Two Languages in the Classroom: The Inconsistency Between National and Local Objectives of Formal Education in Cyprus

Abstract

This study investigates the complex interplay between national and local objectives of formal education in the bidialectal context of Cyprus. Even though the state and the Ministry of Education and Culture urge teachers to employ the standard language variety in education, the dialect is often used as a medium of interaction and even instruction during class time. Specifically, this study examines in which communicative interactions in the classroom language becomes a salient feature of the interaction and whether patterns arise as regards the factors that influence teachers' and learners' selection of one or the other language variety. Data collected from kindergarten, primary, and secondary education via class observations suggest that teachers' differing language practices are largely influenced by the subject area they teach and more often than not inconsistencies arise in connection with the state's national objectives of formal education and the school's or teacher's local objectives in the classroom.