Office Location:
376 Grace Dodge Hall, Box 55Educational Background
PhD., Second Language Studies, The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Graduate Certificate, Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
MA., TESOL, UCL Institute of Education, University College London
M.Ed., Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
B.Ed., Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Scholarly Interests
My research area broadly covers the intersection of language, society, and education. My specific research interests include language education policy; multilingual education/literacies/pedagogies; translanguaging; critical applied linguistics/sociolinguistics/TESOL; decoloniality and Indigenous education; social justice/equity; community engagement/agency/advocacy/activism; and teacher education. I take engaged and interdisciplinary perspectives to investigate ideologies, discourses, and impacts of educational policies and plans, particularly language policies, on social justice and equity in Indigenous/racialized and language minoritized communities. I focus on how global ideologies (e.g., neoliberalism and development) shape the creation and implementation of local educational policies, plans and practices and examine their role in social justice and equity. My theoretical perspectives are informed largely by decoloniality, anthropology/ethnography of policy, critical applied linguistics, and transformative learning to explore the ideologies shaping the creation, interpretation, and implementation of policies, curricula and pedagogies and unpack how they affect multilingualism, epistemic diversities, identities and learning of Indigenous youth and minoritized language speakers. I adopt participatory, social semiotic, engaged ethnographic and Indigenous methodological approaches to work with the communities of Indigenous people (parents, youth and activists), teachers/teacher educators, policymakers and non-government organizations to create education policies and pedagogies that recognize the languages, literacies, epistemologies, stories, histories, cultures, and places of Indigenous/racialized and minoritized language speakers as transformative resources for building equitable educational spaces. As an Indigenous Yaakthung, teacher educator and critical applied linguist, I embrace educational research as a collaborative and transformative tool to build critical awareness, agency, advocacy and activism of the communities of teachers, youth, parents, and the public for equitable educational policies, plans and practices. I supervise and mentor students and provide consultancy services in the following areas:
- language policy, multilingual education, and multiliteracies
- local-global interface in educational policies/plans, development ideology, and social semiotics of school space
- Indigenous language education, epistemologies, and decolonial praxis
- social justice, transformative learning, and school-community engagement
- teacher education, teacher research, and teacher mentoring
Selected Publications
Books
2022 (with Adinolfi, L., & Bhattacharya, U). Multilingual education in South Asia: At the intersection of policy and practice. Routledge.
2021 (with E. Carm, B. Luitel, L. Ogrim & M. Johannesen). Innovative technologies and pedagogical shifts in Nepalese higher education. Brill/Sense.
2017(with Kathryn A. Davis). Engaged language policy and practices. Routledge.
Journal articles (selected)
2024. “Looking like a boarding school student”: the construction of unequal personhood in language policy in education. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2024(285), 93-110.
2024 (with J. Negi & D. Acharya). Practices, beliefs, and challenges of teacher research in Nepal. ELT Journal, 78 (3), 264–272. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccae010
2024. (Madhukar, K. C., Cushing, I., Dovchin, S., Flores, N., Phyak, P., Tupas, R., & Yazan, B.) In Conversations with Scholars on Contemporary Issues and Research Agendas in Language Ideologies. Journal of Education, Language, and Ideology, 1(1), 146–165, 2023.
2023. Producing the disciplined English-speaking subjects: Language policing, development ideology and English medium of instruction policy. Language in Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404523000052
2023. Translanguaging as a Space of Simultaneity: Theorizing Translanguaging Pedagogies in EMI Schools from a Spatial Perspective. The Modern Language Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12830
2022. Decolonizing translanguaging research methodologies: A commentary and self-reflection. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, 1(3), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2022.100032
2022. (with Sharma, B. K.) Citizen Linguistic Landscape, bordering practices, and semiotic ideology in the COVID-19 pandemic. Linguistic Landscape, 8(2-3), 219-232. https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.21035.phy
2022. (Sah, P. K.) Epistemic injustice and neoliberal imaginations in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) policy. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2022-0070
2022. (with Sah, P. K., Ghimire, N. B., & Lama, A.). Teacher agency in creating a translingual space in Nepal’s multilingual English-medium schools. RELC Journal, 53(2), 431-451. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882221113950
2021. Subverting the erasure: Decolonial efforts, Indigenous language education and language policy in Nepal. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 20(5), 325-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2021.1957682
2021. (with P. I. De Costa). Decolonial struggles in Indigenous language education in eeoliberal times: Identities, ideologies and activism. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 20(5), 291-295. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2021.1957683
2021. Epistemicide, deficit language ideology, and (de)coloniality in language education policy. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2021 (267-268), 219-233. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl-2020-0104
2021. (with Khanal, P.). Factors affecting teacher motivation in Nepal. AMC Journal, 2(1), 25-40. https://doi.org/10.3126/amcj.v2i1.35784
2020. (with B. K. Sharma) Regimes of linguistic entrepreneurship: neoliberalism, the entanglement of language ideologies and affective regime in language education policy. Multilingua, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2020-0031
2017. (with B. K. Sharma). Criticality as ideological becoming: Developing English teachers for critical pedagogy in Nepal. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 14(2-3), 210-238. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2017.1285204
2017. (with B. K. Sharma). Neoliberalism, linguistic commodification and ethnolinguistic identity in multilingual Nepal. Language in Society, 46(2), 231-256. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404517000045[Opens in a new window]
2015. English language education policies and monolingual ideology in Nepal. Journal of TESON, 2(1), 39-52.
2015. (with Kathryn A. Davis). In the face of neoliberal adversity: Engaged language policies and practices. L2 Journal, 7(3), 146-166.
2015. (En)countering language ideologies in Facebook language policing. Language Policy, 14(4), 377-395.
2014. (with T. N. Bui). Youth engaging language policy and planning: ideologies and transformations from within. Language Policy, 13(2):101–119.
2014. Indigenous language plans in Nepal: Ethnography of two multilingual schools. Journal of Indigenous Nationalities, 13(5), 126-152.
2013. Language ideologies and local languages as the medium-of-instruction policy: a critical ethnography of a multilingual school in Nepal. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 127-143.
2012. (with K. A. Davis & T. N. Bui). Multicultural education as community engagement: Policies and planning in a transnational era. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 14(3), 1-19.
2011. Beyond the façade of language planning for Nepalese primary education: monolingual hangover, elitism and displacement of local languages? Current Issues in Language Planning, 12 (2), 265-287.
Book Chapters (peer reviewed)
2024. (Re)framing unequal Englishes: Unequal personhood, deficit ideology and epistemic injustice. In R. Tupas (ed.), Investigating unequal Englishes: Understanding, researching and analysing inequalities of the Englishes of the world (pp. 1-12). Rutledge.
2024. English medium instruction in higher education in Nepal. In K. Bolton et al. (eds.), The Routledge handbook of English-medium instruction in higher education (pp. 394-409). Routledge
2024. (with Sánchez, M. T., Makalela, L., & García, O.). Decolonizing multilingual pedagogies. In The Routledge handbook of multilingualism (pp. 223-239). Routledge.
2023. (with Padwad, A., Wijeskera, H., Manan, S., & Mohamed, N.). EMI in south Asia. In The practice of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) around the world (pp. 191-210). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
2023. Engaged Ethnographic Research with Indigenous Communities: Insights from a Language Policy Study in Nepal. In E. S. Huaman & E. D. Martin (eds.), Indigenous research designs: Transnational perspectives and practice. Canadian Scholars.
2023. (with Ghimire, N. B., & Saud, M. S.). Engaged methodological approach in the study of language ideologies in EMI policies. In S. M. Curle & J. K. H. Poon (eds.), Qualitative research methods in English medium instruction for emerging researchers (pp. 115-127). Routledge.
2023. (with Khanal, P., & Acharya, S). The wellbeing of private school teachers in Nepal during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. In U. Pradhan, K. Valentin & M. Gupta (eds.), Rethinking education in the context of post-pandemic South Asia (pp. 146-156). Routledge.
2022. Unequal language policy, deficit language ideology and social injustice: A critical ethnography of language education policies in Nepal. In S. May & B. Caldas (eds.), Critical ethnography, language, race/ism and education (pp. 191-212). Multilingual Matters.
2022 (with Tania, R.). Medium of instruction, outcome-based education, and language education policy in Bangladesh. In L. Adinolfi, U. Bhattacharya & P. Phyak (eds.), Multilingual education in South Asia: At the intersection of policy and practice (pp. 132-148). Routledge.
2022 (with Sharma, B. K.). Visual multilingualism and the making of Chinese space in Nepal. In J. Lee (ed.),The Sociolinguistics of Global Asias (pp. 24-41). Routledge.
2021 (with Pramod K. Sah). Critical literacies in South Asia. In J. Z. Pandya et al. (Eds.), The handbook of critical literacies (pp. 289-296). Routledge.
2021 (with Sharma, B. 2021). Citizen linguistic landscape and semiotic ideology during the COVID-19. The Linguistic Landscape of COVID-19. https://www.covidsigns.net/post/phyak-sharma
2020 (with B. Sharma). Functionality of English in Language Education Policies and Practices in Nepal. In R. A. Giri, A. Sharma & J. D’Angelo (eds.) Functional Variations in English: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Challenges (pp. 321-335). Springer.
2021 (with H. Rawal & P. I. Costa). Dialogue as a decolonial effort: Nepali youth transforming monolingual ideologies and reclaiming multilingual citizenship. In K. Heugh, C. Stroud, K. Taylor-Keech, & P. I. De Costa (Eds). A Sociolinguistics of the South. Routledge.
2020 Neoliberal placemaking and ideological constructions of standardized tests in Nepal's linguistic landscape. In Morhesseini, S. & De Costa, P. (eds.), The sociopolitics of English language testing (pp. 208–230). Bloomsbury.
2019 Transformation from the bottom up: Ideological analysis with indigenous youth and language policy justice in Nepal. In T. L. McCarty, S. E. Nicholas, & G. Wigglesworth (Eds.), The world of Indigenous languages: Politics, pedagogies and prospects for language (pp. 194-213). Multilingual Matters.
2019 Language education policy and inequalities of multilingualism in Nepal: Ideologies, histories and updates. In Kirkpatrick A. & Liddicoat, A. (eds.), The Routledge international handbook of language education policy in Asia (pp. 314-354). Routledge.
2017 Translanguaging as resource in English language teaching: A response to unplanned language education policies in Nepal. In H. Kuchah, & F. Shamim (eds.). International perspectives in teaching English in difficult circumstances (pp. 49-70). Palgrave McMillan.
2016 Local-global tension in the ideological construction of English language education policy in Nepal. In R. Kirkpatrick (ed.), English language education policy in Asia (pp. 199-217). Springer.
Public writing and media talks
Video/podcast
अंग्रेजी माध्यम र यसले शिक्षण सिकाइमा पार्ने प्रभाव [English medium and its impact on teaching learning]. Nepalkhabar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMkpDTzw2s [In this discussion with Roshna Subba of Nepal Khabar, I analyse the impact of English medium policy on teaching-learning.]
Endangered Languages Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8R80EnnvM0&t=2241s) [In this video talk with the Endangered Language Project, I analyze the endangerment of Indigenous languages in Nepal]
Why is Nepali language given so much importance? नेपाली भाषालाई यति धेरै महत्व किन?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6DgSvOWADI [This short documentary video produced by Counter Culture Nepal and Fuzz Factory Productions traces the history of oppressive language policies and the erasure of Indigenous in Nepal. I was the script advisor and expert to discuss the importance of multilingualism, particularly Indigenous languages, in education and other spheres in Nepal.]
Erasure. Nepal Conversations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbqoHKoSj50 [In this conversation with Dr. Stefanie Lotter (SOAS UK) and Dr. Uma Pradhan (UCL IOE UK), I discuss how Indigenous languages are erased in national policies in different historical times.]
Understanding Nepal’s Multilingual Policies, Practices and Perceptions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EbdRtVHUKM [In this podcast hosted by Policy Entrepreneurs Inc., I and Sonia Jimee discuss multilingualism and multilingual policies in Nepal with a specific focus on Nepal’s education sector.
Indigenous Television https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAtZfUrKj18&t=2s [In this discussion with Kumar Yatru of Indigenous TV, I analyse how the state policies are responsible for lack of the implementation of mother tongue education in Nepal.]
CIN Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtXfSNL29V4 [In this discussion with Laxman Karki of Community Information Network (CIN), I talk about the situation of higher education in Nepal and offers insights to reform it.]
Op-ed pieces
कोलम्बिया विश्वविद्यालयका प्राध्यापक फ्याकको निष्कर्ष- अंग्रेजी माध्यमको मोहले सिकाइ झन् खस्कियो [The professor of Columbia University concludes that English medium policy has affected learning.]. Nepal Khabar. https://nepalkhabar.com/society/202329-2024-5-30-19-56-14
विद्यालय शिक्षामा बहुभाषिकता [Multilinguality in education]. https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/131250
कसरी फुकाउने शिक्षक व्यवस्थापनका जटिलता ? [How to address the issue of teacher management?] [with Peshal Khanal]. Kantipur Daily.
स्थानीय सरकार र शिक्षक बीचको द्वन्द्व [Conflict between local government and teachers]. Teacher Monthly.https://www.shikshakmasik.com
विद्यालय शिक्षा सुधारका केही सैद्घान्तिक पक्ष [Some theoretical aspects of school education reform]. Teacher Monthly.
Biographical Information
Sewaro, Namaste, and Hello!
I am an Indigenous Yaakthung/Limbu from Nepal. I was born and raised in a rural village, Lumde/Phakfokthum, in the hills of the eastern Himalaya. I grew up in an agrarian lifestyle in the village. I love farming, mainly ox ploughing.
I completed my primary education (grade 1-5) from a public school in the village and secondary education (grade 6-10) from a public school in a neighboring village. I walked (mostly bare foot) about 2-3 hours every day for my secondary level of education.
I completed my undergraduate degree from Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus, Ilam and Master’s in English Education from the Central Department of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Then, I taught in the same department as a part-time lecturer of English language education.
I received the Centenary Scholarship to pursue MA TESOL from the Institute of Education, London.
Before I went to the University of Hawai’i to pursue PhD, I worked as a teaching assistant and assistant professor at the Central Department of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. I received the East-West Center Scholarship for my PhD. After the completion of my study, I returned to Nepal and worked as an assistant professor in Tribhuvan University. I also served the university as Chair of the Department of English Education at the Central Department of Education (2017-2019) and a member of subject committee.
In 2020, I joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong. I taught applied linguistics courses and worked as the Director of the Program. I received two direct grants and one GRF to do research on multilingualism, family language policy and ethnic minority communities.
In 2023, I joined Teachers College, Columbia University as an associate professor in International and Comparative Education program. I teach and research educational policies, language policies, bi/multilingual education, social justice and equity, Indigenous language education and decolonial praxis from international and comparative perspectives.
I speak three languages (Yaakthung, Nepali, and English) and understand Hindi and Maithili. I love hiking, photography and playing soccer.
Nogen!!!
Doctoral Dissertations Sponsored
Yue Zhang (Ellen). Mainland Chinese Pre-service Teachers’ English Learning Motivation and L2 Investment: A Transdisciplinary Critical Ethnography. The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Nanibabu Ghimire. Critical ethnography of EMI policy in Nepal. Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Grants
2023. General Research Fund (GRF) Family Multilingualism and Language Policy of Nepali Ethnic Minorities in Hong Kong: A Thirdspace Perspective (Ref. No. 14616123). Funded by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong.
2022. The making of Chinese space in Nepal: Multilingualism, geopolitics and globalization. Funded by the Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
2021-2022. Direct Grant [Faculty of Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong]: Heritage language learning of Nepali children in Hong Kong.
2020-2021. Direct Grant [Faculty of Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong]: Translingual engagement: Multilingual Knowledging and Creativity of South Asian Ethnic Minority Students.
2018-2020. Faculty Grants (PI) from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to investigate teacher Identity Construction in higher education in Nepal.
2018-2020.Research Fellow for the project “State of Social Inclusion in Nepal” (SOSIN), USAID and the Central Department of Anthropology, Tribhuvan University.
2017-2020. (PI) Enhancing Access Quality and Sustainability of Teacher Training/Education through the Use of ICTs and Distance Delivery Modes (collaborative project between Kathmandu University, Tribhuvan University and OsloMet University, Norway, funded by NORAD)
2019. British Council South Asia to attend and present a paper Multilingual Education conference in Bangkok, Thailand (Travel Grant)
2019. British Council and Hornby Trust, UK for attending and presenting paper at IATEFL conference, Liverpool (April 2-5, 2019) (Travel Grant)
2013. East West Center Alumni (Travel Grants for Research Fieldwork)
2013. Graduate Student Organization, University of Hawaii (Travel Grant)
2013. Open Society Foundations, Global Supplementary Grants
2012. Open Society Foundations, Global Supplementary Grants
Honors and Awards
Indigenous Language Support Fund (American Association for Applied Linguistics)
Sharma, B. and Phyak, P. (2017). Neoliberalism, linguistic commodification, and ethnolinguistic identity in multilingual Nepal is selected in the list of the “ground-breaking articles published in the journal over the last five decades” for the 50th anniversary collection of Languaue in Society. https://www.cambridge.org/.../50th-anniversary-collection
East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship, East-West Center, USA
Gill Sturtridge First-Time Speaker Award, International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
Centenary Scholarship (MA TESOL), UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.
Scholarship, Sociolinguistics Symposium 22, the University of Auckland, New Zealand (Registration fees)
Open Society Foundations, Civil Society Scholars Award (2014 and 2015)
Office Location
Professional Organization Membership
Linguistic Society of Nepal (life member)
Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) (life member)
American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL)
IATEFL
Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies
Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
American Educational Research Association
Professional Presentations
- Transforming Family Language Policy: Youth Agency for Revitalizing Indigenous Languages in Nepal. August 10-16, International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) 2024, Malaysia
- Decolonizing higher education [invited]. August 11, King’s College, Kathmandu Nepal.
- Teachers for social justice and diversity in education [invited plenary talk]. 2nd Teacher Research Symposium. August 10, Organized by Teachers for Teachers (TFT) Network.
- Framing curriculum in higher education [invited]. July 31, Kathmandu University School of Educaiton.
2024 Students as Policed Subjects: Language Policing and the Violation of Right to Speak in Schools. The Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya, July 24-26, Kathmandu, Nepal.
- Writing a grammar of decoloniality in multilingualism in education [invited]. Decolonising Multilingualism Symposium, July 10 (organized by Bilingual-Multilingual Education Interest Section of TESOL International Association).
2024 Decolonizing applied linguistics [invited speaker]. The 17th International Conference of the Association for Language Awareness, July 7-10, Karlsruhe, Germany.
- Academic Discourse on Migration and Development: Thematic Discussion on Student Migration [invited panellist]. July 5, Central Department of Population Studies, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
- Decolonial and transformative research [invited]. July 3-4, organized by Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
2024 Multilingual education, language ideology and epistemic (in)justice. Sociolinguistics Symposium (SS25). June 24-27, Perth Australia.
- University, Society and the Politics of Knowledge Production [invited talk]. June 21, Public talk organized by Student Union of Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
- The role of indigenous youth for multilingualism and Indigenous knowledge [invited]. June 1, a one-day workshop organized by Federation of Nepalese Indigenous Nationalities Journalists (FONIJ)-Jhapa, Nepal.
- From a learner to a knower: Building students’ identity as transformative agents through diversity-based and critical pedagogies [invited keynote]. May 31, Janata Multiple Campus, Nepal.
2024 Building a Decolonial Praxis: Participatory Action Research for Reclaiming the Yaakthung Indigenous Language and Epistemology. CIES Annual Conference, March 10-14 Miami, USA.
2024 Decolonial praxis in Indigenous language education. AAAL Conference, March 16-18, Houston, USA.
2024 Transforming Deficit Ideology: Building Critical Indigenous Awareness and Activism Through the Yaakthung Language, Art, and History. AERA Conference, April 12-16, Philadelphia, USA.
2024 [keynote] Decolonial education: Recentring Indigenous lifeways and epistemologies. 1st National Conference on Decolonial Education organized by Kathmandu University [January 4, 2024)
2023 Exams for the 21st century: Lessons and future directions (with Dr. Bal Chandra Luitel). National Examination Board, the Ministry of Education, Nepal.
2023 Reflecting and integrating researchers’ positionality and voice in academic writing (workshop for educational researchers) (with Dr. Peshal Khanal). Organized by Teacher Educators’ Society of Nepal (TESON). July 22, 2023.
2023 Research in Nepal’s school education: What’s happening and what should happen? (panel discussion with Uma Pradhan and Pratyush Onta) Martin Chautari. June 16, 2023.
2023 Multilingual education policies and practices (panel moderator). Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, CEHRD, Language Commission, the British Council, UNESCO and UNICEF Nepal. July 12, 2023.
2023 Writing for social justice: workshops for the faculty members at Kathmandu University School of Education, Nepal. June 1-6, 2023.
2023 Theorizing research findings: workshops for faculty members of Tribhuvan University. Organized by the Central Department of Education and Open and Distance Education Centre, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. May 28, 2023
2023 Teacher Research and inclusion and social justice in language education. IATEFL ReSIG PCE, Harrogate, UK, April 17-21.
2023 Transforming Deficit Ideology: Building Critical Indigenous Awareness and Activism of Yaakthung Indigenous Youths. AAAL Conference, Portland, March 19-22, 2023
2023 (plenary) Translanguaging pedagogy. The Southeast Asian Multidisciplinary Research Expo and Extension Conference, Sorsogon State University Philippines , March 1-4, 2023.
2022 Politics of multilingualism in South Asia. Panel member, SALA and Linguistic Society of Nepal (joint conference). November 26-29.
2022 Epistemic injustice and language education policy in Nepal. SALA and Linguistic Society of Nepal (joint conference). November 26-29.
2022 (plenary) Decolonizing English language education (ELE): Theory, praxis and implications. SONAPLES (Sociedad Nacional de Profesores de Lenguas Extranjeras en la Enseñanza Superior) 22nd Conference entitled “Interculturalism, Multiculturalism, and Decolonization in Language Teaching and Learning. Osorno, Chile, November 16-18,
2022 (plenary). Transformation as becoming: Understanding implicit and explicit transformations in participatory research. The 3rd International Conference on Transformative Educational Research and Sustainable Development (TERSD-22), Kathmandu University School of Education, Nepal.
2022. Indigenous Knowledge, Decoloniality and Resisting Deficit Ideologies: Lessons from the Grassroots. The Indigenous Knowledge and the Academy SIG (IKA SIG), Comparative and International Education Society.
2022. Language policy, language ideology and social justice. LANGUAGE, SOCIETY, EDUCATION – Monthly Zoominar Programme - Universitas Negeri Jakarta [Dr. Hywel Coleman, organizer]
2022. Languageless subject: Deficit language ideology and social injustice for Indigenous students in Nepal. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).
2022. Heritage as Placemaking: The Politics of Erasure and Solidarity' [discussant]. The 11th Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya.
2022. Language ideologies, multilingual performances, and language policy of Nepali ethnic minority families in Hong Kong. Sociolinguistic Symposium (SS24): Inside and beyond binaries. Ghent University.
2022. Language policy, indigenous language and language advocacy in Nepal. Organized Endangered Language Project on January 22,
2022. Decolonizing English Language Education (ELE): Theory, Praxis and Implications at the Far Western University International Conference of TESOL on 8 April, 2022
2022. Teacher Research and/for the Global South. IATEFL ReSIG. 30 April 2022.
2022. Indigenous Language Politics in Asia. La Trobe University, Australia. February 22, 2022.
2022. Medium of instruction and multilingual education in Nepal. Central Department of Linguistics at Tribhuvan University. June 1.
2022. (June-July) Research and academic writing workshop for faculty members at Saptagandaki Campus (Chitwan), Bhubaneshwari Campus (Chitwan), Gorkha Campus (Gorkha) and Siddha Jyoti Campus (Sindhuli) campuses of Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
2021. Sociolinguistics of Multilingualism: Space, Ideologies and Inequality at the University of Santo Tomas, Philippines on December 2,
2021. Translanguaging in EMI classroom: Theorizing translanguaging as a space of simultaneity. Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy and Planning Online Conference. McGill University's Faculty of Education, Montréal, Canada.
2021. Language, identity, and Nepali youth in Hong Kong. The 10th Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal & the Himalaya, Social Science Baha.
2021. Inequalities of multilingualism, language ideology and mother-tongue-based multilingual education in Nepal. Sociolinguistics Symposium 23.
2021. Unequal language policy, deficit language ideology, and social injustice: Critical ethnographic study of language education policy in Nepal. American Educational Research Association (AERA).
2021. Creating space for Newar indigenous language in urban schools of Nepal: Community activism and ideologies. American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL)
2021. "Ideological becoming': Critical pedagogy in language teacher education" at North South University, Bangladesh July 9, 2021.
2021. (July 1). Writing a qualitative research paper. Far Western University (Nepal) and Scholars’ Association Nepal. (More than 280 participants from around the world)
2021. Entangled language ideology: Understanding local-global tension in English language education (ELE) policy in Nepal. Kathmandu University, Nepal
2021. “Which should we maintain?” Double heritage language identities among Nepali ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. International Conference on Bilingualism, Heritage Languages and Migration. Spa
2020. (Re)imagining a multilingual city space: community activism, new linguistic landscapes, and indigenous language education. Language Futures Conference, King’s College London.
2020. (July 25) Becoming a qualitative researcher: Focus on critical perspectives. Research colloquium organized by Far-Western University Teachers' Association (FWUTA) Central Campus, Far-Western University, Nepal
2020. (July 6) Researching critical and social justice issues in education. Research methodology workshop (online) organized by Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID), Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
2019. International models and practices of L2 teaching. Invited talk by Curriculum Development Center (CDC) and Ministry of Education, Early Grade Reading Program (EGRP). Kathmandu.
2019.The role of medium of instruction in the early grades. Invited talk for the representative of local government, teachers and journalists organized by Education Journalists Group (EJG), Kathmandu.
2019. The role of medium of instruction in the early grades. Invited talk for the representative of local government, teachers and journalists organized by Education Journalists Group (EJG), Bardibaas Province 2.
2019. The role of medium of instruction in the early grades. Invited talk for the representative of local government, teachers and journalists organized by Education Journalists Group (EJG), Ilam, Province 1.
2019. Teacher agency and English language teaching in difficult circumstances. A panel organized with Harry Kuchah at IATEFL conference 2019, Liverpool.
2019. Indigenous language education in a neoliberal regime: Identity, ideologies and activism. A colloquium organized with Peter De Costa at American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) in Atlanta.
2019. Doing and writing qualitative educational research (invited 4-day workshops). Organized by Janata Multiple Campus, Itahari and Siddha Jyoti Campus, Sindhuli, Nepal.
2018. Transformation from the bottom up: Ideological analysis with indigenous youth and language policy justice in Nepal. Paper Sociolinguistics Symposium 22 (June 27-30), Auckland.
2018. Linking assessment with quality learning [an invited talk]. In a seminar organized by Tribhuvan University, Nepal (April 26)
2018. Multilingualism in Education: Unraveling Ideology, Power and Pedagogy (colloquium). In annual conference of Martin Choutari, Nepal (April 22)
2018. Recognizing multilingualism in education [an invited talk]. In a seminar organized by the Language Commission on the occasion of the Mother Language Day in Kathmandu (February 21).
2018. Does social justice matter in education? Scales of (in)justice, neoliberalism and diversity in education [an invited talk]. Research Centre for Educational Innovation and Development (CERID), Tribhuvan University, Nepal (17 January)
2017. Multilingual education: Policies, Misconceptions and Pedagogies [an invited talk]. In an interaction program on Language Policy and its Way Forward organized by National Foundations for Development of Indigenous Nationalities, Lalitpur, Nepal. (8/11/2017)
2017. Dialogue as a decolonial effort: Nepali youth transforming monolingual ideologies (with Rawal, H., & De Costa, P. I). Language Policy Research Network (LPREN) colloquium paper presented at The International Association of Applied Linguistics 2017 Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2017. Multimodality in language pedagogies (an invited paper). In a two-day seminar on Issues in English Language Teaching in Nepal organized by Department of English Education, Central Department of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. (8/10/2017)
2017. Criteria for determining official languages in the changed political context of Nepal (With C.M. Bandhu and D. R. Regmi). An invited paper for Language Commission (Government of Nepal), July 12, Kathmandu.
2017. Neoliberalism, language education and multilingualism in Nepal [an invited talk]. In Martin Choutari Research Series, June 25, Kathmandu.
2016. What counts as multilingualism? Language ideologies in mother-tongue-based multilingual education in Asia. Colloquium organizer, AAAL Conference, Orlando, Florida, April 9-12, 2016.
2016. From linguistic nationalism to linguistic neoliberalism: Impacts of language ideologies on multilingual education policies and practices in Nepal. AAAL Conference, Orlando, Florida, April 9-12, 2016.
2015. It’s not just a funeral: Indigenous youth countering dominant language ideologies in Nepal. 115th AAA Conference, Denver, November 16-20. Paper at Colloquium “Portraits of Engaged Ethnography” (Organizer, Kathryn A. Davis)
2014. Bilingual education. Invited presentation (with Kathryn A. Davis) at the Board of Education Meeting, Hawaii, Baldwin High School (Library), Maui, October 16.
2014. Critical Villagers: Language Policies ‘for’, ‘by’ and ‘with’ the Indigenous People. 113th annual meeting of American Anthropological Association, Washington D.C, USA, December 3-7.
2014. Engaged and engaging indigenous youth in language policy. Annual conference of American Association for Applied Linguistics, Portland.
2013. What counts as language? Whose language counts? Language ideologies in language policy (Colloquium Chair and Organizer: Council on Anthropology & Education, 112th annual meeting of American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago, USA, November 20-24.
2013. What counts as a language and whose language is counted? Ideologies of multilingual education in Nepal. A paper presented at the 12th annual meeting of American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago, USA, November, 20-24.
2013. Appropriating globalization in language planning: A case of private school in Nepal. Paper presented for the Colloquium ‘Language policy at global perspectives: International, national and local policy in practice’ in the American Association for Applied Linguistics, Dallas Texas, USA, March 16-19.
2013. Indigenous people in the street: Turbulent politics, redefining nationalism and multilingual identity. Paper presented in the Open Society Foundations Spring Conference, New York, USA, March 1-2.
2012. Twenty first century indigenous language plans in Nepal; ethnography of two multilingual schools. Paper presented for the invited colloquium ‘Language policy and planning from within: local ethnographers engaging communities’ in the American Anthropology Association, Sans Francisco, USA, November 14-18.
2011. Language planning: Lesson for social cohesion and disintegration? Paper presented in the 32nd Annual Conference of Linguistic Society of Nepal, Kathmandu, November 26-27.
2011. Does a policy work? Elitism, monolingual hangover and displacement of local language from Nepalese primary school? Paper presented in the 9th International Conference of Language and Development, Language and Social Cohesion, Colombo, Sri Lanka, October 17-19.
2011. Becoming creative and even more creative. A paper presented at the 16th International Conference of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Kathmandu, Nepal, February, 18-20.
2010. Towards local and emic-oriented applied linguistics. Paper presented in the 31st Annual Conference of Linguistic Society of Nepal, Kathmandu, November 26-27.
Research
2022 (PI). Developing and Implementing Multilingual Policy in a Federal Nepal. Nepal)—Funded by Forum of Federations https://forumfed.org/
2020 (Expert consultant) Resource material development to teach Nepali as a second language for mother tongue speakers. RTI and Curriculum Development Centre (Ministry of Education).
2019 (Consultant) Humanity and Inclusion (HI) Nepal to develop a program/proposal to build a safe and inclusive learning environment for the students with disability in Nepal.
2018 (Co-I) School Performance Audit. Education Review Office (ERO) (Ministry of Education) and Center for Education, Research and Social Development (CERSOD).
2018 (Co-I) National Assessment Student Achievement (NASA) Grade 5. Education Review Office (Ministry of Education) and Center for Education, Research and Social Development (CERSOD).
2017 (Consultant) World Bank national consultant for Education Review Office’s (Ministry of Education) for National Assessment of Reading and Numeracy (NARC)
2017 (PI) Situation Analysis of Teacher Motivation and Teacher Professional Development, Save the Children Foundation (SCF)/National Center for Education Development (NCED), CEADS, Nepal.
2017 (Co-I) School Performance Audit, Education Review Office (ERO), Ministry of Education/Center of Research, Education and Social Development (CERSOD), Kathmandu.
2017 (Co-I) Recovery Education in Sindhuli, with focus on Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Safe Learning Environment. Center for Alternative Development Studies (Funded by World Vision International, Nepal)
2017 (PI) Nepalese Youth Identity: Values, Perceptions and Aspiration, British Council,Nepal.
2012 (PI) Asian Development Bank (ADB), Support for the Implementation of School Sector Reform Program (CONTRACT NO. S74497)
2011 (Co-I) Multilingual education hearsay or reality? UNESCO Kathmandu, Nepal.
2010 (Co-I) Evaluation of Program for Former Children Associated with Armed Force and Armed Groups (CAAFAG) funded by Save the Children Alliance, Nepal.
Teaching
International and Comparative Education and Development Studies (Graduate)
Languages, Schools, Societies
Educational Planning in International Educational Development
Qualitative Research Methodology in Education (Graduate)
Reseach Methods in Applied Linguistics (Graduate)
Decolonial Education (Graduate)
Sociolinguistics
Educational Linguistics
Language Policy and Planning
Multilingualism and Diversity in Language Education
Bilingualism: Congition and Society
Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
Teacher Education and Development
