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‘I’m happy, and I’m passing. That’s all that matters!’ : exploring discourses of university academic success through linguistic analysis / Janine Delahunty, Sarah O’Shea // Language and education Vol. 33-No 4/2019
2019
p. 302-321

‘Student success’ is a key driver in higher education policy and funding. Institutions often adopt a particular lens of success, emphasising ‘retention and completion’, ‘high grades’, ‘employability after graduation’ discourses, which place high value on human capital or fiscal outcomes. We explored how students themselves articulated notions of success to understand how these meanings aligned with the implicit value system perpetuated by neoliberal higher education systems. Qualitative data collected from 240 survey responses in the first phase of a study, were analysed using Appraisal, a linguistic framework to systematically categorise evaluative language choices. This article focuses on questions eliciting students’ articulations of success. Neoliberal discourses were challenged by these students, who were first-in-family at university, with success expressed in a personal and generational sense rather than solely meritocratic terms.

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‘The inappropriateness of language’ : discourses of power and control over languages beyond English in primary schools / Clare Cunningham // Language and education Vol. 33-No 4/2019
2019
p. 285-301

Teachers’ attitudes towards children’s languages and culture have been shown to be instrumental in children’s developing self-esteem and academic achievement. Attitudes and the frequently attendant local policies about languages beyond English (LBE) in schools therefore need to be clear for children, as negative or contradictory discourses can distract from positive work that has been done on increasing inclusivity and embracing multilingualism. This article reports on to the extent to which teachers’ discourses reveal power and control over children’s linguistic repertoires in school. This study is part of a broader project investigating educators’ attitudes towards children who speak LBE beyond English conducted in six northern English primary schools. Interviews from 31 participants were systematically analysed by applying appraisal theory framework. Analysis suggested home language use is controlled by teachers, and genuine opportunities for LBE in participating schools seem limited. This was seen both in schools where an overtly welcoming message for LBE was communicated and in schools that were more muted in their appreciation of children’s home languages as part of their ‘funds of knowledge’. Furthermore, a close linguistic analysis of the participants’ responses revealed contradictions and potentially confusing messages for children about the value of their languages.

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