curriculum at all educational levels.