Multilingual language policy and school linguistic practice: globalization and English‐language teaching in India, Singapore and South Africa

Abstract

This paper explores tensions in translating multilingual language policy to classroom linguistic practice, and especially the paradoxical role of and demand for English as a tool of decolonization for multilingual populations seeking equitable access to a globalizing economy. We take an ecological and sociolinguistic approach, depicting tensions between multilingualism and English across three national cases, at both policy and classroom level. Despite India's egalitarian Three Language Formula (TLF) of 1968, many Indian children are being educated in a language which is not their mother tongue. Singapore's bilingual education policy with English medium of instruction and mother tongues taught as second languages nevertheless leaves the linguistic capital of multilingual children who speak a pidginized variety of English called 'Singlish' out of the equation, since the school medium is standard English. South Africa's Constitution of 1993 embraces multilingualism as a national resource, raising nine major African languages to national official status alongside English and Afrikaans, yet with the freedom of movement accompanying the dismantling of apartheid, large numbers of African language-speaking parents seek to place their children in English-medium instructional contexts. Given the push for English and simultaneous official valuing of multilingualism in all three cases, we briefly consider illustrative classroom examples and argue that multilingual classroom practices can be a resource through which children access Standard English while also cultivating their own local languages.

Challenges and Strategies for Teachers and Learners of English as a Second Language: The Case of an Urban Primary School in Kenya

“…Gorman used the term 'bilingual' to refer to an environment marked by 'linguistic heterogeneity ' (p. 214) where for a variety of reasons English rapidly became the medium of instruction in primary schools in Kenya. This parallels similar developments in other countries where English has become the preferred and dominant language, such as India, Singapore and South Africa (Hornberger & Vaish, 2008). In many countries in Africa the dominance of English is a legacy of colonialism which continues to influence the implementation of multilingual education policies (Mazrui & Mazrui, 1992;Rassool & Edwards, 2010) and affects language learning, language use and language choice in bilingual and multilingual communities, schools and classrooms, such as those in Kenya.…”

Colonization and English ideologies in India: a language policy perspective

“…Azam et al (2013) found, e.g., that male fluent speakers of English earn 34 % more than non-English speakers in India, while the average increase in hourly wages was 13 % for those men who spoke some English. Disadvantaged communities in particular have been making increasing demands for English because they recognize its role as a gatekeeper to higher education and higher-paying jobs (Hornberger and Vaish 2009;Kam et al 2009). For example, a Dalit 3 community in the state of Uttar Pradesh (where the present study is based) consecrated a temple to ''Goddess English'' (Gudavarthy 2012), and other Dalit ideologues have argued that the language is key to ''opportunity and emancipation'' in India (Allen and Gupta 2015, p. 68).…”

The Implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education: Seeing It from the Stakeholders’ Perspective

“…As Williams & Cooke (2002) claim, "People view the language as a 'powerful' medium towards landing a decent and high paying job." English is also associated with economic value making it a priority in the learning of the majority to the detriment of indigenous languages (Hornberger & Vaish, 2009;Ricento & Hornberger, 1996).…”