Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- External
- Attendance mode
- Online
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Education School
A comparative language education approach to language policy and planning issues, especially those related to TESOL, with a focus on the Pacific basin. The development of standard languages and increasing access to languages of wider communication through increased educational provision has been a major driving force for modernisation and change in this region. A social, historical and educational examination of forces unleashed by language and education provision and how language planning is applied to new issues and problems is provided.
The course seeks to proivde a comprehensive overview of the field of language policy and planning in general and language in education planning in particular. The content of the course inlcudes topics related to conceptual, theoretical and methodological issues. Emphasis is given on frameworks, contexts, processes, and actors involved in the policymaking and planning at macro, meso and micro levels. In addition, the course focuses on some key topics and themes including language policy and globalisation, language policy and sustainable development, language policy and social inclusion, language policy and minority rights, and different aspects of language in educaiton planning including medium of instruction policy and bilingual education.
The course follows a unique assessment plan in that all three assessment tasks have to be related to one particular polity (e.g., Australia, China, Singapore, Taiwan; polity is not a country). This means, students will describe the language situation in their selected polity as part of their presentation, write an essay on a topic related to language issues in that polity and develop a micro level policy also in relation to a local language problem in that polity. This means that students will also develop knowledge and expertise about the polity of their choice in language policy and planning.
Choosing the polity will be critical in the assessment plan. They will be advised to think about their choice early in the course. By Week 4, every student should inform their tutor which polity they are going to work on. There are two rules for the polity selection: 1) Students can't choose the polity that they belong to. For example, if a student is from Mainland China, they can't use Mainland China as their polity for assessment tasks. However, they will be able to choose Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan. 2) The same polity cannot be repeated within their tutorial group.
Course requirements
Assumed background
No background knowledge is assumed. An interest in policy, languages, and education in the Asia-Pacific region - or elsewhere - would be an asset.ﾠ
Restrictions
Entry to the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies, Master of Educational Studies, Graduate Certificate in Applied Linguistics and Master of Applied Linguistics programs.
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
- Another instance of the same course
This course is also offered in the External mode (EDUC7047 SI-NET ID 7464). Students can choose this course for external study. The course content and assessment tasks are the same for the two modes of the course.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Tutor
Ms Lanting Wang
Dr Tiare Gonzalez vidal
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
To provide an introduction to and an overview of language policy and planning, one of the central area of study, work and research for applied linguists. It examines policy and planning at the global, micro, meso and macro levels and in the context of linguistic ecology. One of the titles of the earliest books in the field asked, “Can Language Be Planned?' Increasingly language is planned and it behooves us to understand that process. This unit is related to sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and language-in-education. No previous post-graduate work is required.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Design a micro language plan for a selected situation
LO2.
Understand and describe language policy and planning at a macro level
LO3.
Understand and discuss how languages are used in a variety of situations
LO4.
Develop a well-founded knowledge of the field
LO5.
Develop an international understanding of the issues
LO6.
Demonstrate an ability to write critically for an audience
LO7.
Show an ability to put theoretical concepts into practice
LO8.
Develop an understanding of cultural and educational diversity
LO9.
Develop an understanding of ethical issues in LPP
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay/ Critique | Language policy and planning essay | 40% 2700 words |
24/03/2025 - 6/05/2025
Due date for submission 2pm 06/05/2025 |
| Project | Micro Language Policy | 35% 2300 words |
7/05/2025 - 9/06/2025
Due date for submission 2pm 9/06/2025 |
| Presentation |
Polity presentation
|
25% |
31/03/2025 - 26/05/2025
Student-specific due dates for their presentation will be notified by Week 4. |
Assessment details
Language policy and planning essay
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Essay/ Critique
- Weight
- 40% 2700 words
- Due date
24/03/2025 - 6/05/2025
Due date for submission 2pm 06/05/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L08, L09
Task description
This is a major assessment task in the course with high weighting. The assignment is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the key concepts learned in the course combined with the real-world language issues or problems identified from your selected polity. You would be familiar with this assessment genre (essay), as this is one of the most traditional assessment activities. Note that you will have to put forward an original argument in your essay about the topic of your choice in relation to the polity. You will also make use of the concepts that you will have learned in the course. And you will use the relevant literature to support your argument. You will also address all assessment criteria.
You will negotiate your topic for the essay with your lecturer/tutor. This should be seen as an intensive piece of writing that uses an LPP perspective discussed in the course and carefully follows good editorial practice. You will make sure that your essay does not contain avoidable language and style issues, and you are guided by APA7. This assessment task is an academic exercise, but it will include implications for language policy and planning.
Submission guidelines
The essay will be submitted through Turnitin in the course blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
All assessment tasks are due by 2:00 pm on the due date. Late submission of assessment tasks without official approval will result in penalties being applied (See Penalties for Late Submission below)
Micro Language Policy
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Project
- Weight
- 35% 2300 words
- Due date
7/05/2025 - 9/06/2025
Due date for submission 2pm 9/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03, L06, L07, L08, L09
Task description
It is not just national-level government agencies (e.g., Ministry of Education) that are involved in language policymaking. Entities at sub-national levels also need language policies for their operation. Some of the common entities include schools, families, religious groups, and minority language groups in a majoritarian society.
The purpose of this assessment task is to give you an opportunity to develop language policies for one of these local entities. You will develop a micro language policy for an organisation or institution (e.g., a bank, hospital, or a tourist resort) that is located in the polity of your choice. As part of policy development, you will need to identify language problems or language needs of the institution, develop policies that will address those problems or needs, and suggest implementation of the policies taking into account various resources.
This assessment task is practical in nature (developing realistic language policies for actual institutions) but this has to be informed by theoretical knowledge and understanding. The course will provide discussion of micro-level policy and examples of such policies including processes and frameworks for policy development.
Submission guidelines
The essay will be submitted through Turnitin in the course blackboard site.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Please refer to Extension Request notes.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
All assessment tasks are due by 2:00 pm on the due date. Late submission of assessment tasks without official approval will result in penalties being applied (See Penalties for Late Submission below)
Polity presentation
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 25%
- Due date
31/03/2025 - 26/05/2025
Student-specific due dates for their presentation will be notified by Week 4.
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L03, L04, L05, L08, L09
Task description
The aim of this assessment task is to help students develop an understanding of languages and language ecologies in a specific context. Students are required to choose a particular polity (e.g. Australia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and China) and talk about its language situation. However, they can't choose the polity that they are affiliated with. For example, a student from Indonesia cannot present the language situation in Indonesia. They will have to choose another polity. Taking an ecological view, they will describe the various languages and varieties and their current situation in the polity. This will call for taking a historical perspective. There are many examples of polity studies in the LPP literature.
The polity presentation will start from Week 6 (the week beginning on 1/4/2024) and students will be notified about their presentation dates by Week 4. Each student will have to select their polity and inform their tutor by Week 5. Each student will have 20 minutes for the individual presentation.
Most of the In Person students will make their presentation face-to-face in during the tutorial class. However, some students will be allowed to video record their presentation and submit it through the blackboard since not all students can be accommodated in the face-to-face presentation schedule. The modes of the presentations will be negotiated by the tutor with the students. Clear instructions will be provided about how to upload recorded presentations to the course blackboard. The presenter must be visible in their recorded presentation.
Students should note that the polity selection is crucial for them, as they will have to do all three assessment tasks related to the same polity of their choice.
Submission guidelines
Many students will do their presentation in person in their own tutorial group. However, since not all students in the group can be accommodated by this schedule, some students will be invited to video record their presentations and submit to the course blackboard for assessment.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
If an extension for this task is needed, students will contact their tutor or course coordinator directly.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
All assessment tasks are due by 2:00 pm on the due date. Late submission of assessment tasks without official approval will result in penalties being applied.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Little or no work completed. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Fails to provide evidence of the understanding of or ability to apply critical teaching and learning principles and strategies from the course. No evaluative comment and/or poor communication skills, or some assessment not submitted. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Superficial understanding of critical language development and use; limited ability to apply these principles; little or no critical evaluation; resources and materials are unconvincing or in appropriate; or quality of written or oral communication is poor. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Adequate understanding of critical language development and use; limited critical evaluation; sequencing is sometimes inappropriate or inconsistent; written communication is largely free of errors that effect readability. |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Some understanding of critical language development and use and an awareness of their relevance; aspects of critical evaluation; some attempt to use a variety of resources and strategies, infrequent errors. |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Frequent evidence of original thought, some critical thought and evaluation; some diversity of resources, strategies and use of critical perspectives, logical sequencing of materials, useable formats for research presentation and learning. mainly error free. |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Consistent evidence of substantial thought, an ability to critique and evaluate; use of a diversity of resources, strategies, and critical perspectives; culturally aware; logical sequencing of materials, engaging formats for research presentation, error free. |
Additional course grading information
Determining final grades: The final grades are determined by consideration of the weighting of individual assessment items, through the use of weighting formula and the profile of individual grades across accumulated assessment tasks.
An exemplar to show calculation of the final grade:
All three assignments in this course will be provided a grade out of 7. The final grade will be calculated using the weighting and the individual assignment grades as follows.
Example:
A student receives the following three grades:
Assignmentﾠ 1 (A1) : grade of 6 at 40% weighting
Assignment 2 (A2): grade of 5 at 35% weighting
Assignment 3 (A3): grade of 6 at 25% weighting
The final grade for this student taking into account the weighting of each assignment will be:
ﾠﾠﾠ (A1)ﾠﾠﾠﾠ +ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ (A2)ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ +ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ (A3)ﾠﾠﾠﾠ
(0.40ﾠx 6) + (0.35ﾠx 5) + (0.25 x 6) = 2.4ﾠ+ 1.75ﾠ + 1.5= 5.65
The final grade would be rounded up to the nearest whole number; in this case the grade would be 6.
In the case where the final grade is 0.5 or above, the grade will be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g. 5.5 would become 6). In the case where the final grade is 0.49 or below, the grade will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (e.g. 6.49 would become 6).
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
The following applies to all assessments in this course:
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the 'Assessment' folder in Blackboard for this course.
Release of assessment item marks and feedback
In addition to the grade awarded, feedback will be provided in a timely manner to enable students to apply the feedback to further tasks within the course or program and/or plan for supplementary assessment, requests for re-mark, or re-enrolment. However, as per UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Policy, results for the final assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. Time frames for applications for assessment re-mark are indicated under the Assessment Procedure.
Re-mark policy
After each assessable item, students will be given the opportunity to view their assessment and so satisfy themselves that a marking or administrative error has not occurred. The formal process of querying a course result (requesting a remark on academic grounds) is set out in the UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Procedure.
Use of AI/MT to support or inform assessment
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. .
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
KEY JOURNALS IN THE FIELD
Current Issues in Language Planning (2000 - )
International Journal of the Sociology of Language (1974 - )
Journal of Language, Identity and Education (2002 - )
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (1980 - )
Language Policy (2002 - )
Language Problems & Language Planning (1977 - )
European Journal of Language Policy (2009 - )
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Seminar |
Week 1: The what and why of language policy and planning The what and why of language policy and planning Learning outcomes: L02, L04 |
Week 2 (03 Mar - 09 Mar) |
Seminar |
Week 2: Engaging language policy and planning and language in education planning Engaging LPP and LEP Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Seminar |
Week 3: Language policy and planning processes and frameworks LPP processes and frameworks Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04, L05 |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Seminar |
Week 4: Contexts of language policy and planning Contexts of LPP Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
Seminar |
Week 5: Actors and agency in language policy and planning Actors and agency in LPP Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04, L05, L08, L09 |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Seminar |
Week 6: Research directions and methodology for language policy and planning Research directions and methodology for LPP Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L07, L08, L09 |
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Seminar |
Week 7: Language policy, nationalism, and globalisation Language policy, nationalism and globalization Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04, L05, L08 |
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
Seminar |
Week 8: Language policy and education Language policy and education Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04, L07, L08 |
Mid-sem break (21 Apr - 27 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester break |
Week 9 (28 Apr - 04 May) |
Seminar |
Week 9: Language policy and bilingual education Language policy and bilingual education Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L08 |
Week 10 (05 May - 11 May) |
Seminar |
Week 10: Medium of instruction and mother-tongue education Medium of instruction and mother-tongue education Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L08, L09 |
Week 11 (12 May - 18 May) |
Seminar |
Week 11: Language policy and sustainable development Language policy and sustainable development Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L08, L09 |
Week 12 (19 May - 25 May) |
Seminar |
Week 12: Language policy, minority rights, and social cohesion. Language policy, minority rights and social cohesion Learning outcomes: L03, L04, L05, L08, L09 |
Week 13 (26 May - 01 Jun) |
Seminar |
Week 13: Language loss, revitalisation, and maintenance Language loss, revitalization and maintenance Learning outcomes: L01, L06, L07, L08, L09 |
Additional learning activity information
This is a 3-hour course every week. There will be a one-hour in person lecture and then a two-hours tutorial each week. From Week 6 onwards, half an hour of the tutorial time will be allocated for one student presentation on the language situation in a particular polity.
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.