English medium instruction in South Asia’s multilingual schools: unpacking the dynamics of ideological orientations, policy/practices, and democratic questions

Sah, Pramod K.

doi:10.1080/13670050.2020.1718591

Cited by 74 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…It is also important to stress that not all postcolonial contexts are the same: EMI in Hong Kong remains a marked policy decision compared to postcolonial Singapore where English is now a dominant first language for most Singaporeans. In other contexts such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh, there are huge debates surrounding social inequalities and injustices created by EMI (see, for example, Sah, 2020).…”

Section: Figure 1: Dimensions Of Emi For Comparative Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining English Medium Instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence

et al. 2021

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English Medium Instruction (EMI) has been defined as ‘the use of the English language to teach academic subjects (other than English itself) in countries or jurisdictions where the first language (L1) of the majority of the population is not English’ (Macaro, 2018, p. 19). This definition has proved to be controversial but has underpinned the work of our research group, from whose collective perspective this article is written. Debates have centred on the role that English language development plays in EMI contexts, and whether this current definitional scope is too narrow in its exclusion of English medium educational practices in Anglophone settings. Pecorari and Malmström (2018), for example, observe that some members of the EMI research community interpret EMI more broadly to include ‘contexts in which English is a dominant language and in which English language development is supported and actively worked for’ (p. 507). Similarly, Baker and Hüttner (2016, p. 502) state that excluding Anglophone contexts from EMI is ‘unhelpful’ by failing to include the experiences of multilingual students in Anglophone universities who learn through their second language (L2). A focus on multilingualism is also one of the driving forces behind the emergence of new terminology that seeks to shift focus towards the contexts of education, rather than instruction and pedagogy. Dafouz and Smit (2016), for example, prefer the term English-Medium Education in Multilingual University Settings (EMEMUS), because the ‘label is semantically wider, as it does not specify any particular pedagogical approach or research agenda’ (p. 399).

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Section: Figure 1: Dimensions Of Emi For Comparative Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defining English Medium Instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence

et al. 2021

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“…As far as MoI controversy is concerned, English medium instruction (EMI) is generally considered the key for academic excellence in multilingual South Asian schools: including India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Sah (2020) critiques EMI policies and practices borrowing the Bourdieusian notions of ‗linguistic capital' and ‗linguistic marketplace,' to explain the ideological and educational inspiration behind EMI. The endorsement of English in language policy is largely tied to its perception as a vehicle to high social positioning, quality education, and empowerment.…”

Section: Symbolic Power Of Language: a Scoping Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a Social Critique of Hegemony of English

Anwar

Ali

2021

IJonSES

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The language pyramid in the post-colonial territories as propounded by Melchers and Shaw in 2003 aptly reflects on the status of different languages in Pakistan. At the top is English, with its heritage as a colonial language. Then is the ‘national’ language Urdu which has nationalist value and is spoken by the majority as a lingua franca; while at the bottom of this hierarchy are the regional languages and their dialects. This hierarchy of languages has deeper repercussions enrooting stratification based on social class and commodification of languages. In this paper, this claim is substantiated by semiotic analysis of a social media text− an amateur video clip that went viral on Facebook in January 2021− in which owners of a high-end cafe in Islamabad mock their manager’s English. The video is only the tip of the iceberg of the symbolic and linguistic capitals of English in Pakistan. This analysis is further pleaded by the literature on the critical approach to language policy and planning (LPP). This critical approach can be traced back to the 1980s and Tollefson’s oft-cited book in 1991 that endeavors to situate LPP as a part of ongoing conflicts between the elites and the common masses. He regards that the evolution of the critical approach has widened its scope rendering it primarily sociocultural, dealing with the dynamics of status and prestige. Thus stated, this research attempts to converge the critical relational theory of Bourdieu with semiotics to address this issue of class discrimination based on the hegemony of English in Pakistan through a multimethodological approach.

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“…I have argued elsewhere (Kirkpatrick 2010) that English can quite reasonably be delayed until secondary school, allowing primary schools to focus on developing literacy in the national language and, where relevant and practical, the child's home language. Language education policy in the region needs to move from prioritising both the national language and English, and to provide for conditions favourable to the development of literacy in local languages and English (Sah 2020). Children could thus graduate from secondary school, confident in their home and the national language while also being functionally proficient in English.…”

Section: Implications For Pedagogy and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Englishes in the Expanding Circle: Focus on Asia

Kirkpatrick

2020

Russian Journal of Linguistics

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In Kachrus original classification, the countries of the Expanding Circle were those where English was learned primarily as a foreign language in schools. English did not play an institutional role within the country. As such they were norm-dependent countries relying on exonormative native speaker standards as models and targets for learners of English. In recent years, however, the role(s) of English in many Expanding Circle countries of Asia - these include the economic powerhouses of China, Japan and South Korea - have increased exponentially both within the countries (as English becomes increasingly important as a language of education, for example) and between the countries as a lingua franca (English has been enshrined as the sole working language of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for example). The aim of this article is to describe how these roles of English in the Expanding Circle countries of Asia have developed. I shall focus on the role of English as a language of education in describing how the role of English has developed within countries and on the role of English as a lingua franca in describing how the role of English has developed between the Expanding Circle countries of Asia. I shall conclude by considering the implications of these developments for English language education pedagogy and policy.

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English medium instruction in South Asia’s multilingual schools: unpacking the dynamics of ideological orientations, policy/practices, and democratic questions

Cited by 74 publications

References 26 publications

Defining English Medium Instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence

Defining English Medium Instruction: Striving for comparative equivalence

Developing a Social Critique of Hegemony of English

Englishes in the Expanding Circle: Focus on Asia

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