Page 37 - ELG2009 Sep Issue 472

COMMENT . OUT FEATURES & COMMENT

Point OF THE

of View COUNCIL OF EUROPE BOX

Dr. Robert
Phillipson What price do you

A focus on monolingualism put on quality?

short-changes the needs New Zealand’s ‘team of five million’ is

of students On the other hand, I have been reliably One of the intriguing aspects of globalising doing a great job fighting Covid-19, and
informed that in the United Arab Emirates,
local students who have been through an Anglo-American expertise is that ELT is not Kim Renner asks what that means for the
a high-prestige profession in either the US or
International schools education driven by profit overlooks international school system arrive in higher the UK. In both countries, there are still English language industry
the importance of mother tongue-based multilingual education with inadequate language unmet English language needs for children
and adults. In addition, foreign language
competence in both Arabic and English.
education, argues Dr. Robert Phillipson Introducing EMI education in Qatar in state learning is much less widespread and Covid-19 has hit the English language strategic importance to preserve the
schools has led to equally disappointing results. effective than elsewhere. industry with full force, and English New foundations of the sector.’
There is also scholarly evidence, for instance It is true that there is a massive demand for Zealand schools are facing temporary or It’s a big sector, of which English
Some of the information in this Point of View derives from Second language learners
in International Schools by Maurice Carder, with Patricia Mertin and Sarah Porter, from Spain, that primary English is not an English worldwide, to which many factors, permanent closure due to New Zealand’s language is a small part, and a small pot
published by the Institute of Education Press of University College London in 2018. unmitigated success story: quite the opposite. from trade and tourism to regional border restrictions. in the scheme of things. Our members
Given this, we need to ask whether Anglo- integration, contribute. Maintaining the value We support the public health have invested significantly – over
American expertise is really relevant in all of western investments and influence in the measures and take pride in how other decades – in highly-qualified teachers
he worldwide international schools than English to have equal status and such contexts. In fact, educational ‘aid’ decolonisation period led to the mushrooming countries view the and fit-for-purpose
market is undergoing a massive importance with English. This may be worldwide does not have a strong record of of departments of TESOL and applied efforts of our ‘team teaching
expansion. Prior to the pandemic, realized in some continental European success. This may be because British and linguistics since the 1950s. The demand for of five million’. This This global environments so
Tthere were more than 10,000 countries, where students evolve effective American policies in Africa and Asia have English has been orchestrated by western global recognition they can provide a
international schools, with around 5 million bilingualism, but in some countries, students aimed at strengthening English rather than governments and their allies worldwide, and will serve us well if recognition will student experience
students. Ninety per cent of these schools are who are educated exclusively in EMI schools promoting multilingualism, which is the key bodies such as the World Bank. we don’t miss the New Zealand can
exclusively English-Medium Instruction end up being unable to communicate social reality. So, why hasn’t more been achieved? opportunity to serve us well if we be proud of.
(EMI), and they tend to be expensive, effectively in their mother tongue. British ELT has always been underpinned Ignorance, bias, and irrationality are all capitalise on the don’t miss the Like our global
catering for the privileged. by some key tenets – monolingualism, the factors, along with native speaker myths, and kudos. The big counterparts, we
However, these schools also face a number native speaker as the ideal teacher, the earlier resistance to change. Governments have challenge though, opportunity to now wait. While
of challenges, often related to the fact that British ELT has the better, etc. – which have been diagnosed tended to clutch at a quick fix, such as for our sector, is highly qualified,
they are run much like schools in the UK or always been as fundamentally false and instead act to importing native speakers, or starting English how to survive the capitalise on the experienced, and
the US. This includes a failure to build on the underpin linguistic imperialism. ever earlier, either as a subject or as the impact without new kudos. talented teachers
cultural and linguistic diversity of students. underpinned by some In fact, the research evidence on mother medium of instruction, in the hope that this incoming students are being given
Empirical evidence from many countries also key tenets – tongue-based multilingual education is will make the learning of English more in the short term, their redundancy
exemplifies the widespread marginalisation of unambiguously positive. EMI education in effective. Such demands should be and without mid- and longer-term notices, we’re asking how much urgency
ESL staff by managers who are generally monolingualism, the postcolonial contexts that neglects mother challenged by the ELT profession, when both certainty on when border restrictions will be given to managed and safe easing
monolingual and do not understand language native speaker as the tongues and local cultural values is clearly the demand and the response are unlikely to will be eased. of the border restrictions, and just how
issues. At the same time, English-only policies inappropriate and ineffective. It would be be educationally, culturally or linguistically Our small group of high-quality much value will be placed on preserving
ignore the real needs of the estimated 50 per ideal teacher, the important, given the prominence of well-informed. providers contributes over $500 million the quality that laid the foundations for
cent of students who are seen as deficient. earlier the better, etc. international schools worldwide, and the What is definitely needed is inspired to New Zealand’s GDP annually. We New Zealand’s export education sector.
Then there is the question of the influence demand for competence in English, to leadership in schools, in partnership with commonly use dollars to determine
of accreditation bodies. ESL professionalism – which have been investigate such issues more widely. parents, so that international schools can value, but it’s not just about the money Contact:
was undermined when the International There are already analyses of how play a dynamic role in equipping young when it comes to English language. It’s https://www.englishnewzealand.co.nz
Baccalaureate (IB) was restructured in 2005, diagnosed as neoliberal think tanks with corporate people to function well in a changing what students gain from an in-country
putting in place a Director from the business fundamentally false sponsorship in the US and UK, and a profit- multilingual world. immersion experience, what they give
world, rather than from education. ‘Second’ making agenda, are promoting the back, and the jobs created.
and foreign language learning were conflated and instead act to privatisation of education worldwide, with Dr. Robert Phillipson is currently Professor Students travel to New Zealand to
into ‘acquisition’. Presumably, EMI underpin linguistic the backing of entrepreneurial academic Emeritus at the Copenhagen Business School, learn, but we also learn from them. How
international schools that are UK-oriented advocates. The way English is being Denmark. He is known for writing ‘Linguistic many homestay families, retailers and
are less affected by the Americanisation of imperialism. globalised, and whose interests it serves, Imperialism’ and ‘English-Only Europe? members of the public will ever travel to
the International Baccalaureate, but its requires constant scrutiny. Challenging Language Policy’ and for editing the far-flung corners of the globe our
graduates are equally oriented towards the My experience tells me that Scandinavians There have been ELT voices calling for a books on multilingual education, language students come from? Kim Renner is Executive Director of
global economy, rather than the needs of with a strong grounding in their mother paradigm shift away from monolingualism. rights, and English language education policy Our government recently announced English New Zealand, and has held
their countries of origin. tongue thrive in upper secondary But if ELT professionals mostly lead worldwide. In 2010, he was awarded the a targeted support package for Private various roles that include management,
Another factor that occurs all too often in international schools. One can hypothesize monolingual lives, or if they have no UNESCO Linguapax Prize for ‘renowned Training Establishments (PTEs), advocacy, sales and marketing during her
EMI international education is that the value that some privileged Malaysians and Chinese, experience of becoming proficient in advocates of multilingual education as a factor including English language schools. This 28 years’ experience within the English
and importance of maintaining mother who make a successful late transition to EMI languages other than English, are they ever of peace and of linguistic rights against cultural $10 million is to, ‘fund PTES key to language sector.
tongue development is overlooked. One education, retain a strong local orientation likely to understand the complexity of the and linguistic homogenization processes’. sector recovery targeted to providers of
ambitious goal could be for languages other and mother tongue competence. learning tasks that they are committed to?

36 September 2020 editorial@elgazette.com 37