Researching the Impact of English on Minority and Indigenous Languages in Non-Western Contexts

Beckett, Gulbahar H.; MacPherson, Seonaigh

doi:10.2307/3588312

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Researchers also assert that the strong promotion of English could threaten Chinese language and culture and their roles in society (e.g., Feng, 2005Feng, , 2009Guo & Beckett, 2007;Hu, 2008), as well as minority and indigenous languages that are already in danger (Beckett & MacPherson, 2005Guo & Beckett, 2007;Yang, 2005). These researchers argue that the global spread of English, of which the content-based English education policy in China is the most important recent development, is not only a product of colonialism but also a potent instrument of cultural control (Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 1995;Pennycook, 1998).…”

Section: Existing Work and Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content-Based English Education in China: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives

Beckett

2012

JCIE

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This study explores undergraduate students’ experiences and perceptions of the content-based EFL instruction at a northwestern Chinese university. It is one of the first empirical studies of content-based EFL in China. Through a three-part open-ended questionnaire administered with 34 undergraduate students majoring in finance, the study reveals overwhelming support for this approach to EFL. Participants believed that learning English and content knowledge simultaneously was helpful and that the spread of English in China can benefit the nation and its people. The findings also indicate that some participants were critical of the approach, stating that it is “shallow content teaching” and suggesting that subject matter content be taught in Chinese. The participants praised their original English texts and expressed their preference for student-centered learning.

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Section: Existing Work and Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content-Based English Education in China: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives

Beckett

2012

JCIE

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“…Some argue that, when taught correctly, English can be both integrative and empowering (Loomba, 1998;. However, we argue that the increasing dominance of the English language is contributing to neocolonialism through linguicism by empowering the already powerful and leaving the disadvantaged and powerless further behind (Beckett & MacPherson, 2005), an issue that needs attention. However, we argue that the increasing dominance of the English language is contributing to neocolonialism through linguicism by empowering the already powerful and leaving the disadvantaged and powerless further behind (Beckett & MacPherson, 2005), an issue that needs attention.…”

Section: The Hegemony Of English As a Global Languagementioning

confidence: 73%

Critical ELT Practices in Asia

Sung¹,

Pederson²

2012

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This book series is dedicated to the radical love and actions of Paulo Freire, Jesus "Pato" Gomez, and Joe L. Kincheloe.Cultural studies provides an analytical toolbox for both making sense of educational practice and extending the insights of educational professionals into their labors. In this context Transgressions: Cultural Studies and Education provides a collection of books in the domain that specify this assertion. Crafted for an audience of teachers, teacher educators, scholars and students of cultural studies and others interested in cultural studies and pedagogy, the series documents both the possibilities of and the controversies surrounding the intersection of cultural studies and education. The editors and the authors of this series do not assume that the interaction of cultural studies and education devalues other types of knowledge and analytical forms. Rather the intersection of these knowledge disciplines offers a rejuvenating, optimistic, and positive perspective on education and educational institutions. Some might describe its contribution as democratic, emancipatory, and transformative. The editors and authors maintain that cultural studies helps free educators from sterile, monolithic analyses that have for too long undermined efforts to think of educational practices by providing other words, new languages, and fresh metaphors. Operating in an interdisciplinary cosmos, Transgressions: Cultural Studies and Education is dedicated to exploring the ways cultural studies enhances the study and practice of education. With this in mind the series focuses in a non-exclusive way on popular culture as well as other dimensions of cultural studies including social theory, social justice and positionality, cultural dimensions of technological innovation, new media and media literacy, new forms of oppression emerging in an electronic hyperreality, and postcolonial global concerns. With these concerns in mind cultural studies scholars often argue that the realm of popular culture is the most powerful educational force in contemporary culture. Indeed, in the twentyfirst century this pedagogical dynamic is sweeping through the entire world. Educators, they believe, must understand these emerging realities in order to gain an important voice in the pedagogical conversation.Without an understanding of cultural pedagogy's (education that takes place outside of formal schooling) role in the shaping of individual identity-youth identity in particular-the role educators play in the lives of their students will continue to fade. Why do so many of our students feel that life is incomprehensible and devoid of meaning? What does it mean, teachers wonder, when young people are unable to describe their moods, their affective affiliation to the society around them. Meanings provided young people by mainstream institutions often do little to help them deal with their affective complexity, their difficulty negotiating the rift between meaning and affect. School knowledge and educational expectations seem as anachronistic ...

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“…These findings help explain why, in discussing the impact of English on minority groups, many authors (e.g. Bastid-Bruguiere 2001;Beckett and MacPherson 2005) argue that the national drive for English language education is further empowering the already powerful majority Han group, leaving minority and indigenous peoples further behind.…”

Section: Cultural and Linguistic Tensionsmentioning

confidence: 86%

English in China

Feng

2009

AILA

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This paper starts with an overview of the sociolinguistic context and a series of policy documents concerning English language education promulgated recently in China. It moves on to an analysis of disparities in English language education policies practised in different regions, differences between urban and rural areas, between social classes and between linguistic minority and majority groups. The juxtaposition aims to reveal what different regions and social and ethnic groups in China have in common and how divergent they can be in terms of local policies and practices in English language provision. Also discussed in the paper are issues such as tensions between the spread of English and Chinese language education, and between mother tongue, Chinese and English language education in the case of minority groups, inequality in education and other linguistic, political and cultural dimensions. IntroductionRecent scholarship on English in China has shown a consensus that the role and status of English in the society and in education have reached unprecedented heights (Hu 2008; A.W. Feng in press; Gil and Adamson in press). The exponential spread of English has been particularly evident since the turn of the century when the central education authorities promulgated a series of documents promoting the language in schools and tertiary institutions. The whole country seems to be mobilized for their implementation. Official statistics cited in Wen and Hu (2007) claim that the overwhelming majority of over 226,000,000 students in primary and secondary schools and in universities study English taught by a strong force of English teachers numbering 850,000 in the country. There is common agreement that the last couple of decades have witnessed the fastest growth in English language education.Despite the rapid increase of English use in Chinese society in general and the popularity of English language education, tensions remain high between the spread of English and the national language, Mandarin Chinese, 1 for the majority group of the country, and between the minority home language, 2 Mandarin Chinese as a second language and English as a third language in the case of a typical minority group. The provision of the English language in schools in economic and sociopolitical powerhouses and in coastal regions differs enormously from that in inland and remote regions. Even within the same geographical location, whether it is an economic and sociopolitical centre or a small town in a remote region, access to resources for English language learning can vary greatly from one social group to another. Arising out of this context are vexing issues such as social and ethnic divisiveness and inequality in education. This paper provides a general description of the

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Researching the Impact of English on Minority and Indigenous Languages in Non-Western Contexts

Cited by 37 publications

References 11 publications

Content-Based English Education in China: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives

Content-Based English Education in China: Students’ Experiences and Perspectives

Critical ELT Practices in Asia

English in China

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