Bilingual Education Policy Research Articles

A Comparative Study of Bilingual Education Policy between Korea and Australia: Focusing on the History of Development and Current System

A Comparative Study of Bilingual Education Policy between Korea and Australia: Focusing on the History of Development and Current System

CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE CAMEROON HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY DEFINITION: A HISTORICAL APPRAISAL

A República de Camarões além de ter sua própria identidade multiétnica, herdou duas identidades do período colonial, a inglesa e a francesa, que se estabeleceram por meio da ensino formal durante a administração britânica e francesa. Após a independência, o país adotou na educação básica12 uma política educacional bilíngüe com dois subsistemas, inglês e francês, respectivamente. No nível superior, a primeira universidade pública era bilíngue, baseada na natureza bi-cultura do país. Este artigo investiga como se dá a implementação das políticas públicas de diversidade cultural desenhadas para o ensino superior. O trabalho examina as bases, práticas e armadilhas na consideração da diversidade cultural no desenho das políticas de ensino superior em Camarões. Argumenta-se, baseado na prática em universidades estatais, que os esforços de introduzir e implementar políticas biculturais inclusivas no ensino superior foram um desastre devido a variedade de demandas exigidas pela diversidade. Utilizando uma abordagem integrada para atrelar questões inter-relacionadas, o artigo concluiu que apesar da vontade de parte do governo em garantir um sistema bilíngüe inclusivo no ensino superior, o que aconteceu foi um exclusivismo, que variou de política para a prática e os resultados.

Bilingual Education Policy and Indonesian Students’ Learning Strategies

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ language learning strategies in one private bilingual junior high school in Jambi, Indonesia. Data were collected through SILL questionnaires and face to face interviews. The questionnaires were analyzed statistically while the interviews data were transcribed and analyzed line by line from all participants. The SILL questionnaires and interviews were used to seek the students’ types of language learning strategy and the differences of language learning strategies between female and male students. Overall, the findings revealed that participants mostly used memory strategies and there were no significant differences between male and female students in using language learning strategies in learning English. Suggestions and policy implications are also discussed.

Tibetan bilingual education in Qinghai: government policy vs family language practice

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the intersection between government bilingual education policy in schools for Tibetan students and family language practices at home and looks at the implications of such practices. Summaries of empirical data and critical analysis are reported from Qinghai in China. A field study was conducted in Tibetan areas in Qinghai between 2013 and 2016. This fieldwork included school visits, observation and interviews undertaken with teachers, principals and parents. This paper draws from findings based on interviews with Tibetan parents. The results of this research provide insights into the links between bilingual education programs and family members’ decision-making processes. A major conclusion is that there are conflicts between top-down government language policies and bottom-up family language practice. These conflicts arise as Government policies discount the crucial support system parents provide for children's language learning at home and bilingual education programs in schools. Additionally, socio-economic and educational factors outside the scope of Government Language Education policies may have a significant influence on bilingual education practices, multilingual achievement and the career success of the younger generation of Tibetans.

Bilingual Education: Between Policy and Implementation in the United Arab Emirates

Effective execution of policies that builds upon objectives deployed in institutional documents can be an overwhelming task. Failing to match the desired outcomes and policies has been recognized to be a gap, and that is one of the most important hindrances of making the anticipated outcomes of any educational institution attainable. In United Arab Emirates, considerable attention has been recently devoted to policy of bilingual education. This policy has been generated and organized in a top-down manner, which in turn contributed to depriving many subordinates, mainly teachers, from the positive participation in aligning the policy with its implementation. The study aimed at exploring the inconsistency, if any, between bilingual education policy and its implementation in public school and suggested ways to better implement this policy. Two qualitative research methods were employed. The results showed that educational policy not based on scientific views does not provide successful learning. Bilingual education has proven its advantages in fostering linguistic academic achievement; nevertheless, this cannot genuinely be achieved when students’ actual level in English is critical (too low) and teacher's voices are not acknowledged. It is recommended that educational policy makers consider the results of the study to fine-tune the current educational policy to establish channels for communication between all those involved.

Bilingual Education: Between Policy and Implementation in the United Arab Emirates

Effective execution of policies that builds upon objectives deployed in institutional documents can be an overwhelming task. Failing to match the desired outcomes and policies has been recognized to be a gap, and that is one of the most important hindrances of making the anticipated outcomes of any educational institution attainable. In United Arab Emirates, considerable attention has been recently devoted to policy of bilingual education. This policy has been generated and organized in a top-down manner, which in turn contributed to depriving many subordinates, mainly teachers, from the positive participation in aligning the policy with its implementation. The study aimed at exploring the inconsistency, if any, between bilingual education policy and its implementation in public school and suggested ways to better implement this policy. Two qualitative research methods were employed. The results showed that educational policy not based on scientific views does not provide successful learning. Bilingual education has proven its advantages in fostering linguistic academic achievement; nevertheless, this cannot genuinely be achieved when students’ actual level in English is critical (too low) and teacher's voices are not acknowledged. It is recommended that educational policy makers consider the results of the study to fine-tune the current educational policy to establish channels for communication between all those involved.

Linguistic landscaping in Singapore: multilingualism or the dominance of English and its dual identity in the local linguistic ecology?

ABSTRACTAlthough Singapore, a linguistically and ethnically diverse city–state, uses four official languages, namely Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English, which are supposed to enjoy equal status, there appears to be a pecking order to these languages. English seems to be the dominant language when taking into consideration the bilingual education policy, numerous campaigns promoting its use in terms of spoken language, and language use by the media. Another mechanism that also contributes to the predominance of English over the other three official languages is linguistic landscape, i.e. language use in public space. Adopting the ecology of language as its conceptual framework and linguistic landscape as its methodological tool, this article, by analyzing public signs in and around 30 MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) stations of the Circle Line (CCL), discloses not only English imperialism but also the complexity of this language in Singapore with its dual identity as a global language as well as a local one. Consequentially, it is postulated that Singapore is monolingual- rather than bilingual- or multilingual-oriented.

Just use it! Linguistic conversion and identities of resistance amongst Galician new speakers

ABSTRACTIn recent years there has been a focus in language policy research on understanding how national policies are interpreted and negotiated by social actors on the ground. This paper looks at the interplay between government and grassroots initiatives to create Galician-speaking spaces in predominantly Spanish-speaking urban settings. While official language policies in Galicia since the 1980s have increased the potential for language use through bilingual educational policies, these policies have failed to convert the large pool of potential speakers amongst a younger generation of Galicians into active language users. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews with Galician neofalantes (new speakers) this paper looks at instances where such policies seem to have worked and where the linguistic capacity created through the education system has been converted into active language use. The article examines how such speakers rationalise their practice of linguistic conversion not as success stories of language policy but as reactions to and dissatisfaction with what is perceived as ‘top-down’ governmentality through a reflexive process in which existing power structures are brought into question. The article looks specifically as the ideologies underpinning their decisions to become active speakers and the role they play as language planners in contemporary Galicia.

Educação bilíngue para surdos/as: um estudo comparativo da escola bilíngue e do atendimento educacional especializado (AEE) na escola inclusiva

This paper aims to present the results of a comparative study of the bilingual education policy for the deaf in the contexts of the bilingual school and the inclusive school with specialized educational assistance (AEE) in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba. To answer the question how are the meanings of bilingual education, as expressed in legal documents and in the claims of the deaf movement, embodied in the conceptions of teachers in schools? We based our analysis on data collected in master's research in education, in the light of the reflections brought by authors from the field of Deaf Studies in Education. The results of the comparative study point out that there are still many challenges to guarantee the right to the mother tongue of deaf students in bilingual schools and AEE. The fragility in the knowledge of Libras and the absence of criteria that consider the linguistic fluency for the performance are common aspects in the investigated contexts. Despite the space granted to Libras, it is secondary in relation to Portuguese, which still shows up as the main language of interaction and in the curriculum. The integration of objectives of schooling and language education for the deaf, from early childhood education, with investment in policies for continuing education and reorganization of pedagogical work, are principles for the right to bilingual education to be guaranteed, whether in the inclusive school, or in bilingual schools for the deaf.

Línguas, escola e sujeito surdo: análise do ‘relatório sobre a política linguística de educação bilíngue – língua brasileira de sinais e língua portuguesa”

A partir de uma posição discursiva, o artigo propõe analisar um relatório do Ministério da Educação (MEC) sobre política linguística de educação bilíngue para surdos. Buscou-se verificar como é construída a relação do sujeito surdo com os vestígios de uma me­mória de língua interditada (PAYER, 2001) e o modo de inscrição em uma materialidade simbólica específica, a Libras, em relação à Língua Portuguesa.

How to Maintain a Minority Language through Education

This paper analyses the importance of protecting minor languages, and the problems minor languages face during China’s social transition. It gives suggestions and strategies on protecting the minor languages, such as carrying out the policy of bilingual education; what the family can do for it and what the school can do to protect the minority language.

Language Ideology of Bilingual Education Policies for Ethno-linguistic Minorities in South Korea

Language Ideology of Bilingual Education Policies for Ethno-linguistic Minorities in South Korea

Multilingualism(s) and system-wide assessment: a southern perspective

ABSTRACTRapidly changing demographics challenge education systems everywhere. Multilingualism, in particular, brings challenges in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Here we draw attention to contexts and practices of multilingual education in southern settings that differ from those in northern ones. Whereas much of the literature indicates that multilingual assessment is necessary for reasons of social justice and equity, it remains either elusive or contained to minority communities in Europe and North America. The purpose here is to draw attention to a century of system-wide bilingual and multilingual education policies, practices and assessment in South Africa. The bi-/multilingual design of large-scale assessment measures student knowledge in two or three languages (as conventionally understood). Although not anticipated in policy, it also permits students to make use of their bilingual or multilingual repertoires in high-stakes examinations. We demonstrate that, while challenging to design and administer, students' multilingual repertoires can be brought into the design of large-scale assessment. System-wide use of bi-/multilingual assessments can also address concerns of equity and social justice. Longitudinal data from system-wide assessment further indicate that code-switching and translanguaging are promising only when used to increase students' repertoires for both horizontal purposes and vertical access to language/s of power.

Language ideologies and rhetorical structures in bilingual education policy and research: Richard Ruiz’s 1984 discursive turn

ABSTRACTRichard Ruiz wrote “Orientations in Language Planning” in 1984, and it became an influential article in several language disciplines. How is it that this article became so popular and had such lasting impact? In order to answer this question, I undertook to understand the language political scene at the time, looked at his contribution within a continuing public dialogue, and assessed the impact of his contribution since 1984. Using methods from the history of ideas, testimonio, and rhetoric studies, I contextualized the article, analyzed its rhetorical structure, its impact over 30 years, and how it is currently being used in research and schooling. I found that a combination of factors contributed to its impact and lasting importance. It identified and focused on a critical juncture in the language planning field, thus promoting meta-model building in the field. His three orientations allowed for a political vocabulary for those in support of bilingual education. His timing of the article was key. Addressing the article to the broad, varied, committed communities of parents, teachers, administrators, researchers, policy makers, and other educational personnel through the NABE Journal, was key to making the several public ideologies visible. He also helped set future research and policy analytic directions.

Intercultural bilingual educational policies for transnational Indigenous communities: School experiences of the Wichí-Weenhayek people on the Argentinean-Bolivian border

ABSTRACTUtilizing Ruiz’s (1984, 1995) language orientation and language policy work, this ethnographic study compared two intercultural bilingual education (IBE) schools located in two Wichí-Weenhayek communities on both sides of the Argentinean-Bolivian border. We examined Wichí-Weenhayek and non-Indigenous teachers’ profiles, teacher-student interactions, and school-community relations. Findings showed that Wichí-Weenhayek teachers in Argentina played only teacher-aid roles and were unable to promote the Wichí language as resource. Although the Wichí-Weenhayek teachers in Bolivia taught in both languages and were in charge of instruction, these teachers did not have enough pedagogical training or materials to meet the language-as-right and language-as-resource goals of their IBE program. Regarding teacher-students interactions, the non-Indigenous teachers in Argentina used a teacher-centered model of instruction, while in Bolivia, teachers commonly interacted with their students using Wichí and employed more student-centered strategies. Finally, the school-community relationship in Argentina only happened in school because the non-Indigenous principal and teachers did not live in the same town as their students. In Bolivia, on the other hand, children and families commonly interacted with their Wichí-Weenhayek teachers inside and outside the school because all of them lived in the same town. Implications for the development of IBE programs that serve transnational Indigenous communities are discussed here.

A Standalone but not Lonely Language: Chinese Linguistic Environment and Education in Singapore Context

<p>Bilingual education policy in Singapore permits the students learn both English as working language and mother tongues, such as Chinese, as L2 anchoring to culture heritage. Starting from historical and sociolinguistic reasons, this paper is intended to provide a panoramic view of Chinese education in Singapore, clarify and compare Chinese education syllabi on different levels from primary schools to pre-university schools, cover social movement support on promoting Chinese learning and use in this multilingual society. Meanwhile, Singapore’s success in bilingual education cannot hide its own problems. The status of Chinese dialects, the competitive role of English, the rational and practicality for proficient bilingual users, the choice of teaching methodologies between L1 and L2, are all remaining open to further discussing and probing for language policy making and modification in the future.</p>

Internationalization of higher education and language policy: the case of a bilingual university in Taiwan

Universities worldwide, in placing a greater emphasis on global mobility, have recently seen a growing number of in- and outbound students. Parallel to this development has been the need to internationalize individual campuses, an important aspect of which is to have a common language (or languages) used for communication. The language policies in Asian universities have been complicated by the growing presence of international students who may only understand one of the languages used as the medium of instruction, typically English. Drawing on Tinto’s integration (Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1987) and Spolsky’s language policy (Language management, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2009) frameworks, this exploratory, perceptual study solicits the views from 38 international students on the implementation of a bilingual education policy, especially with respect to whether the policy facilitated these sojourners’ academic and social integration at a Taiwanese university that is actively advocating internationalization. The findings suggest that Mandarin Chinese continues to be the mainstream medium of instruction and social activities, while English is used rather sparingly and on an as-needed basis. The recognition of the growing economic power of China and importance of Chinese as well as the scholarships provided may have overridden these sojourners’ integration concerns and challenges arising from the underuse of English as a lingua franca.

Exploring the potential for language supportive learning in English medium instruction: a Rwandan case study

ABSTRACTThis article puts forward the argument for language supportive learning for learners in English medium instruction (EMI) classrooms based on the findings from a mixed methods study in Rwanda. The article first reviews the relevant literature and research which looks at the concept of language support, focusing on textbooks and pedagogy in sub-Saharan African EMI countries. The scant literature which exists suggests that current teaching practice and textbook design are not targeted for learners learning in a second language which frequently results in the global language acting as a major barrier to effective learning across the curriculum. The potential of ‘language supportive textbooks and pedagogy’ for addressing such a barrier is then considered through an analysis of a recent intervention in Primary 4 Rwandan classrooms. Findings suggest that language supportive learning can lead to significant improvements in learner outcomes and more effective engagement with subjects across the curriculum. Conclusions consider implications for bilingual education policies in Rwanda and further afield.

Wales: (Still) a Problem of Translation? Language Choice in Wales at the End of the Anglo-Welsh Era

In 1996 the poet R. S. Thomas claimed that ‘my country, Cymru, to be understood presents a problem of translation, and if it is to maintain a separate and valuable identity, it must continue to do so.’ Thomas, a native speaker of English, and a self-taught user of Welsh, seemed to be questioning the value of English to reflect the reality of Wales, and with it his own status as an ‘Anglo-Welsh’ poet. This inner conflict mirrored the language situation in Wales, and the lack of language choice facing writers, since native Welsh speakers carried the psychological onus of remaining faithful to the ‘old language’, and non-Welsh speakers had no choice but to use English. But the last two decades have seen considerable social, political, and linguistic change in Wales. An extensive bilingual education policy, the emergence of a Welsh language television channel, and the establishment of the Welsh assembly, seem to have halted the decline in the number of Welsh speakers, and bridged the gap between the two linguistic communities. Today writers in Welsh and in English share the same national platform (Llenyddiaeth Cymru - Literature Wales) and an increasing number of bilingual writers choose to use both languages, often translating their own work. In this paper I shall look back over a century of Anglo Welsh writing, and suggest that entrenched language attitudes in Wales, and the attendant ‘impossibility of translation’, have given way to a vibrant bilingual literary scene as Welsh writers look beyond the hills and valleys of an Anglo-Welsh tradition to the world at large.

(mis)uses of essentialism in a language policy-making context

In recent years, it has been much more common to ground sociolinguistic studies in concepts of language practices, language crossings and communicative repertoires, owing to the field’s growing recognition of the complexity and dynamism of language use. However, in language policy-making in many parts of the world, where language and education specialists are directly involved in language and education policy-making, linguistic essentialism is prevalent but sometimes a necessary component of struggles for the official recognition of marginalized languages and communities. Linguistic essentialism mainly refers to the belief that languages are separate, idealized entities, and that they represent identities and cultures which do not intersect and remain unchanging. Yet, many deployments of linguistic essentialism have led to reconfigured systems of education which have, in many contexts, resulted in more democratic and more equitable learning spaces. How can/should we respond to such kind of essentialism? These could be strategic uses of essentialism because of their deployment as provisional necessary conceptual tools for specific political projects (Spivak, 1988). However, an examination of these essentialisms shows their unchanging nature or their lack of critical self-reflection, thus failing to account for changing sociolinguistic and socio-political realities. In the Philippines, linguistic essentialisms helped institutionalize the national language, Filipino, as a medium of instruction by discursively promoting it as the language of nationalism, cultural expression and identity, and anti-colonial struggle. In the process, these discourses undermined the hegemony of English as the sole language of instruction in the country, thus resulting in the promulgation of the bilingual education policy in 1974. At the same time, however, the same discourses marginalized the role of the country’s more than a hundred mother tongues as languages of instruction, nationalism, cultural expression and identity and political struggle. Linguistic essentialisms are part and parcel of language policy-making and should be viewed and appraised in the light of historically contingent political projects that deployed them. However, they must continuously change to remain relevant, self-critically nuancing their own positions and always open to reconfigurations of languages in society.