Transcript Outline in Title - Mahidol University

Reducing Tensions for Additive
Multilingual Education through
Research
4th International Language and Education Conference
Bangkok, 6-8 November, 2013
Anwei Feng
([email protected])
University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China
Outline in Title
Reducing Tensions for Additive Multilingual
Education through Research
1. An assumption
2. A concept that begs defining
3. An argument for
 Additive multilingual education
Ultimately, I argue that high-quality research leads to
tension reduction, which is the prerequisite of MLE.
*A research project conducted in China to be used
to illustrate the points.
1. Assumption
 Tensions exist regarding MLE in all countries
(Example from China)
 At the policy level: (the Constitution vs Regional policies
and views held by policy makers, e.g., Tsung, 2009)
 In the literature: while we see notions such as MLE, equality
in education and language rights, we also see ‘to develop a
minority region, Chinese should come first’; ‘backward
(minority) culture’; ‘resistance to otherness or to advanced
Han culture’
 On the ground: frequent and fervent debates; doubts of
parents
Reasons Behind
 ‘Greater Han’ mentality (Lin, 1997) or
Linguistic fusionism (Teng, 2000)
 Concealed assimilation (Feng, 2007)
…
 Misconceptions with regard to (the
value of) minority languages and
bilingualism or multilingualism
2. Concept of Additive MLE
 Multilingualism – refers in simplistic and general terms
to competence in two or more languages. In a situation
where a minority group dominates, it typically refers to
competence in mother tongue language (L1), national
language (L2), and a foreign language (L3).
 Additive MLE – developed on the basis of Additive
bilingualism to refer to teaching and learning that aim
to add L2, L3, … to the linguistic repertoire of a pupil
whose L1 is well maintained and developed. If the
acquisition of L2, L3, … is achieved at the expense of
L1, it is Subtractive.
Terminology Does Matter
 MTB-MLE applies to many minority communities
where people still speak a minority language as
their MT.
 Additive MLE applies to all, as some communities
such as the Manchu, Tujia, and She are so
assimilated that the vast majority speak Mandarin
as L1. Attempts to teach / learn their own language
are revitalisation programs.
Example of Additive MLE
 Additive Trilingual Education (ATE) in many parts of China
(Feng, 2013) – programs developed in minority-dominated
schools that aim to nurture trilinguals who master not only
oracy but also literacy in L1, strong competence in L2, given
its absolute importance for life opportunities, and peer
appropriate competence* in L3, usually English.
*Peer appropriate competence in L3 means oracy and literacy in L3
comparable to that of the peers of the majority Han group.
Balanced trilinguals or multilinguals are rare. Thus, additive MLE should
be defined carefully in accordance with the specific context.
3. The Argument
Arguments are made from three
perspectives:
i) Economic perspective
 Cross-border trade and career opportunities (e.g.,
Koreans, Russian, etc.)
 Tourism that promotes ‘show culture’ (Naxi in
Lijiang, Dai in Xishungbanna, Inner M., etc.)
However, economic reasoning is often weak and there is a
danger behind over-emphasis on this logic. Many minority
languages become endangered owing to this logic,
including some with a long history and strong
ethnolinguistic vitality.
More Importantly,
It is argued that for MLE for minority groups, it is crucial to
go beyond economic reasoning:
ii) Correlationship between bi/multilingualism and cognition:
Research in psychology, education, and linguistics has categorically
shown evidence of additive bi/multilingualism for children’s cognitive
development.
iii) Affective reasoning: Language is an important boundary marker
and thus essential part of one’s identity, self-esteem, and human
dignity. There is a strong correlation between these and suppression.
With one’s confidence in claiming one’s identity etc., comes sociopolitical stability and ethnic harmony.
Argument in Graphics
Economic
Cognitive
Affective
Additive Multilingual Education
Educational and Socio-political Ideals
Genuine equality, social harmony, and political stability are based on mutual
respect, mutual understanding, and empathy in a culturally and linguistically
diverse society!
Questions Arise
 How can you convince me that there is a correlationship
between bilingualism or multilingualism and cognition in my
country/region? Many people I know seem to say the
opposite.
 Affectively, yes, language is important as far as one’s identity
and dignity are concerned. However, there is danger of
inculcating Quebec-style nationalism. It seems that the more
a member of a minority group is assimilated into the
mainstream, the less likely he is engaged in trouble making.
They beg convincing evidence through high quality research!
4. Quality of Research
Less convincing evidence:
 Data focusing solely on performance in the majority
language (L2) or a foreign language (L3).
 Data drawn solely from results of standard assessments.
 Data collected through an over-simplistic (quantitative)
method without taking contextual factors into account.
 Research that is isolated and thus has poor
generalizability
 …
Better Data
 Convincing data come from:
 Research that takes the multifaceted nature of minority
education into account: history, geography, economy,
demography, political relationship with the majority,
ethnolinguistic vitality, etc.
 Valid and reliable methodology
 Ethical research
 Well-coordinated research projects through concerted efforts
of many teams
 Strategic dissemination of convincing evidence easy to
understand and overwhelming
Trilingualism-in-China Project
 Questions
 Ethnolinguistic vitality (both objective & subjective)
 Language allocation in curriculum
 Perceptions and attitudes of stakeholders
 Theoretical underpinning: Threshold hypothesis
 Instruments
 A suite of 12 tools
 Execution
 Field work by 11 regional teams
Linguistic Map
Vitality at a Glance
Selected regions/prefectures/communities on a continuum
in terms of objective ethnolinguistic vitality
Communities
with L1 that
has the most
vitality
Yanbian
Qinghai
Xinjiang
Liangshan
Tibet
Gansu
Hong Kong?
Communities
with L1 that
has the least
vitality
Yunnan
Ningxia
Inner Mongolia Guangxi
Guizhou
Guangzhou?
Major Findings of Phase 1
After 5 years of research, we identified 4 models
adopted in different regions

Strong models – Aiming for additive trilingualism



Less effective or weak models – aiming for limited bi- or
trilingualism or monolingualism





Accretive
Balanced
Transition
Depreciative
Revitalisation (in Type 3 communities)
Laissez–faire models
‘Political’ models, such as Neidiban
Details on Website
 We have set up a website for the project
which contains important information for
the project, such as project aims, project
teams, project outcomes, technical papers,
briefing papers, symposia, etc.
 Let’s take a look
http://www.ied.edu.hk/triling/
Now in Phase 2
Types of Research Questions:
 What is the situation? (seeking understanding)
e.g., What are the schools really doing?
 Why is it so? (seeking explanation/interpretation)
e.g., The model is weak. Is it because of the local policies?

What happens when or if …? (taking action to see if the
situation can be improved)
e.g., Will it help if I use Model Z in this school?
Action-Oriented Phase
 First strand – To impact policy
 Policy-curriculum-implementation process at
macro-, meso-, and micro-levels for each region
 What can we do to influence policy/curriculum?
 Second strand – To identify (in)effective factors
in real practice
 Factors concerning stakeholders
 Factors concerning language allocation …
 What can we do to improve practice?
 Third strand – To plan an action
 How can we promote strong models to promote
additive trilingualism?
Final Remarks
 Tensions surrounding MLE do exist and need
addressing.
 MLE needs to be defined very carefully on the
basis of thorough understanding of the
context.
 High-quality research is an effective way to
address tensions at the policy level, given a
politically stable environment.
There is a very successful case in China. Evidence
shows MLE is most effective through both topdown and bottom-up initiatives!
C&Q
Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the generous funding received from the
Hong Kong Research Grants Council (General Research Fund 840012).
诚谢
我们真诚感谢香港研究资助局慷慨资助（研究基金编号 GRF-840012）