Medium of Instruction: The Context of Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Level in Bangladesh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte.24446Keywords:
MOI, BMI, EMI, social, economic and cultural consequencesAbstract
Medium of instruction (MoI) has turned into a matter of dispute in post-colonial societies for various conditions, such as favoring foreign languages over local or native tongues, enacting monolingual laws in multilingual communities, and creating inconsistencies between education policies and practices. This study aims to give a critical overview of MoI policies and practices from primary to higher secondary levels and their social, economic, and cultural effects in Bangladesh. The study employed a systematic literature review approach as part of secondary research. The study finds Bangla as a medium of instruction (BMI) by de jure and English as a medium of instruction (EMI) by de facto, which results in a remarkable inconsistency between MoI policies and its existing practices in the education sector. The further notable finding suggests that the mismatch between MoI policies and its practices leads to a disparate education structure and, eventually, a stratified society marked by inequalities, social hierarchies, marginalization, and so on. More importantly, the inequalities characterized by MoI practices are twofold: on the one hand, EMI is a source of division and inequalities for the Bangla-medium students, and on the other, BMI acts similarly when it comes to ethnic minority students.References
Afrin, S., & Baines, L. (2020). Trajectories of Language, Culture, and Geography in Postcolonial Bangladesh. In S. D. Brunn and R. Kehrein (Eds.), Handbook of the Changing World Language Map (pp. 917-938), Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3
Asadullah, M., Chaudhury, N. & Dar, A. (2007). Student Achievement Conditioned Upon School Selection: Religious and Secular Secondary School Quality in Bangladesh. Economics of Education Review, 26(6), 648–659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.10.004
Bourdieu, P. (1991b). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Havard University Press.
Brumfit, C. (2004). Language and higher education: Two current challenges. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 3(2), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474022204042685
Chongbang, N. (2022). Mundhum: Exploring the Narratives of Limbu Community in an Urban Setting. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 2(3), 43-62. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte.22234
Civan, A., & Coşkun, A. (2016). The effect of the medium of instruction language on the academic success of university students. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16 (6), 1981–2004. https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2016.6.0052
Eckert, P., & McConnell-Ginet, S. (1992). Think Practically and Look Locally: Language and Gender as Community-Based Practice. Annual Review of Anthropology, 21(1), 461–488. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.21.100192.002333
Fang, F. G. (2018). Review of English as a medium of instruction in Chinese universities today: Current trends and future directions: New language policies to promote multilingualism and language support for EMI will be needed in Chinese tertiary contexts. English Today, 34(1), 32–37. DOI:10.1017/S0266078417000360
Hamid, M. O., Jahan, I., & Islam, M. (2013). Medium of Instruction policies and language practises, ideologies and institutional divides: voices of teachers and students in a private university in Bangladesh. Current issues in language planning 14 (1), 144–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2013.771417
Hamid, M. O., & Jahan, I. (2015). Language, Identity and Social Divides: Medium of Instruction Debates in Bangladeshi Print Media. Comparative Education Review, 59 (1), 75–97. https://doi.org/10.1086/679192
Hamid, M. O., & Erling, E. J. (2016). English-in-Education Policy and Planning in Bangladesh: A Critical Examination. In R. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), English Education language policy in Asia (pp. 25–40), Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22464-0_2
Hossain, T., & Tollefson, J.W. (2007). Language policy in education in Bangladesh. In A.B. Tsui & J.W. Tollefson (Eds.), Language policy, culture, and identity in Asian contexts (pp. 241-258), UK: Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315092034
Haque, F. (4 October 2009). Engrezi madhom Biddapith nia kishu kotha. Prothom Alo, 1.
Hamid, M. O., & Baldauf, R. B. (2014). Public-private domain distinction as an aspect of LPP frameworks: A case study of Bangladesh. Language Problems and Language Planning, 38(2), 192–210. https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.38.2.05ham
Hu, G. (2019). English-medium Instruction in Higher Education: Lessons from China. Journal of Asia TEFL, 16(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2019.16.1.1.1
Haidar, S., & F. G. Fang. (2019). English Language in Education and Globalization: A Comparative Analysis of the Role of English in Pakistan and China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education 39(2), 165–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2019.1569892
Imam, R. S. (2005). English as a Global Language and the question of nation-building education in Bangladesh. Comparative Education 41(4), 471-486. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305006050031758<8
Khanh, L. C. (2022). English as a Global Language: An Exploration of EFL Learners’ Beliefs in Vietnam. International Journal of TESOL & Education, 3(1), 19-33. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte.23312
Lei, J., & Hu, G. (2014). Is English-medium instruction effective in improving Chinese undergraduate students’ English competence? International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 52(2), 99–126. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2014-0005
Liaqat, A., Nasim, A., & Javed, U. (2019). Medium of Instruction Policy and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from South Asia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Education, 39 (3), 303–318.
Mohsin, A. (2003). Language, identity, and the state in Bangladesh. In M.E. Brown & S. Ganguly (Eds.), Fighting words: Language policy and ethnic relations in Asia (pp. 81–104), Cambridge, Massachusetts: The M.I.T Press. https://hdl.handle.net/2022/26080
Ministry of Education. (2010). National Education Policy 2010 (Final). Dhaka: Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Milligan, L. O. (2020). Towards a social and epistemic justice approach for exploring the injustices of English as a Medium of Instruction in basic education. Educational Review, 74(5), 927–941. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2020.1819204
Pritasari, A., Reinaldo, H., & Watson, C. W. (2018, April 2). English-medium instruction in Asian business schools: a case study. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1458855
Puteh, A. (2012). Medium of Instruction Policy in Malaysia: The Fishman’s Model. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, 1 (1), 11–22. http://www.ejbss.com/recent.aspx.
Rao, A. G. (2017). English in Multilingual India: Promise and Illusion. In H. Coleman (Ed), Multilingualism and Development (pp. 281-288), London, UK: British Council.
Ramanathan, V. (2005). The English-vernacular divide: Postcolonial language politics and practice. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Rahman, M. M., Singh, M. K. M., & Karim, A. (2018). English medium instruction innovation in higher education: Evidence from Asian contexts. Journal of Asia TEFL, 15(4), 1156–1164. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2018.15.4.20.1156
Rahman, S. (2005). Orientations and motivation in English language learning: A study of Bangladeshi students at the undergraduate level. Asian EFL Journal, 7(1), 29–55.
Rahman, T. (2010). A multilingual language-in-education policy for 2019 minorities in Bangladesh: challenges and possibilities. Current issues in language planning, 11(4), 341-359. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2010.537816
Rahman, M. M., Singh, M. K. M., and Karim, A. (2019). Distinctive medium of instruction ideologies in public and private universities in Bangladesh. Asian Englishes, 22 (2), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2019.1666493
Sah, P.K., & Karki, J. (2023). Elite appropriation of English as a medium of instruction policy and epistemic inequalities in Himalayan schools. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 44 (1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1789154
Sibomana, E. (2020). Transitioning from a local language to English as a medium of instruction: Rwandan teachers’ and classroom-based perspectives. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(4), 1259-1274. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1749554
Sultana, S. (2014). English as a Medium of Instruction in Bangladesh’s Higher Education: Empowering or Disadvantaging Students? Asian EFL Journal, 16 (1), 11–52.
Tang, K. A. (2020). Challenges and Importance of Teaching English as a Medium of Instruction in Thailand International College. English as an International Language, 15 (2), 97–118. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1282858.pdf
Thompson, H.R. (2007). Bangladesh. In A. Simpson (Ed.), Language and national identity in Asia (pp. 33–54), Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Tsui, B. M. A. (1996). English in Asian bilingual education: From hatred to harmony. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 17 (2-4), 241-247. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434639608666275
Uys, M., Walt, J.V.D., Berg, R.V.D., & Botha., S. (2007). English medium of instruction: A situational analysis. South African Journal of Education, 27(1), 69–82. https://doi.org/10.4314/saje.v27i1.25099
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Moumita Akter
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright of all articles published in the International Journal of TESOL & Education (ijte) remains with the Authors, i.e. Authors retain full ownership of their article. Permitted third-party reuse of the open access articles is defined by the applicable Creative Commons (CC) end-user license which is accepted by the Authors upon submission of their paper. All articles in the ijte are published under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, meaning that end users can freely share an article (i.e. copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt it (i.e. remix, transform and build upon the material) on the condition that proper attribution is given (i.e. appropriate credit, a link to the applicable license and an indication if any changes were made; all in such a way that does not suggest that the licensor endorses the user or the use) and the material is only used for non-commercial purposes.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository, in a journal or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.