nitobe BaldaufEngNotes

Successes and Failures in Language Planning for European Languages in Asian Nations : 

Successes and Failures in Language Planning for European Languages in Asian Nations Richard B. Baldauf Jr. Presenter 4th Nitobe Symposium, Sophia University, Tokyo 2 August 2007

Authors: 

Authors Richard B. Baldauf Jr., School of Education, University of Queensland Yeo-Chua Siew Kheng Catherine, Policy and Leadership Studies, National Institute of Education/Nanyang Technological University Singapore Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, Vietnam National University, Hanoi / University of Queensland Obaidul Hamid, University of Dhaka / University of Queensland Wu Hsin-fei, Shu Zen College of Medicine and Management, Taiwan Minglin Li, School of Foreign Languages, Ludong University, Shandong, PRC; School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia Dyah Sunggingwati, Universitas Mulawarman, Indonesia / University of Queensland Jocylen Graf, Hanyang University, Seoul, South Korea (with assistance from Kim Jae Hui and Choi Insun) Keiko Ota, Wings English Language School, Kobe Japan

Abstract / : 

Abstract / The possibilities and limits of intervention in language policies (LP) in a number of polities in East Asia are examined. The background to the language planning situation in those polities is given using summary tables that provide an overview of the language situation and language policy in the region (Handout). Then, eight polity specific examples of successes and failures in planning for European languages are given. Finally, the common threads are drawn together on the extent to which intervention in LP is possible or is limited in the East Asian region. Translated text in Japanese

Presentation Overview: 

Presentation Overview Introduction Polity case studies Bangladesh China Indonesia Japan Koreas Singapore Taiwan Vietnam Summary findings Japanese translation

Introduction: 

Introduction Paper looks across the horizontal axis of the Symposium Provides a context for the vertical axis, the in-depth studies It looks at LPP in 8 polities for trends Notes language use has been shaped by geopolitical events Examines the impact of external languages on LPP Given its high impact, English is highlighted

Introduction: Language Contact: 

Introduction: Language Contact Some factors in language spread Trade – internally, from the Arabian peninsula, Europe; Religious proselytisation – Arabic & various European languages; Colonization – conducted through various European (and Asian) languages; Languages to access overseas education and technology; Wars of aggression – links to European, North American, & Asian colonial development; The geopolitics of the “cold war”, for Russian and English; English as an economic world language or lingua franca.

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-1 Public-private domain distinction underpins English planning efforts in Bangladesh. English-Bangla is tied in sort of zero-sum relationship in the public sector. English use is limited to domains of education, higher court and parts of public administration. No restrictions on language choice in the private sector; English is penetrating more in this booming sector. Bangla-English code-mixing common among educated professionals in private sector No ‘Banglish’ at an stage; SBE the model. Is Bangladesh ESL or EFL?

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-2 Independence from Pakistan in 1971 saw Bangla used for nation-building purposes reducing the role of English from ESL to EFL. Reduced role of English in the public sector saw the establishment of English-medium education for the wealthy. Increasing numbers of metro English-medium schools marks a social divide in terms of English, socioeconomic status and geographic location of people.

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-3 English introduced in the first grade and has to be studied for 13 years Introduction of CLT in place of traditional structure-based curriculum ELT projects for professional development of teachers Little other FL language teaching occurs

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-4: 

LP Successes and Failures in Bangladesh-4 Quantitative expansion of English teaching compromises quality teaching. English teaching is largely unsuccessful. English teaching consumes a large portion of limited national resources which nevertheless is inadequate. English teaching appears to be a white elephant project for Bangladesh; state commitment to English is larger than what is permissible in view of national resources.

LP Successes and Failures in China (PRC)-1: 

LP Successes and Failures in China (PRC)-1 Russian as the first foreign language in early years: driven by economic and political motives rather than on linguistic basis, leading to unbalanced development of other foreign languages and shortage of qualified teachers for all FL and teaching materials English in the PRC: became the first FL and remained highest status since 1964; one of the three compulsory subjects for tertiary education; started to be offered for primary school students in 2001

LP Successes and Failures in China (PRC )-2: 

LP Successes and Failures in China (PRC )-2 Other European languages – not national but encouraged at all levels by government. Major ones available: French, Russian, German, Spanish, plus Japanese and Korean Successes and failures: Success in implementing national policies to spread Russian and then English; Failure in systematic foreign language planning, e.g., shortage of teachers, unrealistic curriculum, unsuccessful English education in primary schools, etc.

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -1 Early local language as mother tongue available in some districts only Bahasa Indonesia as national and official language: Kindergarten to tertiary education English a compulsory subject from primary to university level Despite 6 changes to the curriculum, English proficiency not acceptable; students unable to speak

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -2 Limited teaching of foreign languages: German, French, Arabic, Japanese, or Mandarin Taught secondary and tertiary level Secondary level: in Language Department from Grade 11 Relies on the limited availability of specialist teachers

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Indonesia -3 European languages in non formal education – in big cities Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, and Medan or through auspices of foreign governments Similarities: selected teachers, small classes, supporting facilities, language laboratories, good learning. Non formal, European language teaching provides a model for success compared to formal education in English taught as the first foreign language.

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-1 Overview: Actual foreign language use in Japan increasing interactions with other Asian countries Limited European language use FL Policy: English = “an international language” “a necessary tool”

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-2 : 

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-2 Exclusive Promotion of English: “Action Plan to Cultivate Japanese with English Ability” SELHi The JET Progamme ELT in elementary schools Other European Languages: gradual change toward diversity

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Japan-3 Private Sector: Powerful agency Annual Sales:136 billion yen 797 thousand students Native speakers=role model Conclusion: Strong inclination toward English Anglo-American role model? Public view = poor outcomes Popularity of private schools Necessity to learn English outside school system Action Plan

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -1 Situation in the two Koreas different North Korea little is known. Little outside contact so little actual need. Chinese, Russian and since 1964 English. English learning increasing to be able to understand Korean language use in the South.

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -2 South Korea English compulsory from Grade 3 Strong emphasis on learning English Dissatisfaction with public education results Many study abroad, after school, language villages. Other FL available at secondary level as 3rd languages but rarely chosen Most popular are Chinese characters, Japanese, Chinese, German and French

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Koreas -3 Intensive learning of English for economic security American English the favored variety As Europeans learn English, demand for French and German falls Arabic and Spanish niche languages increase for trade Japanese and Chinese becoming more popular Other FL programs at University level in decline

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-1 Major foreign language policies changed with shift of political parties from overtly encouraging  effectively supervising Nationalist Party or the Kuomintang (KMT) was in power from 1949 to 2000; MOE established Applied Foreign Languages programs in 1993 Democratic Progress Party (DPP) since 2000 MOE focus on evaluating quality; English as a semi-official language by 2008

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-2 Successes and failures of the LP by the MOE in the KMT era More students got to major in English by enrolling in the AFL departments. More people were aware of the importance of English to Taiwan’s future development in the globalization. Without a proper evaluation mechanism, the general English major students’ language proficiency has not been enhanced but declined compared to that of other Asian countries.

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-3 Successes and failures of the LP by the MOE in the DPP era  Get rid of the unqualified AFL departments in all the tertiary level institutions with their own language planning.  Set up concrete goals: (English/Mandarin) Bilingual campus (inc., all the web pages) Bilingual city, street and business signs  Practical implementation difficulties still exist.

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-4: 

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-4 Current implementation difficulties—from an insider’s viewpoints 1. For technology and vocation (TAV) education, English for special purpose (ESP) curricula still need much cross-disciplinary cooperation. 2. A language-in-education policy like “Speaking English Only Day” is still hard to implement on campus due to EFL teachers’ and learners’ psychological barriers.

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-5: 

LP Successes and Failures in Taiwan-5 3. A Lack of globalization viewpoints: Ss generally lack of motivations, purposes or goals for learning foreign languages, unless it’s for passing exams. Exchange programs might help on this issue. Conclusion Insider’s viewpoints should be included in the government’s language plans to avoid unqualified language education and to achieve goals efficiently.

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -1 Human resources are seen as the key to development – human capital for nation building, i.e. education. Fosters English knowing bilingualism with Mandarin, Malay and Tamil as mother tongues. Speak Mandarin campaign displaces Chinese dialects from 1989 English is gatekeeper and taught as a first language

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -2 English L1 population is increasing, but so is the use of Singlish (Speak Good English campaign from 2000) and the need to teach mother tongues as SLs (Mandarin & Tamil). Top HS students given the opportunity to study a third language, French, German Little incentive or desire to study third languages

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Singapore -3 Policy successes in moving to an English speaking bilingualism; moving to Mandarin over dialects Policy uncertainity over maintenance of mother tongues; control over standard variety of English Economic focus on English as a lingua franca has reduced diversity; created socio-economic language-based distinctions.

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-1: 

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-1 Major factors Colonization (e.g French, English) Diplomat relation (e.g Russian) Economic Reforms and Trend ( e.g English)

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-2: 

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-2 Data from a recent survey showed that of all junior secondary schools, 99.1 per cent teach English, while only 0.6 per cent teach French, 0.2 per cent Russian, and 0.1 per cent Chinese (Loc, 2005).This reflects the role of different foreign language in Vietnam

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-3: 

LP Successes and Failures in Vietnam-3

Summary of Issues: 

Summary of Issues Role of languages of European origin in modern Asia Increase in teaching of Asian languages Early introduction of English English and changes to the language ecology English in Asia: Indigenization and objections Identity, linguistic rights, transnationalism in Asia Resource implications

The role of languages of European origin in modern Asia: 

The role of languages of European origin in modern Asia Beyond English teaching, languages of European origin are not widely taught or available through the public system in Asia. Not necessarily learned for their use in Europe, but for their use as world languages in Africa and Latin America. Much support occurs through foreign government programs, or private ethnic sponsored groups.

The increase in teaching of Asian languages: 

The increase in teaching of Asian languages In North Asia there seems to be an increase in the teaching of other Asian languages. (Ch, Jp, Kr) While English may be the general lingua franca, north Asians are also increasingly learning each other’s languages as foreign languages. As space in the curriculum is limited, there is a danger in looking just at European languages in Asian polities rather than considering the whole language teaching ecology.

The early introduction of English: 

The early introduction of English Nunan (2003) – Trend for English being introduced at an early age has intensified under pressure of economic competition. Such teaching requires: massive funding; special early childhood teacher training; teachers with excellent language skills; books; materials. As with much LP’, the decision is mainly political; against FL research evidence available? Predict massive failures for such programs and the waste of resources.

English and changes to the language ecology: 

English and changes to the language ecology As English has become increasingly important in Asia, it has had an impact on other languages. Singapore – it has increased as a mother tongue; requires a change in the way Mandarin (and Tamil) are taught in schools with Mandarin SL programs being trialed Its increasing presence in the curriculum may reduce space for other languages to be taught, including minority languages.

English in Asia: Indigenization and objections: 

English in Asia: Indigenization and objections A cline of English varieties from ‘standard’ English to substrate varieties – indicating both indigenization and identity markers (e.g. Singlish, Manglish, Chinglish and Japlish, Banglish?). Resistance to spread of English or other foreign languages more difficult to cite; e.g. increased social stratification in Bangladesh? Despite English being a required subject in many polities, many students seem demotivated. Is this resistance, and/or problems related to instruction.

Identity, linguistic rights and transnationalism in Asia: 

Identity, linguistic rights and transnationalism in Asia The increased presence of English in a fixed length curriculum, means something else must go. Most new introductions – except for programs like teaching mathematics and science in English in Malaysia from Form 1 – do not make use of bilingual principles. Curricular additions put pressures on 3rd languages, whether they are minority languages or 2nd foreign languages.

Resource implications: 

Resource implications Language programs are inherently expensive; problems of finance for some countries in Asia. Bangladesh and Indonesia – funding for normal programs, the training of teachers, etc. is inadequate. Little or no funding for languages which consume a lot of resources. Much European language teaching relies on funding from foreign donors. So, European foreign language teaching seems unlikely to increase.

Conclusions: 

Conclusions Much of Asia has always been multilingual Underlying language learning strategy shifting to English knowing bilingualism English is becoming an Asian language; indigenized and used for local intercultural communication. Where this process is advanced, concern about how English is affecting the mother tongues, plus the growing development of local English varieties. Globalization is putting pressure on minority languages and the resources available to teach them.