As the UAE is still abuzz with the opening of the Burj Khalifa, I thought a post to mark the occasion might be in order. Seeing that I’m blogging on…
Ingrid PillerJanuary 10, 2010
While my Christmas post was of the gloomy kind, most blogs I follow had more heart-warming stories. Sociolingo Africa picked up a press release coming out of Orlando, Florida issued…
Ingrid PillerDecember 31, 2009
The presentations from the recent Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) Forum, which was devoted to “Language training for social inclusion,” are now available for download from the AMEP Research Center…
Lg_on_the_moveDecember 26, 2009
I’ve been wondering what would be an appropriate Christmas post for the Language on the Move blog. Seeing that I’m deeply skeptical about all those claims about the wonderful advantages…
Ingrid PillerDecember 25, 2009
Finally, today on Day 3 of our conference on Fostering Multiliteracies Through Education: Middle Eastern Perspectives someone asked “Where is the Arabic?” “How come a conference devoted to multilingualism and…
Ingrid PillerDecember 20, 2009
Our two plenary speakers It’s easy to have a good time at a conference on the spectacular campus of the American University of Sharjah and with such a great group of…
Ingrid PillerDecember 19, 2009
Exciting first day at the conference on “Fostering multiliteracies through education: Middle Eastern Perspectives” at the American University of Sharjah. Suresh Canagarajah, who blogs on academic writing and publishing in…
Ingrid PillerDecember 18, 2009
If you could choose to learn a foreign language, which one would it be? And why? Such choices are usually constrained by what is on offer. However, someone must choose…
Ingrid PillerDecember 14, 2009
The American University of Sharjah and Zayed University’s Research Excellence Center “UAE Center for Bilingualism and Bilingual Education” are co-organizing an exciting multilingualism conference this week. Together with Professor Fatima Badry, American…
Lg_on_the_moveDecember 13, 2009
The current global order has thrown up yet another bewildering language problem: the monolingual sniffer dog! I glean the following from a recent NYT article about Rabbis in Montana: with…
Ingrid PillerDecember 11, 2009
I’ve been prodding my (former) students to join me as guest-bloggers or even just to respond to my blog posts. So far with little success. I know that they (or…
Ingrid PillerDecember 9, 2009
A few years ago I wrote a paper about the sexualization of public space in Switzerland. The paper will be published next year as “Sex in the City: On Making…
Ingrid PillerDecember 7, 2009
I took a picture of this sign during a family holiday in Cairns. My then-six-year-old daughter noticed the German “Achtung” and so asked why it didn’t say “Warning” in her…
Ingrid PillerDecember 4, 2009
Terms of address in intercultural communication can be a tricky business as Kimiesan pointed out recently. One would think that airlines with their international customer base and tons of market…
Ingrid PillerNovember 30, 2009
Ridiculous English signs English speakers sometimes like to amuse themselves with ridiculous English signage from around the world. www.engrish.com is a typical example and I have to admit that there…
Ingrid PillerNovember 26, 2009
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