Title : Linguistic Landscape: History, Trajectory and Pedagogy

Author(s) : Thom Huebner

Pages : 1-11

Abstract in English : Language as it appears in the public
space, often referred to as “linguistic
landscape,” has been the object of serious
academic study for over a decade,
resulting in several singled-authored and
edited volumes, numerous articles in
international journals, theses, dissertations,
eight international workshops on four
continents and at least one dedicated web
site. In Asia, studies have been conducted
in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Cambodia,
Malaysia, among other countries. A 515
item bibliography compiled by Chula alum
Robert Troyer can be found at
www.zotero.org > groups > linguistic
landscape bibliography.

Increasingly, researchers have explored
the relationship between linguistic
landscape and education, both inside and
outside of schools. In educational settings,
studies have explored the connection
between the linguistic landscape and
linguistic awareness and language
learning input. Other intersections of
linguistic landscape and education are the
dynamics of language and power and of
language and identity. Yet the full
potential for using linguistic landscape as
a pedagogical tool have gone relatively
unexplored in Thailand and throughout
Southeast Asia. The purpose of this paper
is to begin the first steps in filling this gap.
It provides a brief history of the
development of the field, describes various
methodologies employed and identifies
some current and future research
trajectories for the study of LL. It also
introduces five student papers from a
course taught at Chulalongkorn University
in the 2015 academic year. Each paper
exemplifies issues found in the public
space. Together they begin a dialog about
the implications of language in the public
sphere in Thailand.