LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION

‘Language is not everything in educationbut without language

everything is nothing in education.’(Wolff 2006)

Ajit K. MohantyZakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY

Language as a Foundation of Education

• Language Proficiency: The single most important predictor of success in Primary Grades

• Primary education is essentially language education (PPIL)

• 40% children in small towns, 80% tribal areas, and 18% children in urban schools cannot read in their own (PPE)

• The “burden of languages” (as of all ducation) is the burden of incomprehension.(PPE)

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INDIAN MULTILINGUALISM

1/30/2009 3NUEPA: Lang & Ed.

3372 MOTHER TONGUES (1576 listed, 1796 as ‘other’ languages)300 – 400 LANGUAGES22+1 OFFICIAL LANGUAGES87 LANGUAGES OF PRINT MEDIA104 FOR RADIO BROADCASTING81/41 IN PRIMARY EDUCATION (1970/98)MINORITY LINGUISTIC GROUPS>20% in half of the Districts

Relationship between Language, Power & Hierarchy: “Multilingualism of the Unequals” (Mohanty,2004)

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Educational neglect of languages leading to:

Illiteracy & relapse to illiteracy Poor educational performance Subtractive language learning in forced

submersion programs High ‘push-out’ rate Capability Deprivation & Poverty Loss of diversity(see Mohanty, 2008 – focus on tribal children)

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THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF LANGUAGE DISADVANTAGE

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WHY IS MT NECESSARY WHY IS MT NECESSARY FOR QUALITY EDUCATION?FOR QUALITY EDUCATION?

• CHILDREN LEARN BETTER IN THEIR CHILDREN LEARN BETTER IN THEIR LANGUAGELANGUAGE

• MT IS MOST COMPLETE/POWERFUL MT IS MOST COMPLETE/POWERFUL RESOURCERESOURCE

• MT REGULATES CHILD’S THOUGHT MT REGULATES CHILD’S THOUGHT (LINKS HER TO FAMILY, (LINKS HER TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY, NATURE & CULTURE)COMMUNITY, NATURE & CULTURE)

• CHILD MUST MOVE FROM KNOWN CHILD MUST MOVE FROM KNOWN TO UNKNOWN, FAMILIAR TO TO UNKNOWN, FAMILIAR TO UNFAMILIARUNFAMILIAR

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Achievement in MT Medium Achievement in MT Medium SchoolsSchools

• Bodo children perform better in Bodo medium schools than in Asamese or English medium schools (Mohanty & Panda, 2009; Saikia & Mohanty, 2004)

• Other Indian studies also show better performance in MT medium schools when SES differences are controlled (Mohanty & others: 2008;Nayak, 2007; Sema; 2008)

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• “ ….. maintaining everybody’s mother tongue(s), while learning additional languages is not only beneficial for the individual but also a prerequisite for ethnic groups and people to maintain themselves as groups which again is a prerequisite for cultural diversity” (TSK, (TSK, 2000)2000)

• Colin Baker (2006)Colin Baker (2006)– Promotion of L1 & culture in classroom is

beneficial

– Oracy & Literacy in L1 easily transfers to L2

– Literacy in a minority language is an efficient route to biliteracy

Why must Indian Education be Multilingual?

• Mother Tongue + Languages for regional & national communication + ILWC

• MT → Regional Language → National Language → English

• Meaningful participation in the wider democratic, socio-political, economic system

• Empowerment

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CLASSROOMS FOR KUI CHILDREN

Does NCP, 2005 Address the Language Issues?

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“Bilingualism and multilingualism confer definite cognitive advantages”“…evolving strategies that use the multilingual classroom as a resource”“Home language(s) should be the medium of instruction in school”“It is imperative that we honour the child’s home language(s)”“Oracy and literacy will be tools for learning and for developing higher order communicative skills and critical thinking”

NCF: Some Contradictions

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NCF (Ch. 3 on second language teaching learning) is focused on English.

Principles of MLE are conspicuous by their absenceNCF ignores the needs of children who must learn a

minimum of 3 languages (minority language, state language, national language) for access to higher education in English.

Multi-Grade Classroom

Position Papers on Language Teaching: Bundle of Compromises

Mother & Other Tongue(s): Identity & ConfusionTLF (?) vs. “Minor, Minority & Tribal languages”Mother-tongue(s) should be the medium of instruction all through the school, but certainly in the primary school.But in the case of Kendriya and Navodaya Vidyalayas, where Hindi and English are used from Class I, the practice may be continued………Where qualified teachers and adequate infrastructural facilities are available, English may be introduced from the primary level…(if not), Englishshould be introduced at the post-primary stage

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But in the case of Kendriya andNavodaya Vidyalayas, where Hindi and Englishare used from Class I, the practice maybe continued.

Mid-day Meal Timein an Ashram School

Compromises……Even in English-medium schools, mother–tongues should be developed to function as media and to allow learners to switch from one medium to the other without a change of school.The English teaching profession has consistently recommended a relatively late (Class IV, V, or VI) introduction of English, and this is reflected in spirit in policy documents. (PPE)Four Types of EM Schools: Teacher Proficiency & English in environment : Both very high, high, low or very low

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Compromises…..• “cognitive academic linguistic proficiency” (cf.

Cummins 1979) as language and thinking skills that build on the basis of a child’s spontaneous knowledge of language. This is a goal of language education, and education through language. (This discussion has most often been in the context of language education in the mother tongue.)

• This transferability is one of the premises for recommending a relatively late introduction of English: that language-in-education proficiency, developed in the child’s own languages, would then naturally extend to a new language.

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Compromises…..

• Regardless of the particular class in which English is introduced (Class I–III or Class IV, or Class V–VI), the aim at the initial levels (the first, or first two years of English) is to build familiarity with the language (through primarily spoken or spoken-and written input) in meaningful situations, so that the child builds up a working knowledge of the language.

• Multilinguality should be the aim in English medium as well as regional-medium schools.

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The Politics & Economics of English

• English & global market (the American cultural empire; McDonaldisation of world economy)

• ELT as a global business• Costs and benefits of migration of knowledge

workers• The global business of education (in English & in

higher education)• The politics of language in school education &

deception of communities• English in schools as a basis of social stratification

(from Doon Schools to Doom Schools) (Mohanty 2006:277)

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 16

English Medium Schooling:Fact and fiction

• The Myth of English medium superiority: the issues of quality of schooling and social class

• Research evidence – Indian studies questioning the EMI advantage: Mohanty1988, Srivastava et. al. 1990, Patra 2000, Nayak 2007, Sema 2008 and many others

• When quality of schooling and SES differences are controlled EMI does NOT promote better classroom achievement

• Whom does EM schools teach/cheat? How & why?

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 17

Mother Tongue & other tongue in Education

• MT medium schools promoting better education (overwhelming research evidence including Indian studies)

• Languages in education and questions of identity & empowerment (Cummins, 2009)

• But, is MT enough in India?

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 18

The English Lollipop in Indian Education:The silent elites and voiceless minorities

• Who do EM schools teach/cheat?

• Why are not facts/research evidences recognized?

• Prenatal English? Why not?

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 19

English for ALL:Can we have the cake and eat it too?

• Is English necessary and inevitable in Indian multilingual structure? ‘YES’

• Is earlier the better for teaching of English? ‘NO’(The language balloons and the balance effect theory)

• Is early English better English? ‘NO’• Can later English promote better English &

how?• Is English a ‘killer language’ or Healer

language?

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 20

English and MLE for Social Justice

• English in the MLE scheme• Promoting English for ALL• Democratizing English and distributing the

privileges: Does EMI business support an egalitarian society? Rethinking duality/multiplicity in the system of school education

• Democratization of quality of education vs. Democratizing English

Oct.10,2008 ZHCES Seminar 21

Mother Tongue or Other Tongue?Multilingualism vs. MT vs. English?

Can we have our cake and Eat it too?

Where are you?