Thomas Clayton

Retired in June 2023

Contact Information

1665 Patterson Office Tower

Research Interests

Language policy and planning
Language in Education
Cambodia
Teaching English as a Second Language

Affiliations

Linguistics

Education:

Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh

Research:

I am interested in language planning and policy -- that is, the decisions that governments and other organizations make about languages, and in the implications of these decisions for local participation, national development, and global relations. I have studied these issues extensively in Cambodia, where I directed the first U.S. educational program in the post-war era (for the State University of New York at Buffalo, 1991–1992), and where I was the first Fulbright scholar to that country (in 2000).

Administration at the University of Kentucky:

Director, MA-TESL Program, 1996 - 2006
Chair, English Department, 2006 - 2010
Director, Center for English as a Second Language, 2010 - 2017

Selected Publications

Selected Publications:

Books:

2006. Language choice in a nation under transition: English language spread in Cambodia. New York: Springer ("Language Policy" series, No. 5).
2006. Rethinking hegemony. Edited. Melbourne: James Nicholas Publishers ("International Studies in Education and Social Change" series).
2000. Education and the politics of language: Hegemony and pragmatism in Cambodia, 1979-1989. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, Comparative Education Research Centre ("Studies in Comparative Education" No. 8).

Articles:

For a selection, see Google Scholar -- "Thomas Clayton language" and "Thomas Clayton Cambodia"