ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING IN COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

There are two types of academic communication system prevalent in India in the issue of medium of instruction i.e the regional language system and the English language system. However, this system seizes to exist in college or university levels and the options are mostly limited to either English or one regional language of that state. The option of regional language is also often restricted and at certain places, it is only either English or Hindi. The question of how much the students are affected by this language policy of universities can be felt better when one engages himself/ herself in interacting or teaching any subject other than the language in colleges/universities. I will discuss in this paper, the effectiveness of using English as a medium of instruction while teaching in college/university and the problems students generally come across when English is not their first language. Current language politics in India is an exemplary case of the issues and controversies surrounding linguistic globalization. A primary characteristic of linguistic globalization is the increasing spread and domination of the English language, which we can capture by the term ‘global English’. As a post-colonial democracy, India provides a context for examining linguistic globalization that is generalizable to other cases. Furthermore, in juxtaposition to the homogenizing tendency of global English, India embraces multilingualism; its federal system is based on its linguistic diversity. If we narrow down then more than effectiveness, it is rather the imposition of English as the medium of instruction as the medium and it’s associated problematics will be discussed.