“Maid to maiden”: The false promise of English for the daughters of domestic workers in post-colonial Kolkata

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (262) ◽  
pp. 67-95
Author(s):  
Anindita Chatterjee ◽  
Anne Schluter
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
Domestic Workers ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Domestic Worker ◽  
British Council

AbstractDrawing from a larger ethnographic study, the current article examines, through interactional sociolinguistics, interview and observation data related to English-language tutorials between two employers and their domestic workers’ daughters in two households in Kolkata. The post-colonial, South Asian context represents a site in which such scholarship has been underrepresented (see Mills and Mullany’s 2011 Language, gender and feminism). The focus of analysis is two-fold: it evaluates the existing power structures between participants, and it assesses the degree to which widespread Indian discourses about the upward mobility of English (see Graddol’s 2010 “English Next India”, published online by the British Council) are relevant to the current setting. In terms of power structures, legitimated domination (see Grillo’s 1989 Dominant languages) of the employer over her domestic worker emerges as a salient theme; however, affective attachment (adapted from Hardt’s 1999 article “Affective labor”, published in Boundary; McDowell and Dyson’s 2011 article “The other side of the knowledge economy: ‘Reproductive’ employment and affective labours in Oxford”, published in Environment and Planning) and reciprocal dependencies help to both reinforce and diminish the severity of the power asymmetry. With respect to the applicability of popular Indian discourses that equate English-language proficiency with upward mobility, the study finds little evidence of their relevance to the current context in which the subordinate positioning of gender intersects with social class to compound its constraining influence.

scholarly journals PROVISION OF ENGLISH-MEDIUM INSTRUCTION: TRENDS AND ISSUES

2020 ◽  
pp. 11-21
Author(s):  
OLGA KVASOVA ◽  
CAROLYN WESTBROOK ◽  
KEVIN WESTBROOK
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
British Council ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
The World ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
English Medium Instruction

The article addresses the current trends of teaching subjects through the medium of English which has been boosting in the world and in Ukraine. Introduced due to globalization processes, teaching in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has become an essential part of internationalization policies of universities. The increase in numbers of international students is viewed as an indication of quality of education provided by universities; it contributes to universities’ higher ratings and competitiveness. The introduction of EMI has been sustainably promoted by the British Council. Nonetheless, EMI providers across the world keep encountering similar issues and challenges. Amongst those, the most essential is low English language proficiency of non-native English speakers – both teachers and students. The article aims to examine the training provided to Ukrainian teachers who deliver EMI courses. The authors surveyed 28 EMI teachers in two universities in the country. The results imply the necessity to reprofile linguistic and pedagogical courses for EMI teachers, including training them in implementing innovative and interactive teaching techniques. The prospects of further research arouse from the need to develop a quality system of assessing students’ learning outcomes.

Legitimate bilingual competence in the making: Bilingual performance and investment of Korean-English bilinguals

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1394-1409
Author(s):  
Lee Jin Choi
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Language Studies ◽  
Social Positioning ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Advantageous Position ◽  
Korean And English ◽  
And Performance

Because global migration and mobility have increasingly blurred boundaries, questions of authenticity have become more complex than ever, and the issue of what constitutes “real” versus “fake” language practices and language users has become increasingly important. The newly emerging images of imposters associated with bilingualism and transnationalism have put bilingual and multilingual language users in a fragile position, where bilingual displays can summon the damaging image of inauthentic bilingualism and frame them as imposters who try to articulate their alleged modernity by mimicking other “reals.” Focusing on the issue of authenticity, this ethnographic study explores how Korean-English bilinguals navigate and respond to the newly emerging images of imposters associated with bilingualism and transnationalism. In particular, I examine the case of 20 South Korean graduate students in the USA who have both advanced English language proficiency and native Korean language proficiency. Because they are in a relatively advantageous position in being able to flexibly use both the Korean and English languages and to employ a variety of linguistic resources, their bilingual practices and performance provide an excellent example of the ways in which bilingual language users locate their social positioning through the selective production of ideological representations or language registers associated with images of inauthentic bilingualism. The findings highlight the agentive role of bilingual and multilingual language users in participating in the reconfiguration of what counts as legitimate bilingual competence and performance, and in making a very calculative investment in distancing themselves from particular types of language registers, language competences, and models of personhoods associated with inauthentic Korean-English bilinguals. These findings present a challenge to traditional research in the fields of second language studies, and applied linguistics, and urges researchers to look at the actual language practice of bilingual users who actively participate in the process of developing sense-making discourses.

‘What is it that’s going on here? And what’s in it for me? How two L2 graduate students experienced spoken interaction

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hania Salter-Dvorak
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Symbolic Capital ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Spoken Interaction

ABSTRACT This paper views classroom interaction as integral to the production of academic writing. It presents a situated account of how two L2 master’s students’ experienced spoken interaction on two different courses, extracted from a small-scale 13-month ethnographic study which drew on Bourdieu’s concept of symbolic capital (1991), and Goffman’s participation framework (1981). Triangulation of classroom observation data with student interviews reveals how interaction is framed by the two research participants’ courses and to what extent interactive events are tied to specific goals related to written assignments. Findings echo existing research that language proficiency, familiarity with norms, and power relations intersect in rendering interaction problematic. I discuss recommendations for enhancing interaction in course design and pedagogy; rather than trans-contextual solutions, constructivist evaluation studies of specific courses are needed which reflect voices of all participants.

Attitudes toward the use of TELL tools in English language learning among Vietnamese Tertiary English majors

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-596
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Learning ◽  
Guided Learning ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
English Majors ◽  
Very High ◽  
Different Levels

Technology plays a crucial role in the self-guided learning of a second language in general and English in particular. Nevertheless, many students in different contexts still ignore the application of technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) tools in enhancing their foreign language proficiency. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the attitudes towards the use of TELL tools in English-language learning (ELL) among English majors at one university in Vietnam. To collect data, 197 English majors participated in finishing the questionnaire, and 20 students were invited to join the interviews. The findings are that the majority of students have positive attitudes towards the use of TELL tools and the frequency of using these tools is very high. In addition, the results also reveal that there is no significant difference in attitudes towards and frequency of using TELL tools in learning English in terms of the year of study. However, students of different levels of academic achievements have different attitudes towards using TELL tools and use TELL tools to learn English differently. Received 2nd May 2019; Revised 16th July 2019, Accepted 20th October 2019

Borrowing As A Tool To Fill The Ideological Thoughts: The Role Of Code-Mixing In An American Brat By Bapsi Sidhwa And The Escape By Qaisra Shiraz

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (II) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Native People ◽  
British Imperialism ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Bapsi Sidhwa ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Language And Literature

This research article highlights the temperament, inference, scope, and motives of code-mixing in Pakistani English works. One novel from Pakistani English novels namely, An American Brat by Bapsi Sidhwa, and one short story namely, The Escape by Qaisra Shehraz are being selected as an illustration of this reading. In this novel and short story, the writers have already dealt with the characteristics of postcolonialism. English language and literature pierced into the privileged civilizations of the sub-continent, after the end of British Imperialism. Pakistani writers in English are the best interpreter of the post-colonial communal language. In this study, I have hit upon code-mixing in English works written by Pakistani authors to a bigger echelon. These works are paragons of arts and the unbelievable mixture of rhetorical and fictitious study. In these works, the writers have not abased the confined diversities. They have tinted the value of Pakistani English in order to achieve the chatty desires of native people. These borrowings from the native languages are used to fill the lexical fissures of ideological thoughts. The reason of these borrowings is not to represent the English as a substandard assortment. Through the utilization of native words, we conclude that the significance of native languages has been tinted to question mark the dialect as well. The words of daily use also have an area of research for English people without having any substitute in English. That’s why in English literature innovative practices and ideas of code-mixing have been employed.

Borrowing As A Tool To Fill The Ideological Thoughts: The Role Of Code-Mixing In An American Brat By Bapsi Sidhwa And The Escape By Qaisra Shiraz

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Literature ◽  
Native People ◽  
British Imperialism ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Bapsi Sidhwa ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Language And Literature

This research article highlights the temperament, inference, scope, and motives of code-mixing in Pakistani English works. One novel from Pakistani English novels namely, An American Brat by Bapsi Sidhwa, and one short story namely, The Escape by Qaisra Shehraz are being selected as an illustration of this reading. In this novel and short story, the writers have already dealt with the characteristics of postcolonialism. English language and literature pierced into the privileged civilizations of the sub-continent, after the end of British Imperialism. Pakistani writers in English are the best interpreter of the post-colonial communal language. In this study, I have hit upon code-mixing in English works written by Pakistani authors to a bigger echelon. These works are paragons of arts and the unbelievable mixture of rhetorical and fictitious study. In these works, the writers have not abased the confined diversities. They have tinted the value of Pakistani English in order to achieve the chatty desires of native people. These borrowings from the native languages are used to fill the lexical fissures of ideological thoughts. The reason for these borrowings is not to represent the English as a substandard assortment. Through the utilization of native words, we conclude that the significance of native languages has been tinted to question mark the dialect as well. The words of daily use also have an area of research for English people without having any substitute in English. That’s why in English literature innovative practices and ideas of code-mixing have been employed.

EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT EVALUATION IN ENGLISH AS A CRITERION FOR ADMISSION TO MASTER`S DEGREE PROGRAMS IN UKRAINE: PROBLEMS AND PERSPECTIVES

2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-50
Author(s):  
Л. Е. Бєловецька
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Degree Programs ◽  
Scientific Publications ◽  
Independent Evaluation

The problem of external independent evaluation in English for admission Master`s degree programs in Ukraine is considered in the article. The perspective for further improvement of English teaching and learning standards at Ukrainian universities has been found. The correspondence to the CEFR basic levels and English proficiency has been identified. Conceptual Principles of State Policy on the Development of English in the Field of Higher Education are considered. The study included 1546 participants. The age of students, who studied to gain the first higher education, was between 17 and 20. The students were not familiar with the structure of External Independent Evaluation and they have never passed it. The research was carried out during the period 2018–2019. The relevance of English language competence in the professional context is noted emphasized as a key point of the presented research. The necessity to provide a sufficient competitive level for Ukrainian graduates through improving correspondent English language training has been considered. The study is based on a study of reports by British experts and contemporary scientific publications presented international researchers have focused on the problems of internationalization and perspectives for Ukrainian universities in the English language dimension. The relevance of studying and adaptation of the UK higher education successful practice has been highlighted. The problems and potential ways of improving students` English language proficiency in the given context are identified. In particular, the study contains important recommendations regarding the number of contact hours and the required levels of English proficiency for the main groups of participants in the educational process in higher education according to international standards.

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