Dr Florence Bonacina-Pugh
Lecturer in Language Education

- Moray House School of Education and Sport, ILE
- University of Edinburgh
Contact details
- Tel: +44 (0)131 651 6359
- Email: f.bonacina-pugh@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
Moray House School of Education and Sport, Charteris Land, 4.07B
- City
- University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
- Post code
- EH8 8AQ
Background
Dr. Florence Bonacina-Pugh is Lecturer (Teaching and Research) in Language Education as well as co-leader of the Research Hub in Languages, Interculturality and Literacies in the Moray House School of Education and Sports, at The University of Edinburgh. She was Programme Director of the MSc Language Education from 2016 to 2019, when she contributed to the development of the Languages Strategy of the School and led the programme through its quinquennial review in collaboration with the Languages team.
Dr. Florence Bonacina-Pugh works in the field of Applied Linguistics and specialises in the study of Language Policy and Practices, and Multilingualism in education. Following a Post-Doctoral Fellowship awarded by the ESRC (open competion award), Bonacina-Pugh went on to develop the notion of “language policy as practice” (e.g. Bonacina-Pugh 2012, 2020; Bonacina-Pugh et al. 2021; Chen and Bonacina-Pugh, 2021), which has then been investigated in many educational contexts. She has also extensively published on issues of language choice in multilingual education and was recently invited to lead a state-of-the-art review on translanguaging in education for Language Teaching (Bonacina-Pugh et al. 2021). She has conducted research in mainstream schools with newly arrived migrants, in heritage/community schools, and most recently in Higher Education. Her recent work can be found in peer-reviewed international journals such as Language Policy; The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism; Language and Education; The Applied Linguistics Review; and Language Teaching. Her 2020 article in the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism was recently nominated for the James E. Alatis Prize for Research on Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts.
Dr. Bonacina-Pugh is the co-founder and co-chair of the Language Policy Special Interest Group of the British Association of Applied Linguistics, and its associated bi-annual Language Policy Forum.
Dr. Bonacina-Pugh is also a fully trained teacher of French as a foreign language and has taught young learners as well as adults in various institutions in the UK for 10 years. She is passionate about knowledge exchange and is the elected Chair of La Petite Ecole d'Edimbourg, the French complementary school in Edinburgh (https://www.petiteecole-edimbourg.com/), where she leads a team of 6 Trustees, supervises a team of 8 teachers teaching over a 100 children, and offers pedagogical advice.
Academia: https://edinburgh.academia.edu/FlorenceBonacinaPugh
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bOi_xoUAAAAJ&hl=en
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7714-1926
Qualifications
- Ph.D. in Linguistics, The University of Edinburgh (ESRC funded)
- MSc. in Applied Linguistics, With Distinction, The University of Edinburgh (Funded by the British Council)
- Maitrise de Francais Langue Etrangere, Université de la Sorbonne III (France)
- Maitrise de Lettres Modernes, Université de la Sorbonne IV (France)
Responsibilities & affiliations
- Chair of the French complementary school of Edinburgh (2023 - present)
- Co-Chair of the Language Policy Special Interest Group of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (2018 - present)
- Co-Chair of the Language Policy Forum, the annual conference of the Language Policy Special Interest Group of the British Association of Applied Linguistics (2018 - present)
- Co-Leader of the Language(s), Interculturality, and Literacies Research Hub, The Moray House School of Education and Sport.
- Post-Graduate Research Lead for the LIL Hub (2022 - present)
- Programme Director MSc Language Education (2016-2019)
- External Examiner of the MSc TESOL, MSc TESOL (online), MSc Management and English Language Teaching, PhD TESOL Research at The University of Stirling (2022 - present)
Postgraduate teaching
- Languages, Society and Education
- Teaching Languages to Young Learners (Course Organiser)
- Bilingual Education
- Dissertation supeprvisor
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
No
Areas of interest for supervision
I am happy to supervise MSc and PhD students in the areas of:
- Language in education policy
- Translanguaging in the (language) classroom
- Young language learners
- Multilingualism / linguistic diversity in educational contexts
- Community language education
- Internationalisation of Higher Education
Current PhD students supervised
Ali Almuhhaya - co-supervisor (with Dr. Joseph Gafaranga)
Qianyu Yang - co-supervisor (with Dr. Dario Banegas)
Past PhD students supervised
Hao Zhang - First supervisor. With Dr. Cathy Benson and Dr. Andy Hancock as second supervisors.
"Language policy in the Scottish primary classroom: The case of Mandarin language teaching".
Research summary
- Language Policy and Language-in-Education Policy
- Translanguaging
- Young language learners
- Multilingualism from a sociolinguistic perspective
- Internationalisation of Higher Education
- Community language education
- Citizenship and identity
I am fascinated by interactional data of any sorts and often use an ethnomethodological lens to understand order and fluidity in social interaction.
Knowledge exchange
Reviewer for: The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism; TESOL Quarterly; Language and Education; System; Language Policy; The Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development; Linguistics and Education; Applied Linguistics; Arts and Humanities in Higher Education; Interntional Journal of Multilingualism; The Journal of Language, Identity and Education.
Reviewer of manuscripts for: Routledge and Palgrave.
Project activity
In my career, I have led as Principal Investigator multiple successful funding bids worth a total of £277,097.2.
1. Language policy and practice in the multilingual university. PI. Seedcorn Funding. With Co-I Dr. Elisabeth Barakos and RA Dr. Qi Chen.
2. Scot or Not? Investigating conceptualizations of identity and citizenship in a referendum context. With Dr. Mairin Hennebry. Funded by Hong Kong University Faculty of Education Research Fund.
3. Language-in-education policy in migratory contexts; funded by the ESRC (PTA-026-27-2638)
4. A Conversation Analytic approach to 'practiced language policies': the example of an induction classroom for newly-arrived immigrant children in France; funded by the ESRC (PTA-031-2006-00426)
5. Classroom code-switching in a French complementary school in Scotland; funded by the British Council (Entente Cordiale scheme)
I have also been a Co-Investigator on 3 other research bids including 2 with the UKRI GCRF (for a total of £2,199,662.28 – unsuccessful).
I am currently a Co-Investigator on an AHRC Standard Grant application (£791,528.49 FEC - still pending), which builds on a preliminary study I conducted with internal Seedcorn funding (point 1 above).
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The interactional organisation of co-teaching in language educational settings: The case of Mandarin language teaching in Scotland
In:
Journal of Language, Identity & Education
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Accepted/In press) -
Language education policies for young learners in Europe
In:
European Journal of Language Policy, vol. 15, pp. 5-24
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/ejlp.2023.2
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Translanguaging in education
(33 pages)
In:
Language Teaching: Surveys and Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000173
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Spotlights on 'practiced' language policy in the internationalised university
(13 pages)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429329692
Research output: › Chapter (peer-reviewed) (Published) -
Language policy in the internationalisation of Higher Education in Anglophone countries: The interplay between language policy as 'Text', 'Discourse' and 'Practice'
In:
Applied Linguistics Review
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2019-0148
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Legitimizing multilingual practices in the classroom: The role of the 'practiced language policy'
(15 pages)
In:
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, vol. 23, pp. 434-448
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1372359
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The emergence of 'citizenship' in popular discourse: The case of Scotland
(21 pages)
In:
Citizenship Studies, vol. 23, pp. 831-852
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2019.1645812
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Researching language-in-education in diverse, twenty-first century settings
(12 pages)
In:
Language and Education, vol. 30, pp. 95-105
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2015.1103256
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Editorial (Published) -
English across cultures
(19 pages)
Research output: › Chapter (peer-reviewed) (Published) -
Categories and language choice in multilingual classrooms: The relevance of 'teacher-hood'
In:
Language and Education, vol. 27, pp. 298-313
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2013.788021
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Multilingual label quests: A practice for the 'asymmetrical' multilingual classroom
(23 pages)
In:
Linguistics and Education, vol. 24, pp. 142-164
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2012.12.006
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Researching 'practiced language policies': Insights from Conversation Analysis.
In:
Language Policy, vol. 11, pp. 213-234
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Ideology and the issue of access in multilingual school ethnography: A French example
Research output: › Chapter (peer-reviewed) (Published) -
Re-thinking practices in language policy research: from 'policy versus practice' to 'policy within practice'
Research output: › Conference contribution (Published) -
‘Medium of instruction’ vs. ‘medium of classroom interaction': language choice in a French complementary school classroom in Scotland
(15 pages)
In:
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, vol. 14, pp. 319-334
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2010.502222
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
'Medium of classroom interaction' versus 'medium of instruction': The 'code' in classroom code-switching
Research output: Contribution to Conference › Paper (Published) -
Multilingual label quests: A classroom practice in a migratory educational context
Research output: › Conference contribution (Published)
Conference details
Selected conference presentations
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence and Hao Zhang. Implementing the 1+2 language policy in Scottish primary schools: a case study of co-teaching in Mandarin classrooms. The Annual Conference of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. Queen's University of Belfast, UK. September 2022.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence. L’alternance codique: une ressource dans la classe de langue. Universite de Strasbourg. 08 April 2019.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence, Chen, Qi, Barakos, Elisabeth. Spotlights on the ‘practiced language policy’ in the international university: a case study of multilingual interaction in higher education. Paper presented at the symposium of Classroom interaction at the Internationalized university. 10th December 2018. University of Surrey, UK.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence. Discussant for a colloquium on language policy and EAL. Annual Conference of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. York. September.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence, Barakos, Elisabeth and Qi Chen. “Language policy in the multilingual university: the case of Edinburgh”. The Language Policy Forum 2018. Sheffield. May.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence. “Legitimizing multilingual practices in the classroom: the role of the ‘practiced language policy’”. Annual Conference of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. Leeds. September 2017.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence. Legitimizing multiple languages in a French induction classroom: the role of the ‘practiced language policy’. Sociolinguistics Symposium 19. Berlin, Germany. 23 August 2012.
Bonacina-Pugh, Florence and Christine Hélot. Panel organisers and chairs. Panel entitled: Language Policy in urban education: The example of France. Sociolinguistics Symposium 19. Berlin, Germany. 22-23 August 2012.
Bonacina, Florence. From ‘policy versus practices’ to ‘policy in practices’: Rethinking practices in language policy research. Paper presentation at the 2011 Annual Conference of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. Bristol. 01 September 2011.
Bonacina, Florence. Categories and language choice in the multilingual classroom: The relevance of ‘teacher-hood’. Paper presentation in a panel chaired by Marilyn Martin-Jones and Mukul Saxena. International Symposium on Bilingualism 8. Oslo, Norway. 18 June 2011.
Invited speaker
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Keynote speaker. The Jersey Language Policy Impact Conference. 19-20 October 2023.
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Invited paper presentation. Universite de Strasbourg, France. L’alternance codique: une ressource dans la classe de langue. 08 April 2019.
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Discussant for a colloquium on language policy and EAL. Annual Conference of the British Association of Applied Linguistics. York. 1-3 September 2018.
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CELIA, CNRS, Paris, France, Praticed language policiess. 27 June 2013.
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Invited paper presentation in a panel chaired by Marilyn Martin-Jones and Mukul Saxena. Categories and language choice in the multilingual classroom: The relevance of ‘teacher-hood’. International Symposium on Bilingualism 8. Oslo, Norway. 18 June, 2011.
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Invited paper presentation. Universite de Strasbourg, France. Cycle de conférences du CAREL. Politique et pratique linguistique en CLIN: Un premier espace plurilingue? 27 April 2011.
Organiser
The Language Policy Forum 2023. Fourth annual conference of the Language Policy BAAL SIG. SOAS University, UK. 13-14 June 2023.
The Language Policy Forum 2020. Third annual conference of the Language Policy BAAL SIG. Cambridge University, UK. May 2020.
The Language Policy Forum 2019. Second annual conference of the Language Policy BAAL SIG. The University of Edinburgh, UK. May 2019.
The Language Policy forum 2018. First annual conference of the Language Policy BAAL SIG. The University of Sheffield, UK. May 2018.
Researching language in education in diverse, twenty-first century classrooms. A one-day seminar funded by the ESRC Researcher Development Initiative (RES-046-25-0004), organised with Prof. D. Martin, Prof. M. Martin-Jones and Dr. Eleni Mariou; hosted by the School of Education, The University of Edinburgh. September 2012.
View my 20 publications also here: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/persons/florence-bonacina-pugh/publications/
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (Ed.). (In preparation). Language Policy as Practice: The empirical turn in language policy research. Palgrave.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (In preparation). Towards an understanding of the dynamic nature of 'practiced language policies'. In Bonacina-Pugh, F. (Ed.). Language Policy as Practice: The mepirical turn in language policy research. Palgrave.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (In preparation). Introducing language policy as practice. In Bonacina-Pugh, F. (Ed.). Language Policy as Practice: The mepirical turn in language policy research. Palgrave.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. & Zhang, Hao. (In press). The interactional organisation of co-teaching in language educational settings: The case of Mandarin language teaching in Scotland. The Journal of Language, Identity and Education.
- Hélot, C. & Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2023). Language education policies for young learners in Europe. The European Journal of Language Policy 15 (1): 5-24. https://doi.org/10.3828/ejlp.2023.2
- Bonacina-Pugh, F., Barakos, E., & Chen, Q. (2022). Language Policy in the internationalisation of Higher Education in Anglophone countries: The interplay between language policy as 'text', 'discourse', and 'practice'. The Applied Linguistics Review 13(6): 1103-1125. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2019-0148
- Bonacina-Pugh, F., Da Costa Cabral, I., Huang, J. (2021). A state-of-the-art review of translanguaging in education. Language Teaching, 54 (4): 439-471. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444821000173
- Chen, Q. & Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2021). Spotlights on 'practiced' language policy in the internationalised university. In Dippold, D. and Heron, M. (Eds.). Meaningful Teaching Interaction at the Internationalised University: Moving From Research to Impact. Chapter 9 (pp.110-122). Routledge: Oxon.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2020). "Legitimizing multilingual practices in the classroom: the role of the 'practiced language policy'". International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 23(4): 434-448. First published on-line in 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2017.1372359 Nominated for the James E. Alatis Prize for Research in Language Policy and Planning in Educational Contexts.
- Hennebry-Leung, M. & Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2019). "The emergence of 'citizenship' in popular discourse: The case of Scotland". Citizenship Studies 23(8): 831-852. https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2019.1645812
- Mariou, E., Bonacina-Pugh, F., Martin, D., & Martin-Jones, M. (2016). Researching language-in-education in diverse, twenty-first century settings. Language and Education 30 (2): 95-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2015.1103256
- Mariou, E., Bonacina-Pugh, F., Martin, D., & Martin-Jones, M. (Eds.) (2016). Special Issue: Researching language-in-education in diverse, twenty-first century settings. Language and Education 30 (2).
- Fordyce, K. & Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2015). English across cultures. In Joan Cutting (Ed.), Language in Context in TESOL (pp. 61-79). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2013a). Categories and language choice in multilingual classrooms: the relevance of ‘teacher-hood’. Language and Education 27 (4): 298-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2013.788021
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2013b). Multilingual label quests: A practice for the ‘asymmetrical’ multilingual classroom. Linguistics and Education 24 (2): 142-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2013.788021
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2012a). Researching ‘practiced language policies’: insights from conversation analysis. Language Policy 11 (3): 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-012-9243-x
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. (2012b). Ideologies and issues of access in multilingual school ethnography: A French example. In Sheena Gardner and Marilyn Martin-Jones (Eds.), Multilingualism, Discourse and Ethnography (pp. 269-282). New York: Routledge.
- Bonacina-pugh, F. (2012c). Re-thinking practices in language policy research: From ‘policy versus practice’ to ‘policy within practice’. Proceedings of the 2011 BAAL Annual Conference. London: Scitsiugnil Press.
- Bonacina-Pugh, F. & Gafaranga, J. (2011). ‘Medium of instruction’ versus ‘medium of classroom interaction’: Language choice in a French complementary school classroom in Scotland. The International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 14 (3): 319-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2010.502222
- Bonacina, F. (2010). Multilingual label quests: A classroom practice in a migratory educational context. Proceedings of the 2009 BAAL Annual Conference. London: Scitsiugnil Press.