Micro level language planning, agency, and ICT in community language schools: before, during and after the pandemic

• Published in: Current issues in language planning 2024-10, Vol.25 (5), p.553-570
• Main Authors: Nordstrom, Janica, Zhang, Rose
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CALL Program; Children; community language schools; Community leaders; Coronavirus (COVID-19); COVID-19; Heritage languages; Higher education; ICT in education; Immigrants; Language; Language instruction; Language planning; Language policy; Language schools; Learning in an emergency; Migrants; Multimethod techniques; online teaching; Pandemic pedagogy; Pandemics; Primary education; Schools; Second language learning; Secondary education; Teachers; Teaching
• ISSN: 1466-4208; 1747-7506
• DOI: 10.1080/14664208.2023.2237376

Community language schools are grassroots initiatives set up by immigrant communities aiming to teach language and culture to children and descendants of migrants. During the Covid-19 pandemic, issues around ICT and equity sat at the heart of educational planning, ranging from student access to ICT to ensuring teachers' understanding of technological affordances. Although a myriad of emerging research highlights the many benefits and challenges mainstream teachers experience during the pandemic, little is known about community language planning before, during, or after the pandemic. With a micro-level language planning perspective, the aim of this study is to explore the context of ICT in community language schools and teachers' decisions around ICT uptake for teaching and learning both before and during the covid-19 pandemic. Pre-pandemic survey and follow-up interviews show that community language school teachers had limited access to ICT for teaching purposes before periods of teaching from home, but teachers' agency during online teaching afforded innovative solutions that will likely continue to impact ICT in community language planning post-pandemic.