Overcoming inequalities in multilingualism through education and experience | RFTRW: S09E03

Research for the Real World: S09E03

Ruanni Tupas, UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics.

Coming from a part of the world where speaking multiple languages is part of life, multilingualism has always been an area of study that’s close to home for Dr Ruanni Tupas. Ruanni joins Dr Keri Wong to discuss how getting to know the lived realities of students and teachers shapes his research and help reconcile academic theorisation with the messiness of the classroom.

We hear about how, in multilingual communities, value is ascribed to some languages over others and how one’s ability to utilise ‘higher valued’ languages – and even accents - reinforces inequalities. For instance, could the push to learn and use English throughout south east Asia ever benefit everyone? And how does Pilipino pop (or P-Pop) music provide a vehicle to transform language from a barrier to an incentive to understand each other better?

Listen to the podcast

You can also listen to the podcast on:

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify Podcasts

You can also read the podcast episode transcript here.

Links

• Dr Ruanni Tupas’ research profile
• UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics
• Department of Culture, Communication and Media
• Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) In-Service MA
• Research for the Real World podcast