This full-day workshop organised in collaboration with the Language and Society Cluster brought together academics and researchers involved in the field of Family Language Policy (FLP). It explored current trends, future directions and challenges in the field, with a specific focus on sojourner families in the UK. 
 
This first one-day workshop was led by Rasha Albulayhid on the theme of ‘Family Language Policy: Understanding the complex language ideologies and practices of bilingual speakers’. We were joined by international experts in the field: Prof Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen (University of Bath) and Dr Florence Bonacina-Pugh (University of Edinburgh). 
 
The workshop looked specifically at the factors that influence the language ideologies of sojourner mothers and the roles of these ideologies in the families’ language management and language practices, which may ultimately influence children’s home language acquisition and development. It also examined the common challenges these families encounter when implementing language policies within the families (e.g. emotional and international challenges) and beyond (e.g. political and educational challenges) and how these can be addressed. 

First published: 16 September 2024

<< News