Thank you, Ingrid, for drawing my attention to this interesting online forum, Language on the Move, and videos, Japanese on the Move. Based on empirical research on transnational Asian women in London,…
Youna KimMay 10, 2012
I’m one of the comparatively unlucky few swimming against the global linguistic tide. I’m a mother tongue speaker of English, “the” global language. That means if I want to become…
Christof Demont-HeinrichApril 3, 2012
Have you recently had a manicure or a pedicure? I haven’t. In fact, I’ve never been to a nail salon in my life. Until about a decade ago that would…
Ingrid PillerFebruary 27, 2012
Ever since I left my native village in the Bavarian Forest more than 25 years ago, I have been returning for regular, even if infrequent, visits. Over the years, there…
Ingrid PillerFebruary 15, 2012
It is now widely agreed that human beings have moved into a phase of modernity in which they have to tackle the extreme dynamism in modern institutions and provide an…
Vahid ParvareshFebruary 11, 2012
English and ASEAN Ever since I arrived in Bangkok in 2011, I’ve being witnessing the amazing spread of English fever. At the national level, Thailand is wholeheartedly invested in the…
Kimie Takahashi 高橋君江February 3, 2012
Sadly, my sabbatical is drawing to a close and one of the things to think about now is souvenirs. My sabbatical involved visits to Germany, Iran and the United Arab…
Ingrid PillerJanuary 26, 2012
Mi-Cha Flubacher, Alfonso Del Percio and Alexandre Duchêne (Institute of Multilingualism, University/PH Fribourg), are inviting papers for the thematic session "The legitimate speaker in a transforming political economy" (Session ID…
Mi-Cha Flubacher and Shirley YeungDecember 13, 2011
USD 254,000: that is the cost of raising two children bilingually in English and German in Denver, Colorado. That’s a lot of money, and inspired me to do some number-crunching…
Ingrid PillerNovember 25, 2011
Pretty much everyone I know wants to learn English or improve their English – with the exception of those who consider themselves native speakers, obviously. What is more, everyone I…
Ingrid PillerAugust 16, 2011
I recently returned to China from graduate study in Australia and soon reestablished my old habit of reading the newspaper over breakfast. One Sunday morning, this color flier was enclosed…
Zhang Jie 张洁July 22, 2011
In the past thirty years, Iran’s population has exploded from about 40 million to more than 72 million. Such rapid growth has resulted in the vast majority of the population…
Vahid ParvareshJuly 4, 2011
Japanese stop sign The current global orthodoxy holds that learning English is good: individuals who know English are supposed to have an advantage in the job market and countries with…
Ingrid PillerJune 27, 2011
When I lived in Basel, a city in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, I often found myself performing an involuntary field experiment in language attitudes. As likely to speak English…
Ingrid PillerMay 20, 2011
Recently, the British royal wedding made international front-page news. It was globally portrayed as an auspicious occasion for the world to remember; much like a well-written fairy-tale. The outcome was record-breaking:…
Vahid ParvareshMay 12, 2011
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