Socio-educational Factors and the Soft Power of Language

The Deluge of English in Poland and Portugal

Anna Odrowąż-Coates

Anna Odrowąż-Coates shows that English, as a language of European integration and communication, has become an element of social status. In privileged social groups, its position has changed from a foreign language to a second language, which demonstrates a linguistic shift with long-term consequences. Socio-educational Factors and Soft Power of Language critically examines the cultural and individual implications of this phenomenon in the context of field study in Poland and Portugal. Odrowąż-Coates uses institutional ethnography with a combination of theoretical constructs, including “soft power” and “positioning theory,” to examine evidence of English as a new tool for social stratification and its effect on language policies as well as the ways in which it impacts people's lives and their opportunities. Whilst critical of the neoliberal, neo-colonial, and imperialistic dimensions of English language hegemony, Odrowąż-Coates argues for a gendered perspective of English as a language of opportunity, inclusion, and empowerment. She focuses on discourses that are shown to be products of and the makers of the material aspects of language. Using an ethical imperative not only to question, but also to participate in the existing power structures in order to change the power dynamic, Odrowąż-Coates argues that language choices are not necessarily individually driven but are instead institutionally driven.

Lexington Books

Pages: 198 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-7633-8 • Hardback • October 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-7634-5 • eBook • October 2019 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics, Social Science / Sociology / Social Theory

Socio-educational Factors and the Soft Power of Language

The Deluge of English in Poland and Portugal

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Anna Odrowąż-Coates shows that English, as a language of European integration and communication, has become an element of social status. In privileged social groups, its position has changed from a foreign language to a second language, which demonstrates a linguistic shift with long-term consequences. Socio-educational Factors and Soft Power of Language critically examines the cultural and individual implications of this phenomenon in the context of field study in Poland and Portugal. Odrowąż-Coates uses institutional ethnography with a combination of theoretical constructs, including “soft power” and “positioning theory,” to examine evidence of English as a new tool for social stratification and its effect on language policies as well as the ways in which it impacts people's lives and their opportunities. Whilst critical of the neoliberal, neo-colonial, and imperialistic dimensions of English language hegemony, Odrowąż-Coates argues for a gendered perspective of English as a language of opportunity, inclusion, and empowerment. She focuses on discourses that are shown to be products of and the makers of the material aspects of language. Using an ethical imperative not only to question, but also to participate in the existing power structures in order to change the power dynamic, Odrowąż-Coates argues that language choices are not necessarily individually driven but are instead institutionally driven.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 198 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-4985-7633-8 • Hardback • October 2019 • $105.00 • (£81.00)

978-1-4985-7634-5 • eBook • October 2019 • $95.00 • (£73.00)

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Sociolinguistics, Social Science / Sociology / Social Theory

Author

Anna Odrowąż-Coates is associate professor at the Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw and chairholder of the UNESCO/Janusz Korczak Chair in Social Pedagogy.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: Language Positioning in Poland and in Portugal

Chapter Two: Under the Umbrella of Institutional Ethnography

Chapter Three: Language and Discourse

Chapter Four: Linguistic Power Struggles

Chapter Five: Language Hierarchy—Social Hierarchy

Chapter Six: Social Positioning and Class Diversification

Chapter Seven: Linguistic Turn?

Chapter Eight: Social Struggle and the Empirical Data

Chapter Nine: Language, Gender Aspects, and Social Positioning

Conclusion: Summary of the Research Outcomes

Reviews

Anna Odrowaz-Coates dives deeply into English language acquisition in Portugal and Poland. With unique empirical data—from questionnaires to qualitative interviews and auto-ethnographic observations—the author reaches different scales and perspectives on the issue. She refuses dualistic or simplistic answers, acknowledging both the empowering and the disempowering aspects of English language acquisition. Moving from Fairclough to Foucault, Althusser, and Bourdieu, all of them enriched by postcolonial framings and feminist approaches, Anna Odrowaz-Coates contributes to the socio-educational inequality perspective, relating language to issues of power and soft power.
— Viviane Resende, University of Brasília

This timely book tackles the dominance of English in current European language policy with a critical and reflexive socio-linguistic perspective, revealing invaluable insights. Anna Odrowąż-Coates, an ambitious and incredibly intuitive applied linguist in Poland, approaches the topic with a foresight that makes the book an imperative read for researchers and all stakeholders involved in language policy reforms worldwide.
— Jim McKinley, University College London