LANGUAGE SOCIALIZATION, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND WORK INTRODUCTION Although most language socialization research has historically been situated in homes and schools with relatively young language learners (see Ochs and Schieffelin, Language Socialization: An Historical Over- view, Volume 8), a growing number of studies investigate socialization well beyond childhood and adolescence into adulthood. An examina- tion of the length and breadth of language socialization, or “lifelong” and “lifewide” socialization, takes into account individuals’ and groups’ movement into new educational, vocational, professional, and other set- tings, and into the cultures, language and literacy practices, identities, and stances instilled there. In this chapter, I focus primarily on the linguistic socialization of learners at work or preparing for work by means of education activities and apprenticeship, keenly aware that the distinction between (higher) education and work is becoming increasingly blurred. Formal educa- tion now offers various kinds of on-the-job internships and integrative cooperative (co-op) experiences as well as traditional in-class, mixed- mode (online and face-to-face), or distance-education study. At the same time, different kinds of work may involve considerable on-site training, professional development, and implicit or explicit socializa- tion as well, especially in the context of the postindustrial, global knowledge economy. Furthermore, the traditional progression from secondary and tertiary education programs to work is not as seamless or linearly sequenced as it once was. Postsecondary programs admit a wide range of older or nontraditional students into diploma, certificate, and degree programs at various points in their lives and careers. In addi- tion, nonformal education contexts, such as community center or after- school or after-work programs, or even narrative activity about work in private homes, also provide rich sites for language socialization and preparation for work. In contemporary societies, the discourse demands of work are evolv- ing with the endless infusion of new technologies, social and industrial restructuring, outsourcing and globalization, and with the emergence of powerful international lingua francas, such as English, that mediate PATRICIA A. DUFF P. A. Duff and N. H. Hornberger (eds), Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 2nd Edition, Volume 8: Language Socialization, 257–270. #2008 Springer Science+Business Media LLC.