WP1 Multilingualism in England: A Review of Research

This review concentrates on the dynamic and contested relationships between (a) educational policy, (b) academic discourse, and (c) everyday sociolinguistic practice. Our account is limited to England and to its newer heritage languages, and it is necessarily empty of any detailed discussion of particular languages.  The review begins with an sketch of recent responses to multilingualism in the national education system, and then points to growing tension between education policy and research. After that, it suggests three weakness in research in the 1980s, it outlines major research developments in the 1990s, and it offers some evaluative comments on these in the final section.