He holds a Ph.D. in educational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in TESOL and French education from New York University. His work at the crossroads of sociolinguistics, discourse studies, and educational linguistics appears widely in edited volumes and journals such as TESOL Quarterly, Applied Linguistics, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, Language Problems and Language Planning, and Language Policy, among others. He is co-editor of the Handbook of Educational Linguistics (Wiley, 2008; with Spolsky), Directions and Prospects for Educational Linguistics (Springer, 2010), Educational Linguistics in Practice (Multilingual Matters, 2011; with King), and Research Methods in Language Policy and Planning: A Practical Guide (Wiley, forthcoming; with Johnson).