Beyond economy and culture: language-in-education preferences of Malaysian youth

Albury, Nathan John

doi:10.1080/14664208.2019.1680161

Cited by 7 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…While Bahasa Malaysia is the official national language, English plays a prominent role in public and private communication, particularly in urban centres, and isin combination with other languagesan indispensable element of the linguistic repertoire of many Malaysians (see e.g. Albury, 2020;Coluzzi, 2017;Pillai & Ong, 2018). It is thus acquired not only through planned instruction but, to a significant extent, through exposure to authentic communication.…”

Section: What Counts As 'Can Do' In a Glocal Malaysia?mentioning

confidence: 99%

CEFR as Language Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Local Agency in a Global Era

Savski¹

2021

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The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has become one of the most widely cited documents in language education across the globe, its influence now felt far beyond the confines of Europe, the context for which it was originally produced. In Malaysia, CEFR was given particular prominence in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 and English Language Education Reform in Malaysia: The Roadmap 2015-2025, both of which positioned the framework as the primary yardstick by which curricula were to be developed and against which achievements (or lack thereof) were to be evaluated. This paper examines CEFR from the perspective of language policy, focussing particularly on the implications this document has for local agency in the Malaysian context. The paper begins by examining the constructs of language and language education underlying CEFR, pointing in particular to how these reflect the socio-political context for which the framework was developed. The next section examines how policy texts in the Malaysian context, in particular the 2015 Roadmap, have interpreted CEFR, highlighting in particular the way that these texts (as other policies across the globe) have tended to treat the CEFR reference levels as a global standard, with little scope for local agency. The final section considers alternative, localized models for using CEFR as language policy in Malaysia, in particular how the framework may be used in support of an inclusive agenda in which diversity and multilingualism are embraced.

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Section: What Counts As 'Can Do' In a Glocal Malaysia?mentioning

confidence: 99%

CEFR as Language Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Local Agency in a Global Era

Savski¹

2021

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“…the questionnaire also ascertained the language policy ambitions of New Zealand youth in terms of what the revitalization of the Māori language ought to achieve including in respect to the status and vitality of english as New Zealand's dominant language (for more detail on methodology and findings, see cf. albury 2018a, 2016a, 2016balbury and Carter 2017;albury 2015).…”

Section: A Folk Linguistic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenging the Economic and Cultural Currency of English

Albury¹

2021

Bloomsbury World Englishes Volume 2: Ideologies

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I. INTRODUCTIONthe extensive library of scholarship in sociolinguistics -from language ideology to language practice and language policy -has proven to us in no uncertain terms that english is the world's current linguistic superpower. people study it as a second language because it promises socio-economic mobility and advancement in the global neoliberal market. Nation states around the world have responded with strategic top-down language policies whereby english is now, across all continents, a compulsory element to some extent in formative education (cf. Jenkins et al. 2011; ricento 2015;Spolsky 2009). In the Netherlands, for example, where this chapter was written, children as young as five might start to acquire english in the classroom. this early preparation makes sense. In the Netherlands, english holds ongoing prestige as a lingua franca for european integration and cooperation. Outward-looking Dutch commercial interests are often necessarily english medium, and even tertiary education is increasingly provided through english (Gerritsen et al. 2016). the story in other societies -european or otherwise -is similar. Besides english being a linguistic pivot in the global political economy, the omnipresence and popularity of cultural exports that originate from the anglo world -commonly, but perhaps not affectionately, referred to as the McDonaldization of society (Smart 1999)mean this is not undesired.the purpose of this chapter, however, is to play the devil's advocate to this established view of english. It does this by exploring examples of language ideologies at the local level that are posing challenges to the high status and prestige of english in ways contextualized by local histories, socio-economics and politics. Specifically, the chapter takes us to multilingual Malaysia and bicultural New Zealand as two divergent but nonetheless related case studies. their divergence is perhaps most obvious. Malaysia, at a crossroads in Southeast asia, hosts a Malay-speaking majority and a plethora of heritage languages spoken by its Chinese, Indian and non-Malay indigenous minorities. however, english is the language of Malaysia's internationalized free market economy, and the exploitation of multilingual repertories is the norm. New Zealand, on the other hand, is a predominantly english-speaking nation in the South pacific, but where the BLO_11_BWE2_C011_docbook_new_indd.

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“…More critics show that the use of a non-native language as the medium of science and mathematics instruction creates tensions between local and non-native languages (Albury, 2019;Amin, 2009;BouJaoude & Sayah, 2000;May, 2017;Robertson & Graven, 2019) and generates academic and linguistic difficulties (Cummins, 2000;Gervasoni, 2018;Swain & Lapkin, 2013). However, a body of research affirms that teaching and learning science and mathematics in a non-native language doesn't have any adverse effects on the development of the students' native language and subject learning through a non-native language (Admiraal et al, 2006;Krashen, 1982;Lo & Lo, 2014;Wiesemes, 2009).…”

Section: Review Of Theoretical Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…An ongoing debate regarding the choice of a non-native language as the medium of science and mathematics instruction persists in the literature. Whereas many scholars perceive teaching and learning science and mathematics in a nonnative language as a necessity in today's multilingual and global world (Albury, 2019;Amin, 2009;Lo & Lo, 2014;Manan et al, 2017;Piller & Cho, 2013;Sah, 2020), other researchers offer harsh critiques of this claim and argue that teaching and learning science and mathematics is a result of colonialism and Western influences on language policies in multilingual countries (Al Harithi, 2012;Fontana, 2017;Kubota, 2016;Martel, 1999;Park & Wee, 2012;Rollnick, 2000).…”

Section: Review Of Theoretical Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One argument of using a non-native language as a medium of science and mathematics instruction is the need to prepare youth to compete in today's multilingual and global world (Albury, 2019;Sah, 2020). Teaching and learning science and mathematics in a non-native language is perceived as a necessity to help students gain access to modern ideas and technological innovations (Jäppinen, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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School Leaders’ Perceptions of Teaching and Learning Science and Mathematics in a Non-native Language in Lebanon. (c2022)

Zaatari¹

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This study explored the school leaders’ perceptions of teaching and learning science and mathematics in a non-native language in Lebanon. The theoretical framework was based upon four main components derived from the literature: (1) The impact of teaching and learning science and mathematics in a non-native language on the academic and linguistic performance of learners, (2) the global and sociopolitical perspectives of using a non-native language as the medium of science and mathematics instruction, (3) the influence of the latter on the cultural identity and the native language, and (4) its influence on the acquisition of science and mathematics literacy. The study used grounded theory as its methodology. Data sources included a questionnaire and individual interviews with twenty-eight school leaders in public, private, and private-free schools in Beirut, Lebanon. Coding followed by categorizing the data led to five emergent themes. The school leaders mostly preferred the use of English or French as the medium of science and mathematics instruction in Lebanon. They highlighted the controversial aspect of the influence of teaching and learning science and mathematics in a non-native language on the cultural identity and the native language. They also emphasized their role in multilingual contexts and the need for language proficiency in the acquisition of scientific and mathematical literacies. They finally explained how the use of Arabic can facilitate or hamper the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in a non-native language.

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Beyond economy and culture: language-in-education preferences of Malaysian youth

Cited by 7 publications

References 37 publications

CEFR as Language Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Local Agency in a Global Era

CEFR as Language Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Local Agency in a Global Era

Challenging the Economic and Cultural Currency of English

School Leaders’ Perceptions of Teaching and Learning Science and Mathematics in a Non-native Language in Lebanon. (c2022)

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