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Management of Linguistic Diversity

Code: 106313
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
English Studies OP 3
English Studies OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Maria Rosa Garrido Sarda
Email :
mariarosa.garrido@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course, but students who have not passed WRAP II and/or SLAP II are strongly advised not to take it. 

Objectives

The main objective of this course is to introduce students to the field of study of linguistic diversity and social multilingualism. The course aims to provide them with the theoretical concepts and historical perspective to understand the evolution of perceptions and social discourses about multilingual practices, policies and skills at supranational, state, regional, municipal and family levels. The course adopts a critical and reflexive approach in relation to the models for "managing" diversity, different forms of multilingualism and the (un)foreseen consequences of language policies. It focuses on the study of three social fields in which the handling of linguistic diversity is of particular relevance for individuals and groups.

Learning outcomes

  1. Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
  2. Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
  3. Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
  4. Organise academic work effectively.
  5. Express oneself in English, orally and in writing, in an academic register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of English as a language of global scope, linguistic variation and, in general, the social uses of language.
  6. Understand specialised academic texts on research into the use/learning of English in multilingual contexts, linguistic variation and change, sociolinguistics and language policy.
  7. Produce written and oral academic texts at higher-proficient-user level (C2) on the concepts and skills relevant to the study of sociolinguistics, multilingualism and varieties of English.
  8. Identify and understand different sociocultural approaches and their methodologies for the study of the English language.
  9. Identify and analyse—from a critical point of view—the existing models and concepts to conceptualise the rise and use of English as a lingua franca in global communication.
  10. Analyse the effects of the application of distinct language-diversity management policies in those institutional spheres in which English is a widely used language: business, education, tourism, communication technologies, etc.
  11. Identify the main linguistic properties of non-standard varieties of English by applying the concepts acquired during the linguistic study of standard English.
  12. Relate the main linguistic properties of non-standard varieties of English to linguistic change by applying the concepts acquired during the diachronic study of English.
  13. Analyse simulated professional situations in the classroom and evaluate the resources for dealing with these.
  14. Apply the knowledge acquired to the solution of contemporary socio-linguistic problems.
  15. Actively reflect on the ethical dilemmas of sociolinguistic research.

Contents

  1. Introduction to societal multilingualism: concepts, models and historical evolution
  2. The construction of multilingualism by and at supranational organizations
  3. Bilingual and multilingual education
  4. English in multilingual work contexts


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Correction and discussion of practical exercises 20 0.8
Tutorials 4.5 0.18
Individual study of theoretical concepts 25 1
Presentation of theoretical concepts 30 1.2
Reading and understanding of relevant material for each topic 50 2

This course follows an active methodology and requires students' regular engagement. A significant part of the course is structured around the critical discussion of assigned readings and/or audiovidual materials (flipped classroom). Doing the homework and contributing meaningfully to in-class discussions are essential to successfully follow the course. 

Within the teaching period established by the Faculty calendar, 15 minutes of class time will be reserved for students to complete the subject and teacher-assessment surveys.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Exam 1 (Units 1 and 2) 25% 1 0.04 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Reflection activities and meaningful class contribution 10% 4.5 0.18 6, 10, 13, 14, 15
Assignment 2 25% 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14
Assignment 1 15% 4 0.16 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 15
Exam 2 (Units 3 and 4) 25% 1 0.04 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Note: The exact dates of the evaluation activities will be announced on the course Moodle at the beginning of the semester.

All assessment tasks are compulsory. If a task is not submitted, the student will get a 0.

Students will obtain a \"Not assessed/Not submitted\" course grade unless they have submitted more than 30% of the assessment items (this includes Assignment 1, Assignment 2, Exam 1, Exam 2).

To be able to pass the course, students must have an average mark of (minimum) 5/10. To calculate the average, they must have obtained a minimum of 4/10 in each assessment item (exam and two assignments). Otherwise, they will have to retake those items with a mark lower than 4 independently of the course average.

The student's command of English will be taken into account when marking all exercises and for the final mark. If a student's level of English is lower than C2, up to 40% of the final grade can be taken off.

Students are required to employ gender-inclusive language in their written and oral productions. For guidelines on how to do this, they are advised to check the website of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA): https://www.lsadc.org/guidelines_for_inclusive_language


VERY IMPORTANT: PLAGIARISM. In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject. Irregularities can refer, for instance, to submitting a piece of work not authored by them, copying in an exam, copying from sources without properly acknowledging authorship, or a misuse of AI such as presenting work as original that has been generated by an AI tool or programme. These evaluation activities will not be re-assessed.


AI USE POLICY: This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all of its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, without the possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.


REASSESSMENT:

Re-assessment for this subject will be undertaken on an item-by-item basis, for which the following conditions apply:

  • It is possible to reasess Exam 1, Exam 2, Assignment 1 and Assignment 2. It is not possible to reassess “reflection activities and meaningful class contribution” (10%).
  • The student must have obtained an average mark of at least 3.5/10.
  • To be eligible for reassessment, the student must have been assessed in assessment activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the total course grade.


On carrying out each assessment activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.


SINGLE-ASSESSMENT OPTION:

Students will have to sit an exam covering all the units in the course (65%) and submit a portfolio with three activities involving oral and written production (35%).


RE-ASSESSMENT OF SINGLE-ASSESSMENT OPTION:

Students must have a minimum of 3.5 in the exam to be allowed to reassess.

To be eligible for the re-assessment of single-assessment option, students must have submitted all the required activities.


INCOMING MOBILITY STUDENTS:

Students requesting to reschedule an exam or assessment to an earlier date must present the instructor with a written document from their home university justifying their request.


Bibliography

More specific references will be provided at the beginning of each unit.

(*) indicates the availability of digital editions through the UAB library system.


Chimbutane, Feliciano (2012). Multilingualism in education in post-colonial contexts: A special focus on sub-Saharan Africa. In Marilyn Martin-Jones, Adrian Blackledge and Angela Creese (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Multilingualism (207-222). Routledge. (*)

Codó, Eva (2022) The dilemmas of experimental CLIL in Catalonia. In Jürgen Jaspers (ed.) Linguistic dilemmas and chronic ambivalence in the classroom. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(4), 341-357. (*)

Creese, Angela and Blackledge, Adrian (2011). Separate and flexible bilingualism in complementary schools: Multiple language practices in interrelationship. Journal of Pragmatics, 43 (5), 1196-1208. (*)

Duchêne, Alexandre (2020). Multilingualism: An insufficient answer to sociolinguistic inequalities. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 263, 91-97.(*)

García, Ofelia (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Wiley-Blackwell.

Garrido, Maria Rosa (2022). The evolution of language ideological debates about English and French in a multilingual humanitarian organisation. Language Policy, 21, 47-73.(*)

Gonçalves, Kellie & Kelly-Holmes, Helen (Eds.) (2021). Language, Global Mobilities, Blue-Collar Workers and Blue-collar Workplaces. Routledge.

Hassemer, Jonas (2026). Inside Refugee Support Work: An Ethnography of Language, Labour and Subjectivity. Multilingual Matters.

Jakubiak, Cori (2016). Ambiguous Aims: English-language Voluntourism as Development. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 15(4), 245-258. (*)

Karlander, David & Heller, Monica (2027). Constructed Languages and the Sociolinguistics of Language Making. Oxford University Press.

Lonsmann, Dorte (2014). Linguistic diversity in the international workplace: Language ideologies and processes of exclusion. Multilingua, 33 (1-2), 89-116. (*)

Lorente, Beatriz P. (2017). Scripts of Servitude: Language, Labor Migration and Transnational Domestic Work. Multilingual Matters.

Lovrita, Veronika (2021). Prestigious language, pigeonholed speakers: Stances towards the « native English speaker » in a multilingual European institution. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 25, 398-417. (*)

McEntee-Ataliani, Lisa J. & Tonkin Humphrey (2023). Language and Sustainable Development. Springer.

Park, Joseph (2013). Metadiscursive regimes of diversity in a multinational corporation. Language in Society, 42, 557-577. (*)

Tesseur, Wine (2014). Institutional multilingualism in NGOs: Amnesty International’s strategic understanding of multilingualism. Meta, 59(3), 557–577. (*)

Tesseur, Wine (2023). Translation as Social Justice: Translation Policies and Practices in Non-Governmental Organisations. Routledge.

Sokolovska, Zorana (2017). Languages in “the United Nations of Europe”: Debating a postwar language policy for Europe. Language Policy, 16, 461-480. (*)

Soler, Josep & Gallego-Balsà, Lídia (2019). The sociolinguistics of higher education: language policy and internationalisation in Catalonia. Palgrave Macmillan.


Textbooks:

Coulmas, Florian (2018). An Introduction to Multilingualism: Language in a Changing World. Oxford University Press.

Gazzola, Michele, Grin, François, Cardinal, Linda and Heugh, Linda (Eds.) (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. Routledge.(*)

Martin-Jones, Marilyn, Blackledge, Adrian and Creese, Angela (Eds.) (2012). The Routledge Handbook of Multilingualism. Routledge.(*)

Martin-Jones, Marilyn & Martin, Deirdre (2016). Researching Multilingualism: Critical and Ethnographic Perspectives. Routledge.

McKinney, Carolyn, Makoe, Pinky & Zavala, Virginia (2024, 2nd Ed). The Routledge Handbook of Multilingualism. Routledge.(*)

Mooney, Annabelle & Evans, Betsy (2023, 6th Ed). Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. Routledge.

Piller, Ingrid (2016). Linguistic diversity and Social Justice: An Introduction to Applied Sociolinguistics. Oxford Academic.

Tollefson, James W. & Pérez-Milans, Miguel (2018). The Oxford Handbook of Language Policy and Planning. Oxford Universtity Press.

Weber, Jean-Jacques & Horner, Kristine (2012). Introducing Multilingualism: A Social Approach. Routledge.(*)


Websites:

Language on the Move: https://www.languageonthemove.com/

Software

N/A

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 English second semester morning-mixed