The Politics of English Language Education and Social Inequality: Global Pressures, National Priorities and Schooling in India

This book examines the problematic consequences of colonial legacies of language policies and English language education in the multilingual contexts of the Global South, using a postcolonial lens to explore the raciolinguistics of language hierarchies that result in students from low-income backgrounds losing their mother tongues without acquiring academic fluency in English. It analyzes the specific context of India, where ambiguous language policies have led to uneasy tensions between English, national and state languages, and students' linguistic diversity is mistaken for cognitive deficits. The authors present solutions of decolonial resistance to linguistic hierarchies, including critical pedagogical alternatives to bilingual education and opportunities for increased teacher agency.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 30 December 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This book delves into the intricate and problematic consequences of colonial legacies in language policies and English language education within the multilingual contexts of the Global South. Employing a postcolonial lens, it explores the raciolinguistic dynamics that perpetuate language hierarchies, leading to the loss of mother tongues among students from low-income backgrounds while failing to achieve academic fluency in English. Through a comprehensive analysis of findings from five major research projects, the book sheds light on the specific context of India, where ambiguous language policies have created uneasy tensions between English, national, and state languages, often resulting in the stigmatization of students' linguistic diversity as cognitive deficits when English is the primary medium of instruction in schools.

The authors, drawing from their own professional and personal experiences as teacher educators, position themselves at the forefront of dismantling postcolonial structures through reflective practice. They offer innovative solutions of decolonial resistance to linguistic hierarchies, encompassing critical pedagogical alternatives to bilingual education and opportunities for enhanced teacher agency. Ultimately, this timely volume appeals to a wide range of scholars, researchers, academics, and students specializing in international and comparative education, English and literacy studies, and language arts more broadly. Those with a particular interest in English language learning in low-income countries will find immense value in this book as well.

Weight: 340g
Dimension: 233 x 154 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367646189