Transcript Language Policies in Asian Countries: Issues and Dilemmas
Globalization & Language Policy Responses in Asian Contexts
Symposium on Language Issues in
EMI Universities Across Asia
8-9 June 2006 Amy B.M. Tsui The University of Hong Kong
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Expanding circle Outer circle Inner circle e.g. USA, UK 320m-500m e.g. India, Singapore 300m-500m e.g. China, Russia 500m-1,000m The three “circles” of English (Crystal, 2003, p. 61)
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The Spread of English
Is English still spreading?
Is the spread of English orchestrated / fostered and to whose benefit?
Are there forces and processes transcending the English mother-tongue world which may also be contributing to the continued spread of English? Fishman (1996)
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Globalization
Characteristics of globalization:
Interconnectivity
Intensity
Instantaneity
Simultaneity Mediational Tools (global literacy skills)
Information technology
English
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The Spread of English
Is the spread of English cultural-linguistic imperialism / neo-colonialism or the democratization of an elitist resource?
Is English a tool for economic exploitation or a multinational tool that enables former colonized regions to participate in the world capitalist system?
Does the spread of English necessarily lead to the displacement of local languages and cultural identities?
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The Spread of English
“[English] is the
inter-national
language par excellence at the close of the twentieth century, and the first language of millions of people … Many people, …, of Africa, India and Europe are fully fluent in English, even speak it as their principal language, with no loss of their cultural identity ” (Conrad, 1996, p. 21, author’s emphasis)
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Questions Addressed
Is English perceived as a multinational tool or an imperialistic tool?
What are Asian countries’ language policy responses to globalization?
Do these policies lead to the democratization of English as an elitist resource?
Or do they legitimate the hegemony of English and the cultural domination of the West?
How do Asian countries resolve the paradox of preserving national cultural identities and promoting a foreign language and Western cultures?
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Language Policy Responses to Globalization Components of Language Policy
Language management
Language practices: language varieties language use and language pedagogy
Language ideology (Spolsky, 2004)
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Language Management
Learning English as a national mission
The status of English
as an official language as a second / working language as a medium of instruction
Curriculum time and resources
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Learning English as a National Mission China: “Learning English is for the whole nation”
English study fever (yingyu re)
No. of CET test takers: 10,000 (1994) to 9.5 million (2004)
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Learning English as a National Mission Japan: Cultivation of “Japanese with English abilities” (MEXT 2002 White Paper) National Strategy and Action Plan
Ability to interact socially in English for all Japanese
A working knowledge of English for all Japanese professionals
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Learning English as a National Mission South Korea: young uh yul poong (English study fervor)
Six priority areas for development since 1995
Korean culture and Korean way of thinking (i.e., consciousness)
English language education : focus of educational reform
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Learning English as a National Mission Malaysia: English and national interest “Bahasa Malaysia has been given pride of place as the national language. The time has come to
give English significant priority
. It will be in the national interest to do so. In fact, the
national interest demands it
. (Singh, 1993, Dec 29, p.3, cited in Gill, 2004, p. 144)
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English as an official language & MOI Japan
Proposal to adopt English as a second official language (2000) Establish 100 “super” high schools using English as MOI by 2005 South Korea
Proposals to adopt English an official English, to make English the new mother tongue (1999)
Proposals created a “second crisis” after Japanese occupation (Yim, 2003)
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English as an official language & MOI Malaysia
26 (1958-1983 / 1985) years to complete Malay medium education at all levels of education
1993 / 1996: English as MOI re-introduced at tertiary level
2003: starting from P1, S1 & S6 for science and math China
English as MOI in private schools
English as MOI for science & technology in some tertiary institutions
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English as an official language & MOI Cambodia:
English displaced French as preferred medium Vietnam
English adopted as a second language over and above former colonial languages Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Bangladesh
English as MOI
Language policy dictated by linguistic preferences of international aid agencies
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Resolving the Paradox: Reconstructing National Cultural Identity through the discourse of English “A national culture is a
discourse
– a way of constructing meaning which influences and organizes both our actions and our conceptions of ourselves … National cultures construct identities by producing meanings about ‘the nation’ with which we can
identify
; these are contained in the stories which are told about it, memories which connect its present with its past, images which are constructed of it.” (Stuart Hall, 1996, p. 613, original emphasis)
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Elements of Identity Construction
Uniqueness of a nation or national culture
Shared historical memory
Future adversities and achievements of the nation
Origin, continuity, tradition and timelessness of the nation
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Resolving the Paradox
China: Re defining “national greatness”
& HK
Japan: “Deconstructing English” and reaffirming “Japaneseness”
South Korea: English as a new language of nationalism
Malaysia: Reconstructing nationalism through English
Singapore: National identity crafted in English with Asian images
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China: Re defining “national greatness”
“Only by constantly improving our
economic strength
, national defense strength, and national cohesiveness, can we remain invincible amidst increasingly intensive international competition and truly safeguard our
national sovereignty
and
national pride
.” (Jiang Zhemin; Cited in Moore, 2000, p.122 )
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China: Re defining “national greatness”
“I hope all the classes will be taught in English. I don’t worship foreign languages , but we need to exchange our ideas with the rest of the world.” (Zhu Rongji, China varsities to teach in English, 2001, September 20, cited in Gill, 2004).
Hong Kong: “Resinicization” and retention of EMI education
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Japan: “Deconstructing English” & reaffirming “Japaneseness”
1994: assimilation of foreign culture must be changed 1998: cultivation of Japanese identity as one of the aims of the national curriculum 2003: learning Japanese is a prerequisite for learning English
Deconstructing English is “removing English from the core identity of Japan” by treating it as a mere technical tool and by reaffirming the unique cultural values and qualities of the Japanese , hence maintaining cultural independence from the West (Hashimoto, 2000, p. 49)
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S. Korea: English curriculum as a mediating tool for national identity construction
“ ‘In order to win, know your enemy better.’ … Koreans can only overtake its competitors by getting intimately familiar with them” (Yim, 2003, p. 42)
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S. Korea: English curriculum as a mediating tool for national identity construction
“Koreans are very proud of their language . Their language is called Korean. Written Korean is called Hangeul. It was invented in 1443 … Hangeul is very easy to read and write. So almost every Korean can read and write. In some countries people cannot read or write because their written language is too difficult. This is not true in Korea .”
“… My history teacher says that it [Korean history] goes back as far as five thousand years ago. Koreans are very proud of our long history.
” (Ji Hak Sa II, Lesson 10)
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Malaysia: Reconstructing nationalism through English “Learning the English language will reinforce the spirit of nationalism when it is used to bring about development and progress for the country. … True nationalism means doing everything possible for the country, even if it means learning the English language ” (Mahathir Mohamad, The Sun, Sept 11, 1999, my emphasis).
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Malaysia: Reconstructing nationalism through English “We believe that a nationalist is someone who has acquired all the knowledge and mastered all the skills and is capable of contesting against the rest of the world . But they (some Malaysians) think that just being able to speak Malay makes you a nationalist, and that is wrong.” (Mahathir Mohamad, New Straits Times, December 29, 2000)
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Singapore: National identity crafted in English with Asian images “A uniquely Singaporean identity is being crafted in English, but with Asian imagery and imagination. … A major paradox is that English has emerged as the only contender for the supra link language to express a uniquely Singaporean identity and yet it is at the same time perceived to be the channel for avant garde, pseudo-westernized behaviours as opposed to conservative beliefs and practices grounded in and transmitted via ethnic languages.” (Pakir, 2004, p. 124-125)
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Democratization of English & English as a resource for democratization
Is English perceived as a multinational tool or an imperialistic tool?
What are Asian countries’ language policy responses to globalization?
Do these policies lead to the democratization of English as an elitist resource?
Or do they legitimate the hegemony of English and the cultural domination of the West?
How do Asian countries resolve the paradox of preserving national cultural identities and promoting a foreign language and Western cultures?
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“There are so many different languages in the world. Korean is the language of Korea, and Japanese is the language of Japan. … Is English especially important because it is spoken by so many different countries? What about Chinese which is spoken by the large number of people?
… One language can be more important than another. Think of English, which has become an international language. However, the most important language to anyone is the language he uses in his everyday life . To us Korean, the mother tongue is Korea. (The history of Korean language continues. …) Many Koreans think that it is better than any other alphabet in the world. It is right for us to love our own language .” (Ji Hak Sa, cited in Yim, 2003, p. 17)
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Amy B. M. Tsui & James W. Tollefson (Eds.) (2006) Language
Culture and Identity in Asian
Contexts. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
James W. Tollefson & Amy B. M. Tsui (Eds.) (2004) Medium of
Instruction Policies: Whose Agenda? Which Agenda?
Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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