This bottom-up approach to transforming educational spaces challengesthe assumptions embedded in top-down, monolingual policies. Bydesigning schoolscapes that reflect the rich, multilingual realities ofstudents’ communities, educators can create an environment wherestudents are empowered to engage with the complexities of languageand identity.

Linguisticallyminoritised students, especially those whose languages are oftenstigmatised, experienced a shift in perception. Seeing their languagedisplayed in the classroom helped challenge negative stereotypes andpromoted acceptance, respect, and pride in their linguistic identity. Ms.Fjord reported a noticeable increase in students’ willingness to participatein English lessons, particularly among those who had previously beenhesitant or withdrawn

All learners were literate in theirhome languages. Despite the Hebrew-only policy prevalent in the Israelieducation system and reflected in monolingual signage within schools,Ms. Fjord decided to actively recompose the LL of her classroom to betterreflect the diverse languages spoken by her students.

While the socio-historical and political contexts of Israel and the UnitedStates differ, nevertheless, in both contexts, students and teachers findthemselves experiencing linguistic restrictionism and needing to respondin various ways

One approach gaining popularity is the useof the linguistic landscape (LL), or the representation of languages froma given area in public spaces. LLs include the semiotic and sensorialcomponents of the surrounding environment, including languages, images,sounds, and spatial arrangements that shape meaning-making in a givenspace (Melo-Pfeifer, 2023).

Such practices were consistently evident across observedclassrooms and appeared foundational in shaping emotionallysupportive and inclusive educational experiences for minority students

Institutionalequity must also be pursued through explicit anti-racist policies andthe dismantling of structural biases in school systems. Integratingrestorative justice frameworks into disciplinary practices can helpreshape school culture in ways that affirm students’ dignity andpromote social–emotional well-being

Studies indicate that inadequate instructional support can stemfrom cultural misunderstandings or implicit biases, leading to loweracademic performance and reduced engagement among minoritystudents

Consequently, sustaining and enhancing these supportstructures is vital to fostering equitable and inclusive educationalenvironments, particularly for minority students navigating complexsociocultural contexts

For minority students adapting to new cultural and linguisticenvironments, the ZPD highlights the value of personalized support.Instructional scaffolding tailored to cultural and language needs hasbeen shown to improve engagement and learning outcomes

Educational inequalities persist despiteinclusive policies, as minority students frequently encounter barriersrelated to language acquisition, cultural dissonance, and implicit biasin teacher expectations

his study investigateshow instructional and emotional support from teachers influence minority students’perceptions of inclusivity and their academic and emotional engagement

. Thetraining of teachers in basic language research methods will need to become more common

The design and implementation of a school language policy are ultimately the responsibility of theschool's administration

It seems a very reasonable thing to ask schools to beresponsible for much of the working end of language planning

. These studies borrow the model of ‘languagepolicies across the curriculum’ developed for London schools and extend its original focus onmother-tongue concerns to include second language, bilingual, foreign language, and social justiceissues (Corson 1999)

The micro setting of the school as a site for language planning in now receiving moreattention,

‘unless there is a school language and learning policy across thecurriculum there will be a wastage of effort and often confusion’

researchers in the area have paid very littleattention to the school as the basic context for language change.

y. Australia's ‘National Policyon Languages’ released in 1987 is an example of a policy of this kind

, language planning isconcerned with any problem area in which language plays some ro

, practitioners and theorists began to seepotential in them for small-scale but important educational reform

: Each school should have an organizedpolicy for language across the curriculum,

. Schools invarious places within Britain, in other countries of the British Commonwealth, and in the UnitedStates began to develop their own language policies, using the original document as a referencepoint.

In 1966 members of the London Association for the Teaching of English began to develop andextend their interest in the concept of ‘language across the curriculum’

t identifies areas in the school's scope ofoperations and program where language problems exist

School language policies are viewed by many in education as an integral and necessary part of theadministration and the curriculum practice of modern schools.