Language Orientations in Policy & Practice by Ally Salvador

allysg12 — 2025-09-23 23:26:01 UTC

Language orientation is how we approach language. In this instance, we are talking about how we approach language planning in schools. According to (Rios, 2017) there are three aspects to language orientation:

Language as a problem- meaning that language is seen as a problem that needs to be overcome.
Language as a right- meaning that language is seen in a legal way and is a part of equal rights.
Language as a resource- meaning that language is seen as an asset.

The attitude we have about language in our planning, will constitute what result we will get out of it.

allysg12 — 2025-09-23 23:31:15 UTC

In my observations in my field experience, I feel that the orientation I notice is 'Language as a right'. The school is legally obligated to provide ESL services to the students. They do so with a goal of exiting the program. In contrary to celebrating and encouraging the student's native language that would occur if it was primarily a 'language as a resource' setting.

allysg12 — 2025-09-23 23:49:06 UTC

English fluency is the goal for ELL students. The school wants to do as little instruction in other languages as possible.

allysg12 — 2025-09-24 00:03:11 UTC

I align most the 'Language as a resource' orientation. I believe that a student's, or any person's language is a part of who they are. Bilingual or multilingualism is an amazing capability, and while I so think that ELL should be taught English, their native language should remain a focus.

The challenges that would come with implementing language instruction that aligns with this orientation would be:

Lack of support from the administration.
Scarcity of resources and staff to help plan and implement lessons in other languages.
Pushback from society.