Comments on: Is there such a thing as postmodern bilingual education?

By: Hanna Torsh

Hanna Torsh — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:57:55 +0000

Hi Christof and Khan

As I read the blog I couldn’t help thinking of my early education as a feminist, some of which took place in the Women’s room at my university. Although I am of the opinion that men can, and indeed must, be part of any struggle for women’s rights, the fact that there existed a “safe space” to explore my growing awareness of gender issues played a major part in my intellectual and political development. Is it too long a bow to draw to say that when minority languages have such a space, in which other language can not enter, it gives language users some breathing space to explore, play and develop? And that they can then take their language practices and beliefs out into the world enriched by their experience in that space?

Best wishes,
Hanna Torsh

By: khan

khan — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:32:34 +0000

Thanks for your reply. I agree with you that illustrating linguistic overlaps, hybridization is one level of viewing two-way enrichment model and coming up with alternate models or prgrammes or as you said making inroads with respect to bounded monolingualism is another level. I personally think we (academics) do not have many solutions to offer when we are asked solutions by people. I agree with Hornberger (1991) extended definition of Enrichment model of Bilingual education in which she says something like that the primary characteristic of enrichment model is that the program structure incorporates a recognition that the minority language is not only a right of its speakers but a potential resource for majority language speakers. I think we will have to shun confrontational approach such as the discourse of linguistic rights and adopt a discourse that convince the majority of the benefits to learning different languages.
The idea of sparing a class on raising such issues in classroom is fantastic. Do you think it comes close to Critical language Awareness programme or is it different?
On a very personal level, I see a lot of substance and meaning in contributing to the ongoing debates. I think one great service to our cause could be to keep thinking and writing what we consider the best for humanity. I know I may sound very simplistic here but this is what all prophets have done, brining books with them and changing the course of life- for good or for bad is a highly controversial.

By: Christof D-H

Christof D-H — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:43:28 +0000

In reply to Khan.

Khan,
Thank you for your very thoughtful reply. As a critical scholar, I’m trying to think of ways to successfully challenge the bounded monolingual hierarchization of modern society. I think highlighting the reality of multiplicity, liminal spaces, etc. is important, and Hadi-Tabassum does this. Figuring out effective ways to make inroads with respect to bounded monolingualism in power domains is something that has increasingly come to consume my thoughts. I think with respect to the dual immersion schools that Hadi-Tabassum writes about perhaps the best way to acknowledge the reality of linguistic overlap, leakages, hybridity and the “ir-reality” of neat, bounded language use, in everyday life outside of power domains, would be to create a class devoted specifically to this topic. This class(room) would serve as a space where students could “play” with multiple language combinations, etc., discuss the problems of neat, bounded, language rules and use, and, ideally, at least at the high school level, critically engage the ideology monolingualism in power domains/contexts in the U.S., etc.

However, I still support linguistic boundedness vis-a-vis the minority language(s) in other classes/classrooms in the dual immersion school, as the reality is that, in large part due to often extreme English monolingualism in U.S. power domains, students, especially from the dominant language group, are going to have trouble mastering the minority language otherwise.

By: Khan

Khan — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 10:08:57 +0000

Dear Christof
Thanks for your post which triggered thinking and which made me look at the wonderful work by Samina Hadi-Tabassum: Language space and Power. I would like to say something about liminal ‘third space’ which I see as the natural outcome of the super rapid language contacts of the present time. While the third space is a linguistic reality and can be taken as evidence of transformation of the linguistic boundaries, this might not be taken as evidence of dissolution of historically evolved language ideologies, norms, cultures, I suppose. What I am trying to say that we cannot claim based on mobility that nation-state has stopped or collapsed or thing of the past. I think it is very much there in its new forms. Similarly the English-Only ideology has its orientations in the history and cannot claim to have withered with the advent of two-way bilingual education programmes.
I would certainly second your observation that difference without hierarchy is a wishful thinking. In Pakistan like elsewhere people are hugely multilingual and have different linguistic repertoires with more or less assigned domains for each language. You would note that for all powerful domains such as courts, tertiary education, and the language seem appropriate/ legitimate is English. Not only linguistic hierarchy but social and political hierarchy.
Very enlightening post. Thanks