Research Interests
Language ideology, language policy, sociolinguistics of multilingualism, multiliteracy, multilingual education, translanguaging, politics of English, English as medium of instruction (EMI), spatiality of language, second language acquisition (identity/affect/motivation), indigenous/minority language education, language and wellbeing, qualitative research, teacher education (agency and identity)
Selected Publications
Books
2022
(with Lina Adinolfi and Usree Bhattacharya). 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)
2022
(with Pramod Sah, Nanibabu Ghimire and Anju Lama) Teacher Agency in Creating a Translingual Space in Nepal’s Multilingual English-Medium Schools. RELC Journal, 53(2): 431–451.
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.
2017
Neoliberalism, linguistic commodification and ethnolinguistic identity in multilingual Nepal. Language in Society, 46(2), 231-256.
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 (with Kathryn A. Davis). 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
Twenty first century 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.
2011
The role of English. Voices, Issue 222, The International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), UK.
2010
Teaching English in large multicultural classes: a narrative enquiry. In T. Pattison (ed.), IATEFL 2010 Harrogate Conference Selections. IATEFL, UK.
Book Chapters
2022
(with Bal Krishna Sharma). Visual multilingualism and the making of Chinese space in Nepal. In Jerry Lee (ed.). The Sociolinguistics of Global Asias (pp. 24-41). Routledge.
2022
(with with Tania Rahman). Medium of instruction, outcome-based education, and language education policy in Bangladesh . In Multilingual Education in South Asia At the Intersection of Policy and Practice (pp. 132-148). Routledge.
2022
(book review). Translanguaging in EFL Contexts: A Call for Change by Michael Rabbidge.
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 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
(with B. Sharma). Functionality of English in Language Education Policies and Practices in Nepal. In R. A. Giri, A. Sharma and J. D’Angelo (eds.) Functional Variations in English: Theoretical Considerations and Practical Challenges (pp. 321-335). Springer.
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.), 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. and 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.
Invited Talks, Colloquia, Workshops and Conference Papers
2021 (August 26-28)
English-Medium Instruction (EMI) Policy in Asia: Unsettling language ideologies and plurilingual/translingual pedagogies (a panel co-organized with Pramod Sah). The Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy and Planning Online Conference. McGill University's Faculty of Education, Montréal, Canada.
2021 (August 26-28)
Translanguaging in EMI classroom: Theorizing translanguaging as a space of simultaneity. The Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy and Planning Online Conference. McGill University's Faculty of Education, Montréal, Canada.
2021 (July 28-30)
Language, identity, and Nepali youth in Hong Kong. The 10th Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal & the Himalaya. Social Science Baha, Kathmandu.
2021 (July 17)
Teaching and researching English in difficult circumstances. [an invited panelist for Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) 37th Anniversary Conference]
2021 (July 10)
‘Ideological becoming’: Critical pedagogy in language teacher education. The Discourse Series Seminars of Department of English and Modern Languages (DEML), North South University, Bangladesh.
2021 (July 1)
Writing a qualitative research paper. Far Western University (Nepal) and Scholars’ Association Nepal.
2021 (June 7-10)
Inequalities of multilingualism, language ideology and mother-tongue-based multilingual education in Nepal. Sociolinguistics Symposium 23, University of Hong Kong.
2021 (June 7-10)
Making of the Chinese Space: Changing linguistic landscape and urban multilingualism in Nepal [with Bal Krishna Sharma of the University of Idaho, USA]. Sociolinguistics Symposium 23. University of Hong Kong.
2021 (May 9)
Qualitative research data collection and analysis [invited talk]. Graduate School of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
2021 (April 21-23)
(Re)imagining a multilingual city space: community activism, new linguistic landscapes, and indigenous language education. Languages Future Conference, King’s College London, UK.
2021 (April 9-12)
Unequal language policy, deficit language ideology, and social injustice: Critical ethnographic study of language education policy in Nepal. A paper presentation for the panel Taking Back: The Intersection of Multilingualism and Racism through a Critical Ethnographic Lens. American Educational Research Association (AERA), USA
2021 (March 20-23)
Creating space for Newar indigenous language in urban schools of Nepal: Community activism and ideologies. A paper presentation for the panel Hearing voices and reading agency: Frontiers in southern multilingualisms at American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).
2021 (March 20-23)
Visual multilingualism, linguistic fetishism and the making of Chinese space in Nepal [with Bal Krishna Sharma, University of Idaho USA]. Paper presented at American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL).
2021 (February 24)
Entangled language ideology: Understanding local-global tension in English language education (ELE) policy in Nepal [invited talk]. Department of Management Informatics and Communication, Kathmandu University, Nepal.
2020 (December 9)
Critical pedagogy with pre- and in-service English language teachers [invited talk]. The Education University of Hong Kong.
2020 (December 7)
The internationalization of higher education [an invited panel]. Nepal Open University and STAR Scholars Society.
2020 (November 12-13)
“Which should we maintain?” Double heritage language identities among Nepali ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. International Conference on Bilingualism, Heritage Languages and Migration.
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
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.
2010
Variety and Identity of Learners’ English. A paper presented in the conference of Asian English Speech Corpus Project, Kathmandu, November 23.
Editorial Post
Guest Editor, Special Issue on Decolonial struggles in Indigenous language education in neoliberal times: Identities, ideologies, and activism. Journal of Language, Identity & Education (Routledge)
Advisory Board Member: SPELT ELT Research Journal (Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers)
International Journal of the Sociology of Language (starting January 2021)
Grants & Scholarships
2018-2020
Faculty Grants (PI) from the University Grants Commission to investigate teacher Identity Construction in higher education in Nepal.
2018-2020
Research Fellow for the project “State of Social Inclusion in Nepal” (SOSIN), Central Department of Anthropology, TU.
2017-2020
(PI) Enhancing Access Quality and Sustainability of Teacher Training/Education through the Use of ICTs and Distance Delivery Modes (collaborative project between KU, TU 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 Grants)
2019
British Council and Hornby Trust, UK for attending and presenting paper at IATEFL conference, Liverpool (April 2-5, 2019) (Travel Grant)
2018
Scholarship from Sociolinguistics Symposium 22, the University of Auckland, New Zealand (Registration fees)
2014
Open Society Foundations, Civil Society Scholars Award
2014
Open Society Foundations, Civil Society Scholars Award
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
2012
East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship, East-West Center, USA
2011
Asian Development Bank (ADB), Support for the Implementation of School Sector Reform Program (CONTRACT NO. S74497)
2011
British Council Nepal to present a paper at the 9th International Conference of Language and Development, Language and Social Cohesion, (17-19 October), Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2011
British Council Nepal (Travel grant to present a paper at the 44th International Conference of IATEFL (7-11, April), UK. (Travel grant)
2010
Gill Sturtridge First-Time Speaker Award, International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL)
2008
Centenary Scholarship (MA TESOL), UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK.
