English Education Policy in India

Ramanathan, Hema

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-22464-0_5

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…India is a diverse multilingual country with multiple languages (including English), used as mediums of instruction in schools (Israel, 2021;National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2009). English is perceived as high status in urban societies and is largely associated with middle and upper classes (LaDousa, 2005;Ramanathan, 2016). With the increasing importance of knowing English to function in the global economy, English is seen as a requisite to climb the social and economic ladder BASHYAM, COLOMER, SANTHANAGOPALAN, KINZLER, AND WOODWARD (Ramanathan, 2016).…”

Section: India As a Diverse Multilingual Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…English is perceived as high status in urban societies and is largely associated with middle and upper classes (LaDousa, 2005;Ramanathan, 2016). With the increasing importance of knowing English to function in the global economy, English is seen as a requisite to climb the social and economic ladder BASHYAM, COLOMER, SANTHANAGOPALAN, KINZLER, AND WOODWARD (Ramanathan, 2016). Indeed, the decision to make English an official requirement to join the blue-collar and white-collar workforce has even led disadvantaged communities to demand access to the language for their children (Hornberger & Vaish, 2009).…”

Section: India As a Diverse Multilingual Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Children’s language-based pedagogical preferences in a multilingual society.

Bashyam,

Colomer,

Santhanagopalan

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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A majority of the world's population is multilingual, yet children's language-based preferences have largely been studied in Western monolingual contexts. The present research investigated language-based preferences in 4-to 8-year-old children living in Hyderabad, India, a multilingual region with languages such as Telugu (official language of the state, and the native language of many children in the state) and English (medium of instruction in some schools). We presented to children novel objects and probed their selective preference to learn from different speakers (Telugu, British-accented English, or Indianaccented English). In addition, the current study assessed the flexibility of children's preferences by manipulating the learning goal (i.e., performance goal vs. enjoyment goal) and learning content (i.e., Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics [STEM] objects vs. cultural objects). Children showed a preference for both English speakers over Telugu speakers, a tendency that increased with age. This preference was especially pronounced for performance learning goals and for STEM learning content. Furthermore, children whose native language was Telugu showed a less pronounced English bias. The results of this study provide new insights into the development of language-based biases in multilingual environments. First, they highlight dual and intersecting considerations of speaker familiarity and speaker status in guiding children's choices about from whom to learn. Second, the results suggest that children's language-based preferences in a pedagogical setting are flexible, as children integrate social cues (e.g., language-based attitudes) as well as contextual cues (e.g., the learning goal) strategically. Public Significance StatementIn a rich multilingual society like India, we find nuance in children's reasoning about language. Our results demonstrate that children prefer to learn from English speakers, over local language speakers. This preference is modulated by the learning goal, learning content, and the child's native language. These findings suggest dual and intersecting considerations of speaker familiarity and speaker status in guiding children's choices about from whom to learn.

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Section: India As a Diverse Multilingual Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: India As a Diverse Multilingual Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s language-based pedagogical preferences in a multilingual society.

Bashyam,

Colomer,

Santhanagopalan

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The medium of education is also an incredibly important factor in the life of a growing child (Yaacob et al, 2014;Ng et al, 1993;Nelson, 1998). However, this is often overlooked when relocating to a new region (Ramanathan, 2016). As seen in the case study made by Reay (2002), children in a classroom environment tend to group together according to their intellectual capacities.…”

Section: Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%