Overview of Language

Policy and Practice in

Education Around the
World
 Introduction
• In this chapter, the phrase language policy will mean the legislation
on and practices pertaining to the use of languages in a society-
often a nation, whereas the phrase language-in- education policy
will be used to describe the legislation on and practices pertaining
to languages or media of instruction and languages of literacy used
in basic education. As we consider language policy, it's helpful to
review the role of language in society.
• Language has many forms - for example, there is a written
form, a spoken form, a formal variety and informal varieties.

• Language also has many functions it is as medium of -

communication in different places and as language for
specific purposes. Language and languages are also given
different value by different people. Some languages are
considered prestigious while other languages are considered
to have less value. This may be related to the material
qualities of the language - the presence of a writing system or
the production of reading materials in the language.
Edwards(2009) emphasizes the fact that, in most parts of the world,
multilingualism is a reality, linked with geographical and environmental
factors as well as economic interests fueling migration. The role of power
relations is also an important theme associated with civil and international
conflict as well as the impact of colonization. More recently, the impact of
digital technologies has shaped the ways in which people communicate
and choices of when and how different languages are used.
“Linguistic diversity should not be seen as an insuperable problem, but
as a key factor in designing intervention in literacy and other areas of
development. It is not unknown for linguistic diversity to be lauded as
an important and valuable manifestation of cultural diversity, while
being described in the same context as an impossible problem in terms
of educational usage.”-Robinson (2005:3)
 Language Policy and Planning

• National governments and regional agencies such as

ASEAN or the European Union, determine language
policies, determine which languages will be used for
what purposes, including deciding on the language-
in-education policy.
• It is common for the educational argument for a specific language-in-
education policy to be subservient to the sociopolitical or economic agenda
of the nation, and that responses to multilingualism within a nation can
result in a variety of responses from policy makers. -Tollefson and Tsui
(2004:2)
• Ruiz (1984:17) identifies three perspectives on language planning in
multilingual situations. Language can be seen as a problem where
multiple languages make mass education difficult and, thus, one
language and one culture are preferred and supported, whereas others
are less valued. Alternatively, it is possible to view language as a right
and determine that speakers of non-dominant languages have the right
to maintain their ethno linguistic identity and use their language in
education.
 Examples from different
regions of the world illustrate
the challenges of determining
language policy.
 Africa
• In the 1960s, a group of linguists from nations in post- colonial
Africa and academics from around the world met to discuss the
impact of social change and national integration on language use
and language development.
• Ferguson (2006:2) acknowledges the work of Fishman (1968:7)
who described the challenges of the language policy issue in these
states as a tension between nationalism the cultivation of national
identity - and nationism- the development of "operational
efficiency in administration and economic management for the
maintenance of political stability".
• The proceedings of this Conference were published in the Fishman, Ferguson &
Das Gupta (1968) volume entitled "Language Problems of Developing Nations".
• The assumptions behind this title and their implications are worthy of critical
analysis.
• In this context, it could be said that language planning was organized around a
European notion of the nation state in which the citizens are "unified around a
common language" (Ferguson 2006:4).
• This led to multilingualism being perceived as inefficient and having the potential
to promote disunity in the early years of independence when social cohesion and
economic development were core national goals. In these models, planning is
assumed to be necessary and desirable, and language planning tends to become a
centralized process that is done by those with technical expertise and authority.
 1.2 Asia
India
• The Ethnologue lists over 400 individual languages in India, with Hindi and
English serving as central government languages. State governments have
the freedom to choose languages for local administration and education,
with 22 languages recognized for official purposes. People often use smaller,
non-dominant languages at home, business, marketplace, and education.
The language-in-education policy aims to provide elementary education in
the mother tongue for all linguistic minorities, regardless of their official
language.
1.3 Europe

• The Industrial Revolution, with the increased mechanization of

production systems and the move from agriculturally-based
economic systems, was a major turning point in social and
political history. Until the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the
early part of the nineteenth century, communities tended to be
geographically isolated and the impact of national culture on
local communities was limited (Cartwright 2006:196).
• This can be seen in the Celtic-speaking peoples of Britain, the
Basques in Spain and the Frisians of the Netherlands.
Wales

Industrialization and the resultant internal economic migration from more

rural countries to South Wale is identified as a key factor in the decline of the
Welsh Language in the early 20th century (Ferguson 2006:89). This was
coupled with migration with England and Ireland into South Wales for
employment, adding to the Anglicization of the region. This increase in
language contact meant that Welsh increasingly become a language that had
limited function in the community where English was use in multiple domains.
English speakers remained monolingual and Welsh speakers were required to
become bilingual, a unidirectional bilingualism.
Luxembourg

Language policy in Europe continues to be strongly influenced by social

and economic concerns. This is by illustrated by the changes in the
language policy in Luxembourg, a small nation- state in Western Europe
where many of the population are already bilingual or multilingual,
particularly in either French or German. The government gave status to
Letzebergesch by establishing it as the national language in order to forge
national and cultural cohesion and to mitigate against the linguistic
influences from neighboring countries.