This article analyzes how an international multilingual language policy was localized in the China Office of an international Non-governmental Organization (INGO) by focusing on the resolution of communication problems. The study found that overt and covert language policies work together to create a talent pool of language brokers and nodes who solve communication problems in planned and unplanned scenarios. The emergence of these roles demonstrates both individual and institutional agency in problem-solving, and the interaction of language policy at international, national, and institutional levels in shaping language practice. The article contributes a conceptualization of language policy localization centered around communication problem-solving in INGO workplaces.

Yun Zhao, Ronghui Zhao, Yuanyuan Liu