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“ Promoting minority languages and cultures will lead to ethnic conflict!” “Minority language learners need as much time as possible for learning ___. Don’t waste time teaching the minority language!” “ It takes too much time and money to develop writing systems for all those languages!” MLE is too much trouble. Just let those languages die and get the minorities to use the mainstream language! “
Citation preview
Language and education policies that support
MT-based MLE programs
Seminar on Multilingual EducationSeminar on Multilingual EducationKabul, 13-18 March 2010Kabul, 13-18 March 2010
Susan MaloneSusan Malone
Challenges to MLE: Perceptions about education for ethnic minority learners
“Promoting minority languages and cultures will lead to ethnic conflict!”
“Minority language learners need as much time as possible for learning ___. Don’t waste time teaching the minority language!”
“It takes too much time and money to develop writing systems for all those languages!”
MLE is too much trouble. Just let those languages die and get the minorities to use the mainstream language! “
“We cannot do MLE in the minority languages because there are no qualified MT teachers!”
“We cannot do MLE here because we cannot develop textbooks in all those languages!”
We cannot do MLE here because it will cost too much money to develop graded reading materials in all those languages!”
Range of Language and Education policies—most supportive to most restrictive
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Languages not allowed in the
classroom or on
the school
grounds
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Languages not used in
the classroo
m (teache
rs assigne
d outside
their home area)
Languages not allowed in the
classroom or on
the school
grounds
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Languages can
be used temporarily only to help
minority children understa
nd lessons
Languages not used in
the classroo
m (teache
rs assigne
d outside
their home area)
Languages not allowed in the
classroom or on
the school
grounds
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Languages can
be included
as subject;
no official
or financial support given
Languages can
be used temporarily only to help
minority children understa
nd lessons
Languages not used in
the classroo
m (teache
rs assigne
d outside
their home area)
Languages not allowed in the
classroom or on
the school
grounds
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Political & financial support
for language development & MLE
in minority language
s
Languages can
be included
as subject;
no official
or financial support given
Languages can
be used temporarily only to help
minority children understa
nd lessons
Languages
cannot be used in the
classroom
(teachers
assigned
outside their home area)
Languages are
not allowed in the
classroom or on
the school
grounds
Language and education policies
Most supportive / inclusive
Most restrictive /
exclusive
Strong MT-based MLE programs require policies that…
Recognize and give legal status to minority languages and minority language (MT) speakers
Ensure that Bilingual Education is made an integral part of formal and non-formal education systems
Provide clear directives for implementing and supporting MT-first Bilingual Education programs
Problem: some well-intentioned language and education policies are too vague…
…about the languages that will be included…about the bridging process (length of time in
each language)…about the process (and timing) of
implementation (preparation, pilots, expansion, evaluations)
…about funding for the program…about responsibilities for supporting and
sustaining the program
Do these policy statements support MLE or hinder MLE or neither? What do YOU think?
Educational policy should stress the importance of tolerance for ethnic diversity… (Pen Darith, 2002, in Anne Thomas.2003. Designing and launching bilingualcommunity-based non-formal education and extension initiatives in the Cambodian Highlands. Paper presented at the Conference on Language development, Language Revitalization and Multilingual Education, Bangkok, Thailand. November 2003).
“The official languages of education shall be English and French, both languages having the same status. The State shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country. It shall endeavor to protect and promote national languages.”
“The dominant language of the school area is used as the MOI for the first 3 years of primary school…English is taught as a compulsory subject from Year 1 through the end of HS; it is MOI from Grade 4[The national language] is taught as compulsory subject from Year 1 through end of HS. (If teachers decide it is the dominant language, it is used as language of instruction in Grades 1-3)”
[Education policy should support]… bilingual and / or multilingual education at all levels of education as a means promoting both social and gender equality and as a key element of linguistically diverse societies (UNESCO, United Nations Literacy Decade: education for all, International Plan of Action. Implementation of UN Resolution A/56/116, page 18)
…policies must also recognize the significance of mother tongue in acquiring literacy and provide for literacy in multiple languages wherever necessary (UNESCO, United Nations Literacy Decade: education for all, International Plan of Action. Implementation of UN Resolution A/56/116, page 4).
Question for Small Groups:
What should be included in a Language and Education policy for Afghanistan?
