Description
Whilst India is a linguistically diverse context, English continues to be a “language of power, economy and privilege” (Mohanty & Panda, 2017, p. 541), with some reports indicating that English fluency provides cultural and economic capital, which may be useful for supporting social mobility. As a result, some education-focused Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have developed early education programs which focus on English language learning for disadvantaged children (e.g., children living in slum communities) whilst other NGOs focus on sending a subset of the ‘bright poor’ to English-medium schools. For early childhood teachers in these settings, the complexities of English privilege are compounded by the attitudes and expectations of management and parents/families. This paper unpacks the (colonial and capitalist) roots of English privilege in policy using a post-colonial lens, and outlines recent changes to language policy, which emphasise the importance of education in home language or regional language ‘where possible’ for children in early and middle childhood (National Education Policy, 2020). Focusing on the perspectives of children, families, teachers and management in two education-focused NGOs in India, the paper unpacks possibilities for multilingual education, and raises questions about the role, position and status of English-language learning for children in the early years.| Period | 29 Sept 2022 |
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| Event title | Ethnolinguistic vitality and diversity: Looking back and moving forward |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Leiden, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |