Contests as policy events

An innovative approach to enacting multiple foreign language planning in Shanghai

Datos Bibliográficos

ID24147253
AutoresSixuan Wang (0000-0002-3377-8033, East China Normal University), Yongyan Zheng (0000-0002-0664-3942, Fudan University)
Año2026
Páginas1-21
Fecha de publicación2026-09-16
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCurrent Issues in Language Planning (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1466-4208 • E-ISSN: 1747-7506
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14664208.2026.2734216
OpenAlexW7213409075
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas37

This study examines how the multiple foreign language education policy is enacted in practice through language contests in Shanghai, China. It draws on policy enactment theory as the theoretical perspective and the dimensions of language-in-education planning (access policy, personnel policy, curriculum policy, methods and material policy, resourcing policy, community policy and evaluation policy) as the analytical framework. The analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews revealed that Shanghai’s multiple foreign language education was promoted through a contest-based coordination mechanism that enacted dimensions of language-in-education planning in practice. The findings suggest that language contests in the context of Shanghai served as policy events through which abstract policy intentions were rendered concrete, actionable, and aligned with situated contexts. We argue that dimensions of language-in-education planning do not exist as preformed categories to be implemented; rather, they are to be enacted as emergent and observable realities through policy events such as contests that coordinate actors and mobilise resources across institutional spaces. This study also reveals that the meaning and function of policy events such as contests are not intrinsic to the event itself but are shaped by the structural position of the actors who participate in it.

Foreign language · Foreign policy · Language planning · Language policy · Public policy · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Multilingual Education and Policy