In the climate of growing nationalistic fragmentation, aspiration for socio-economic mobility and globalised opportunities, India continues to debate over the question of language of instruction in schooling.
“30 sets of eyes stared at me as I entered the classroom with a copy of my math lesson plan in hand. It was my first lesson with the students, and I wanted it to go smoothly. I had spent hours trying to perfect this lesson plan, meticulously accounting for all the possible breakdowns or mishaps that could happen. I began with a strong hook and lectured my way through the basics of the number system. The lens of a rookie teacher didn’t notice the vacant look that engulfed more and more faces across the classroom. It was finally time for the students to voice their doubts. A backbencher stood up and politely asked, “दीदी, तुम्ही मराठीत रिपीट करू शकता का?” Which translates to “teacher, can you repeat the whole lesson in Marathi please?” My heart sank as I noted besides the column labelled possible breakdowns in my lesson plan: LANGUAGE BARRIER.”
The situation I encountered is not uncommon in many classrooms across India, especially the classrooms of students from underprivileged backgrounds. The above incident took place when I was teaching in a public school in India where the medium of instruction was English. Indeed, the textbooks the students referred to and the examinations they answered were in English. Yet, the reality was different. The students were barely proficient in the language, having been minimally exposed to it. Most of my students were first generation learners whose parents had enrolled them in the English-medium school over the choice of vernacular-medium in hopes of acquiring a better future for their children. Bhattacharya (2013) observes that in India, socio-economically disadvantaged communities view English-medium instruction as a steppingstone to higher education and higher paying jobs. However, the result of enrolling in English-medium schools is not always rewarding. Students from underprivileged backgrounds enrolled in English-medium schools in India find themselves disadvantaged in two ways - they find it difficult to cope with the language and the content taught in the language (Bhattacharya, 2013; Annamalai, 2005). Learning English takes precedence over learning the subject matter. Foundational concepts in Mathematics, Science and other subjects are hard for such students to comprehend because of the language barrier caused by poor proficiency in English. Why then would they choose English over vernacular instruction?
There are multiple benefits of knowing English in India. Firstly, English is of immense importance as a lingua franca or a bridge language in today's globalised world. It is the language of international trade and business; and it provides access to opportunities on a global scale. Secondly, it can prove highly lucrative having a basic proficiency of the language in the country. In the state of West Bengal in India, the ruling communist party (looking to prioritise the language of the proletariat) implemented a policy change which abolished English teaching in primary public schools in 1983. Chakraborty and Bakshi (2015) examined this policy intervention and found that the lack of English training in primary schooling led to a 26% decline in the wages earned by the cohort that was exposed to the policy. Hence knowledge of English in India can decide your turnover, employment prospects and is attractive to the economically challenged masses looking for upward economic mobility. Lastly, English continues to be the language of higher education in the country. With the medium of instruction at university level near exclusively in English (Ravi, 2015), students who complete their basic schooling in English-medium have an unfair advantage over the students who study in the vernacular-medium of instruction. The Wire (2017) reports the grievances of university students educated in vernacular-mediums in a YouTube short film where students of Delhi University and Ambedkar University explain the difficulties they face attending lectures that are conducted in English.
However, the allure of the English language is not solely created by the prospects it promises. Part of the appeal is predicated on the belief that it is the language of the elite. During the colonial period, the British exploited the prevalent Caste system in India and only a small proportion of Indians (usually the upper caste elite) had access to learning the language. This newly created class of English-speaking elite, who became well versed in European values and knowledge, served as mediators between the colonial rulers and its subjects (Annamalai, 2005). In today's post-colonial India, access to learning the language is unequally distributed across the population. Access to quality English education has long been the prerogative of the rich who can afford to pay for it. A larger proportion of private schools in the country offer English-medium instruction compared to government schools and it is found that parent's preference for English-medium instruction is a significant reason for the growing enrolment numbers in the private schools that are usually fee paying (Central Square Foundation, 2021). Thus, unequal access has contributed to social stratification and elite formation, just as colonial education did, with the difference being that the elite are no longer mediators, but rulers themselves who influence policies and decision making. Finally, the English-speaking elite have long propagated an orientalist rhetoric to affirm their social superiority by looking down upon non-English speakers (Rodrigues, 2021). English proficiency has thus become synonymous with societal status and fluency in the language is considered a sign of competence and intelligence.
Today, the language faces hostility from right leaning political parties in India that consider it a threat to the nation's identity and culture; and instead, lobby for an indigenous lingua franca such as Hindi (the second official language of India besides English). Although Hindi is a prominent choice, the linguistic diversity of the country poses a problem, with the non-Hindi speaking belts of India favouring their regional languages over Hindi. Besides, it would be naive to overlook the prejudicial histories of the indigenous languages of the country which are being favoured over English. Some of these native languages have perpetuated the evils of the caste-based segregation and privileging in the country for centuries. In ancient India, the choice of whether to be educated and what language it would be in, was decided by the hierarchical nature in which the society was organized. Languages such as Sanskrit or Persian were restricted to priests and princes, while the common people were educated in the local vernaculars (Daswani, 2001; Annamalai, 2005). Furthermore, Rodrigues (2021) argues that certain Indian languages are deeply interlaced with religion and caste, and English proves to be a neutral and secular language compared to its local counterparts. For instance, Dalit poet and activist Chandramohan S. finds power in writing poems in English as he feels it is not tethered to any spiritual injunctions like other Indian languages (Chandramohan, 2021). Hence, the task of decolonising the language hegemony of English in India is not as simple as replacing English with an indigenous language.
The choice of English-medium over vernacular can determine upward socio-economic mobility for the disadvantaged masses of India. This choice is evident as seen in the rise of student enrolment figures in English-medium schools (Sharma, 2020). However, not all schools that present themselves as an English-medium school, practice English instruction in actuality (Bhattacharya, 2013). Such schools tend to have poorer families in India as their target market and usually employ teachers with inadequate English proficiency. From my experience as a teacher in an English-medium public school for a low-income community in India, I observed that teaching was rarely conducted at the school in English. My own instruction was bilingual; in the local language and English, as I wanted to reduce the language barrier which caused difficulty in knowledge transfer and comprehension. Hence, such schools fail to respond to the aspirations of the parents that we discussed initially, but instead present a greater threat to education equity, as students here “become trapped in a perpetual cycle of textual translation and rote-memorisation techniques, learning for the test” (Bhattacharya, 2013, p.179). The knowledge they gain is imitative and not interpretive as Annamalai (2005) precisely notes. Moreover, the lack of support these students receive exacerbates the situation, as access to the English language is limited outside their classrooms.
The debate over the medium of instruction has been long-standing and ongoing in post-colonial India. The socio-cultural, economic, and political considerations influencing the debate are discussed in this paper. These make the solution or choice not so straightforward. However, there is an urgent need to look beyond this language debate and focus on improving the quality of education, irrespective of the language it is imparted in. Some of the ways it could be done is by improving teachers’ proficiency in English, increasing the number of higher education institutes with regional language instruction, and advising parents on the benefits of home language instruction in early childhood education. Going forward our attempts to decolonise the education system should not aim for abolishing the colonial language, rather nativizing it - taking ownership of it (Annamalai, 2005). With the global recognition of Indian English, nativizing the language can take away the nationalistic antipathy and the orientalist ideology associated with the language. Ultimately the goal would be to accept the language as an agent of progress for the impoverished masses.
Glossary
Dalit: the name given to group of people, previously referred to as untouchables, belonging to the lower strata of the Indian Caste System.
Orientalism: Derived from the works of Edward Said, Orientalism sees “the European identity as a superior one in comparison with all the non-European peoples and cultures” (Rodrigues, 2021, pp. 252-253).
Vernacular: “The term vernacular education has been used to refer to mother tongue-based education, particularly in the Pacific” (Bühmann & Trudell, 2008, p. 6).
References
Annamalai, E. (2005). Nation-building in a Globalised World: Language Choice and Education in India. In P. W. Martin & A. Lin (Eds.), Decolonisation, Globalisation: Language-in-Education Policy and Practice. (pp. 20-37). Channel View Publications.
Bhattacharya, U. (2013). Mediating inequalities: exploring English-medium instruction in a suburban Indian village school. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 164-184. 10.1080/14664208.2013.791236
Bühmann, D., & Trudell, B. (2008). Mother tongue matters: Local language as a key to effective learning. UNESCO.
Central Square Foundation. (2021). State of the Sector Report on Private Schools in India. https://centralsquarefoundation.org/State-of-the-Sector-Report-on-Private-Schools-in-India.pdf
Chakraborty, T., & Bakshi, S. K. (2015). English language premium: Evidence from a policy experiment in India. Economics of Education Review, 50, 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2015.10.004
Chandramohan, S. (2021, April 17). Claiming the English language as a Dalit poet. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/claiming-the-english-language-as-a-dalit-poet-7277032/
Daswani, C. J. (2001). Language education in multilingual India. UNESCO New Delhi. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000125246
Ravi, N. R. (2015). Structure and Organisation of Higher Education in India: A Macro-Perspective. Indian Journal of Educational Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(1). https://ccemohali.org/img/Ch%203%20Dr%20Naveen.pdf
Rodrigues, S. D. C. (2021). Colonialism, communication and cultural politics: Language and the reproduction of caste and class privilege in Goa, India. Asian Englishes, 23(3), 251-263. 10.1080/13488678.2020.1852490
Sharma, H. (2020, July 20). Share of kids in English medium steadily up, dips in poorer states. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/education/english-medium-schools-national-statistical-office-native-languages-6514045/
The Wire (Ed.). (2017, May 18). Is Higher Education in India only for those who know English? YouTube. Retrieved February 12, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1rQR5OE_C8&t=354s
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