Current theories of bilingualism argue that the language practices of bilinguals are drawn from a single linguistic repertoire, and that enabling access to the full breadth of students’ language practices can be a vital resource for further language development. This challenges commonplace practices within English as an Additional Language (EAL) education in Australia, where curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment are predicated on monolingual (English-only) structures. Even though many teachers identify with the need to draw on students’ linguistic repertoires, a lack of pedagogical guidance can result in disengagement with this issue. As we move towards identifying and systematizing plurilingual practices, it is imperative we understand teacher stance towards the use of languages other than English in the classroom. This research, therefore, sought to explore the use of language mapping to build teachers’ awareness of their students’ communicative lifeworlds, and to reflect on their stance towards students’ languages (other than English) in contexts where the focus is learning English as an additional language. The findings illustrate pedagogical practices which go at least some way to subverting the dominance of English-only structures, as well as demonstrating that teacher positioning towards the use of first languages is dynamic in that it is responsive to changes in student context, as well as to new knowledge, as gained through the language mapping activities.

Despite decades of often ambitious policies in Australia, languages education is still characterized by intermittent commitment to the teaching of languages, with inequitable access particularly entrenched in rural and regional contexts. While research has focused on the practical and material constraints impacting on policy implementation, little research has investigated the role of the discursive terrain in shaping expectations and limitations around what seems achievable in schools, particularly, from the school principal perspective. Beginning with an overview of policy interventions and an analysis of contemporary challenges, we use Q methodology to identify and analyze viewpoints at work in similarly-positioned rural and regional schools. In doing so, we seek to determine what seems possible or impossible across settings; the role of principals in enabling and constraining pathways for the provision of school language programs, and the need for macro-level language policy to be informed by constraints specific to rural and regional contexts.

In this paper, we discuss the place of plurilingualism in Language and Literacy Education. The article problematises English-only, monolingual-centric assumptions upon which much of Australia’s current literacy education policy discourse has been based, to instead advancepluriliteraciesas an alternate, more generative lens through which to view literacy learners, literacy learning, and literacy capabilities. The paper begins with tensions inherent in how policy “imagines” learners in Australian schools, and the problem of imposing English-only, monolingual-centric notions of literacy when multilingualism is increasingly more the norm than the exception in many mainstream Australian classrooms. We consider how a pluriliteracy perspective on literacy education offers a more appropriate approach to addressing learners’ developmental literacy needs, with particular attention to students’ identity and agency. Finally, we consider effective implementation of plurilingual approaches to language and learning, with a focus on the intersection of ideology, practice, and policy.

The ‘multilingual turn’ has opened up a variety of creative, participatory methods for researchers and educators to explore language learners’ linguistic repertoires, language practices and resources, and linguistic experiences. In this article, we draw on data from the English as an additional language (EAL) secondary school classroom context where we use what we call ‘language trajectory grids’ to make visible EAL students’ English language learning experiences. The grid activity involves plotting learners’ emotions, practices, relationships, and life circumstances with their resources, practices and historical events onto a chronological grid. Using a narrative structure to make sense of learners’ grids and the ‘small stories’ (Barkhuizen, 2009) participants shared during the activity, we discuss the affordances of such devices in opening up space for teachers and learners to critically reflect on the complexities and vibrancy of contemporary multilingual language journeys; to recognize situational factors that influence dispositions towards language, language learning and identity; and as a powerful starting point for students and teachers to engage in ‘collaborative relations of power’.

The use of videoconferencing technology to support the delivery of language programs shows great potential in regional and rural settings where a lack of access to specialist teachers limits equitable access to education. In this article, we investigate the establishment of two regional and rural primary school networks in Australia for videoconferenced language learning. Adopting a perspective taken from the discipline of information systems called structuration theory, we examine how the technology they use both changes and is changed by its use in language learning, and how schools and teachers take control of technology and adapt their educational approaches. Case studies were carried out on the two networks using multiple data sources, including interviews and observation of language classes. The findings reveal that even with the same conceptual foundations and aims, divergent models of practice emerge as sustainable adaptations to localised factors. These differences are shaped by, among other things, an interplay between the quality of infrastructure, prior knowledge, and the “material properties” of the technology, including its functions, limits, and deployment in physical space. A closer look at these practices illustrates limitations and possibilities specifically for language education, but also more broadly illustrates how the success of these videoconferencing initiatives are influenced by a nuanced combination of social, educational, and technological factors.

The complexity inherent in the TESOL field can present challenges for Language Teacher Associations (LTAs) in undertaking internal‐facing roles such as professional learning including networking, conferences and publications, as well as external‐facing roles such as advocacy work with stakeholders, and curriculum reform, among other issues (e.g., Elsheikh & Effiong, 2018b; Lamb, 2012; Paran, 2016). LTAs must be cognizant of and responsive to changing socio‐political, policy, funding factors influencing TESOL provision, as well as the changing pedagogical needs of educators working across sectors. This study investigates the factors which influence and shape English as an Additional Language (EAL) education across a local (state based) EAL context and considers how these findings can inform the activities and practices of LTAs. Q methodology, which combines the use of qualitative and quantitative data, is employed to provide insights into current, deeply held perspectives of educators in relation to EAL provision. Findings provide insights into contextual variables which impact on EAL provision in adult education and school‐based contexts, including intensive English education for refugee and migrant children. This in turn provides an opportunity to consider implications of these findings for LTA activities and practices, in particular, in relation to professional learning, leadership and advocacy.