LANGUAGE POLICY & PLANNING

FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Naima Akhter Lina

Masters in Literature & ELT
Senior Teacher, South Point School,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
 Introduction

• The issue of language policy and planning, with spotlight focus

on any foreign language, came up in response to global socio-
politico and cultural changes. The paradigm shift in the nature
of self determination from localization through globalization
and gradually in localization has created an ever changing
need for the formulation and practice of language policy and
planning. This is critically applicable for any language to be
inducted and practiced in foreign environment. In this paper,
any referral to the words ‘foreign language” would particularly
mean English language with special emphasis on developing
Asian countries
 Sequence

• The paper will be unfolded in following sequence

• The History of foreign language induction in Asia
• Language policy and planning context
• The Role and Dominant aspect of foreign
language in developing countries
• ELT history, method and policy practiced in
Developing countries Featuring Asia
• Conclusion
 History of foreign language induction in Asia

• The History of foreign language induction in developing

countries of Asia is very important to understand the
characteristics of English language education. Basically,
the colonization of Asia and Africa led to the
development of a number of second language varieties
that started its evolution in the late 18th century. Platt
& Weber recognized two distinct varieties of English
language induction: one is formal English and the
other is informal English. Later, a variety of offshoot
stemmed from this two major arteries, which have
facilitated the language planning and policy issue in a
foreign country context. Now, let us have a quick
flashback on language policy and planning.
Language policy and planning context

• Language policy and planning is an official, government-level activity

which represents a coherent effort by individuals, groups, or organizations to
influence language use or development.
• The response of educational systems to government language planning legislation
may either promote or reduce linguistic diversity.
• To address the multifold impact of globalization, this forum provides the policy
makers, educators, teachers, researchers and students with a wider space for
discussion, evaluation and advocacy on language policy and planning.
• We are moving increasingly towards what Wedell describes as an interpretive and
dynamic educational process, with emphasis on stakeholders review and redesign
of language policy and planning. Planning for and implementing educational
change is difficult when it takes place within the country’s close systems in a given
context.
• People learn a second language more successfully when they use language as a
mean of acquiring and sharing information rather than as an end in itself.
• There is a clear movement towards multilingual practices in the world, which is
also evident in the title of UNESCO 2003 education position paper, "Education in a
multilingual world." In light of that spirit, revision of pedagogy teaching and
language policy of some developing countries is imperative.
The Role and Dominant aspect of Foreign Language in
Developing Countries
 Role of Foreign language in
Developing Countries
• (1) The relationship of the foreign language spread and
the foreign language ability for educational, economic,
cultural and political equity, and the effects on
local/indigenous language.
• (2) Educational challenges of the current foreign
language policies such as teacher education, English
learning environment, national curriculums,
pedagogies, English proficiency, evaluation.
• (3) Approaches to improve English education policies.
 ELT history Method and policy Practiced in Developing
countries Featuring Asia:

• Language Polices (LP) are made or are implicitly acknowledged and practiced, in all societal domains, because they typify the kinds of
theoretical, methodological, and practical challenges that researchers in LP must confront and deal with as they try to understand the
role of languages in social life (Thomas Ricento). The decade brought a resurgence of interest in the field of language policy and
planning (LPP), fueled in large part of the imperious spread of English & other global languages worldwide. According to Nancy
H.Honberger, Language teaching and language revitalization initiatives constitute pressing real world LPP concerns on an
unprecedented scale.

• In mainland China, language policy regarding the indigenous languages and the policy of foreign language instruction are not made by
the same group of people within one government agency. In general China has a clearly delineated and consistent policy on the
dominate Han language and ethnic languages. Since the founding of the People’s Republic, a great deal of attention has been given to
language policy since China is a multi-ethnic and multilingual county (State Language Commission 1955).
•
• English language education in Korea has also been inextricably controlled by the Korean government from the beginning till the present
because of the highly centralized education under an authoritarian government since the beginning of the Western style school
education. English language education policies are thus mainly top-down, where policy makers or government officers make the
decisions. Thus they reflect national language/education policies affected by political and economical situations which cannot be
separated from historical contexts.

• To assert Bengali identity, in 1972 English was abolished from the primary stage of education and withdrawn from the tertiary level but
it remained as a subject in the secondary school curriculum. Bengali became the medium of instruction in all school with all English-
medium institutions under order to switch to Bengali overnight. At the tertiary level, although lectures were attempted in Bengali, there
was no accompanying concerted effort to provide vernacular books or translations (Islam, 1975). This linguistic ruling created immense
difficulties in the universities particularly in science, medicine, business and engineering studies. Thus policy dictates influenced
primarily by nationalist fervor relegated English very rapidly from the status of a second language (ESL)
•
•
• A nation’s foreign-language-learning environment is shaped by geo-socio-historical forces. For Japan, chief among them is
the pre-modern isolation of this island nation. The relative lack of foreign contact and the density of the population have
created a homogenous people with a strong sense of cultural identity, the center of which is now the Japanese’s language.
Within this ethnic community, foreign influence has been readily received for economic benefit and for novelty, but not
unquestioningly. foreign things have been adopted, examined, usually modified and sometimes rejected, and this includes
the concept of foreign-language learning.

• English has a special place in India today due to its widespread use in significant domains of social life. It is now well
entrenched and has a presence in almost every sphere of national life which extends from interaction and discourse patterns
to economics, politics and languages. According to Kachru (2005, p. 13) India has at present about 333 million speakers with
varying degrees of competence in English, and this language is increasingly viewed as a language of power and as a means of
economic uplift and upward social mobility. Globalization in particular has thrown up new opportunities for the exploitation
of English for economic betterment of the Indian people.
• “Vietnam’s linguistic history reflects its political history” (Denham, 1992, p. 61). The long history of Vietnam is linked to the
prolonged wars against external aggression for national independence. The fluctuation in foreign language education in
Vietnam is a consequence of the psychological and financial wartime legacy of the country. Although foreign language
education has always been emphasized, there has not yet been a well articulated framework for foreign language education.
Historically, foreign language education in Vietnam is unplanned and strongly influenced by the country’s political
orientations (Vietnam News, March 30, 2001)

• The status of English in Sri Lanka has been subject to significant changes which have been linked to socio political events
within the country as well as to the global context. The period of British rule saw English firmly entrenched in the education
system of the country — becoming an instrument of domination and one that worked towards the marginalization of
indigenous languages. The period immediately following the granting of independence saw the phasing out of English from
Sri Lanka’s education system, these efforts coming to a culmination with the installation of Sinhala as the sole official
language of the country. The history and development of English in Sri Lanka seems to reflect the fact that linguistic choices
are impinged upon not only by global realities and manifestations of power, but also by complex local needs, tensions and
aspirations.
 Some Methods used for ELT

• The Direct Method

• Grammar-Translation:
• Audio-Lingual:
• The Structural approach:
• Suggestopedia
• Total Physical Response (TRP)
• Communicative language teaching (CLT)
• The silent way:
• Community Language Learning:
• Immersion:
• Task-based language learning:
• The Natural Approach:
• The lexical Syllabus:
 Conclusion

• A research based review of the past & current

approaches of ELT is a must for devising appropriate
policy advocacy and planning in aid to government and
stakeholder’s right decision making. The issue is farther
enhanced if native perspective and objective of language
training is rightly appreciated and approached in
restructuring the foreign language policy.
 References:
• Robinson, David . “Language Policy and Planning” 1988
• Wedell, Martin. “ Innovation in ELT” 2009
• Ricento, Thomas “An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and
Method” 2005
• Yeon Hee Choi, Bernard Spolsky “English Education in Asia: History and
Policies” 2007
• Willis, D (1990) The Lexical Syllabus: Collins Cobuild.
THANK YOU ALL