Learning English: A Lesson in Language and Culture

To those outside the educational system, the article of belief of delivery may seem to be a simple communication of skills from one person to an new(prenominal). For those involved in education, however, delivery instruction has long been linked to heathenish bias and social engineering, leading to debates oer the notion of a neutral language. Such a language would facilitate the exchange of objective concepts such as spelling, grammar, and pronunciation without imposing reduceive cultural constructs such as beliefs abut class, gender, and religion.As languages originate and expose in response to needs and conditions all too human, and therefore highly emotional, it is unlikely that any truly neutral language exists, and this is particularly evident when we librate the side language. The teaching of English has sociocultural implications that extend far beyond the learning environment, and this is best demonstrated by examining the relationship of meter English to some othe r varieties of English as well as to other languages being taught.The distinction between standard and vernacular names of a language is based on the perceived differences between the educated and the uneducated. The term standard, when holdd to describe language, generally refers to that progress to of the language that is apply for formal and written applications by those who occupy the highest ranks of society. Rules governing its system tend to be rather strict and resistant to change.In contrast, a vernacular is the colloquial language used informally by a group of passel, much less rigid in its forms and much more liable to change. An online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, the recognized authority on the English language, exemplifies this divisiveness in its commentary of the noun vernacular as the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people of a country or region. Aligning the vernacular form with so-called ordinary folks naturally infers a similar as sociation between the standard form and less ordinary people, the literate elite who use it.This lofty status is often justified by reference to the wealth of classical literature, historical documents, and scientific/technical writings that exist in twain(prenominal) British and American Standar1d English. An understanding of Standard English provides get at to these canons and to the educational systems that utilize them. These systems wish the knowledge and expertise necessary for the highest levels of professional and intellectual achievement. precisely put, a better than average knowledge of Standard English offers a better than average chance at attaining prominence in highly practised and specialized areas such as education, business, or technology (Brindley 208).Whether this effect is seen as favorable or unfavorable depends, as most things do, on the perspective through which it is viewed. Any experience that affords people greater personal control over important li fetime issues may seem universally appealing, unagitated insistence upon teaching only Standard English has evoked considerable controversy (Brindley 205). Those who advocate the teaching of Standard English writing in a sort that emphasizes its doctrine on stringent rules and formats have been accused of perpetuating a desired status quo (Brindley 226-227).By learning Standard English, students are carrying on a long impost of literary scholarship that has yielded many important intellectual gains and brought the western world to the forefront in industry and science. Detractors see the teaching of Standard English as an imposition of social norms that depend on conformity and narrow-mindedness. By forcing people to think in constrained ways round language, teachers are hindering both creativity and individuality for the sake of convention ( border 243).Such adherence to uniformity often puts the learner in an uncomfortable and confusing situation, as when the home ambit and the educational environment clash in terms of language. Katharine Perera describes the difficulties encountered by children being taught Standard English while living in homes and neighborhoods where the vernacular is the mode of expression.For them, a change in their manner of speech represents an invalidation of their customary way of life and may create barriers between them and their peers. The experience of speaking one way with friends or family who share their idiom, only to then be told by teachers that this language is wrong, forces most children to reluctantly choose one identity at the expense of the other (cited in Brindley 212).Concern over this loss of identity has fueled heated disputes in mother-tongue contexts, where English is taught as a first language and some form of it is used by much of the population as a native language (Brindley 206). Davis and Watson name that in Australia, post-war migration increased the nations multiculturalism while weaken the influ ence of a common British legacy. Responding to the resultant search for a discipline identity, the Australian curriculum acknowledges the relationship between this identity and language yet also recognizes the diversity that exists within Australian Standard English (cited in Brindley 206).The Australian Education Councils statement on the English curriculum sets Australian English apart from American or British English chiefly by differences in vocabulary and pronunciation, and describes this national variety of English as a combination of the Standard Australian English used in schools and several vernacular forms, any one of which a student may use at home. The curriculum statement also advises that Standard Australian English should be taught as an extension of local idioms and not as a replacement for them.Although the report further stresses importance of Australian Standard English because of its role in educational structures, professional fields, and spoken communication, it also recognizes the value of vernacular forms and the cultural backgrounds they represent. Its national plan for teaching English also notes that language changes in respect to context and purposes, and it urges that students be made aware of this fact so they can arrest their language skills accordingly. The Council also officially confers equal status to standard and local forms of English, viewing neither one as inherently superior to the other (cited in Brindley 207)Sue Brindley relates that the issue of the relative worth of contrasting language forms is intensely debated in Britain, where the worlds richest history of English has led to much linguistic diversity. Standard English is an integral part of the official school curriculum, yet there is no consensus about exactly what constitutes standardized English and how it is connected to a students home variety (Brindley 208). A Department for Education and Welsh Office statement cites strict observance to rules of vocabul ary, grammar, spelling, and pronunciation as the distinguishing features of Standard English to be taught in England and Wales, yet this description is too vague to give a precise definition.Although the British policy encourages the use of standardized language for both written and spoken applications, it also recognizes that spoken English is more spontaneous and therefore less apt to conform to the same rigorous criteria used in more carefully planned written applications (cited in Brindley 210). By associating Standard English with qualities like precision and clear diction, the British curriculum contradicts the standpoint of many linguists and educators, as well as the sentiments expressed in the Australian English statement, by implying that school-sanctioned standardized forms are linguistically superior to other varieties (Brindley 211). The explicit counterpart to this attitude is a belief that vernacular forms of English are inferior.Brindley speaks of educators who are concerned that such a prejudicial position will inescapably lead to a gradual erosion of the traditional cultural values that underlie the home life of those whose first language is the vernacular. Some teachers have interpreted it upon themselves to teach Standard English in a way that does not discriminate against home-based language varieties and, by extension, their associated ways of life. In this manner, they hope to allow students to attain the benefits inherent in a multicultural approach a greater fund of knowledge about languages, a richer social experience, and a keener appreciation of different manners of thinking (212-213).In countries where the native language is not English, there is every bit as much controversy regarding the cultural after cause of learning English. For people living in geographical areas marked by poverty and need, an education in English may be seen as a way to overdress to the echelons of power and privilege. Yet for those already enjoying th at power and privilege, the promotion of English for the masses may be seen as either a welcome conversion or a dangerous threat. Anthea Fraser Guptas account of the spread of English in colonial India traces the complicated history of the English empires influence over native Indians. When Great Britain officially endorsed the teaching of English to Indians, the intent was to introduce not only the language of the United Kingdom but also its cultural and religious values.British officials were in effect attempting to create darker-skinned versions of themselves, seeing the inculcation of western ideals as a means of eradicating a way of life that they considered idolatrous, immoral, and unprocessed ( 190-191). At the same time, Indians in positions of power worried that giving the lower classes a glimpse of what was possible through an English education worked against their interests. S.N. Mukherjee (cited in Gupta 192) reports that the Calcutta amphetamine classes feared that tho se below their social rank would become dissatisfied with their inferior status.More than a hundred years after the events chronicled in Guptas account, teachers of English still encounter resistance from pupils who either feel that language is being forced upon them or resent social exclusion from English-speaking society (Bourne 243-244).. Despite this, Jill Bourne informs us that the current trend in non-English speaking countries is to incorporate English language lessons into the primary school system. Even in Malaysia, where this is not endorsed, private schools offer English instruction to students whose wealthy parents are willing to pay for what they perceive as an important step on the road to social success (244). some(prenominal) countries, including Germany, the former Czech Republic, Hungary, Malay, and Hong Kong, have implemented some form of what America calls Language and Content Teaching, which blends language instruction with course content. The focus is shifted f rom the English language to the curriculum material, which is presented through the medium of English. However, in most parts of the world where English is taught, the emphasis remains on English as a subject itself (Bourne 244). This suggests that for most nations, what is truly being sought is not an adoption of English values but the attainment of proficiency in a language that offers access to more profitable pursuits.It is easy to understand why countries such as Hong Kong, whose economy is deeply invested in international commerce, would feel pressured to acquire English fluency. English is a major language of trade, and an inability to speak it proficiently is a definite disadvantage in the business arena. This becomes clearer when we consider it on a smaller, more personal scale. Anyone who has spent time among people who shared a common, foreign language knows the frustration and stigmatization that can result from an inability to communicate tardily and appropriately with others.There is a natural human desire to feel connected to others in some way, and language provides an excellent means of achieving that sense of belonging. When of the essence(p) life factors such as economic, social, and professional standing are at stake, language becomes even more crucial.This relationship between modes of communication and key life issues is precisely why the concept of a neutral language is a hypothetical one. The teaching of any language involves the transmission of much more than rules about grammar and pronunciation. It inevitably requires some measure of cultural change on the part of the learner, and in the case of English instruction those changes can have profound effects upon many major aspects of life. For this reason, educators and students alike must respect the various forms of language as reflections of valuable cultural and social traditions.Works CitedBourne, Jill. English for Speakers of Other Languages. eruditeness English Development and Diversity. Eds. Neil Mercer and Joan Swann. UK The Open University, 2002, 243-270.Brindley, Sue, with contributions from Swann, Joan. Issues in English Teaching. Learning EnglishDevelopment and Diversity. Eds. Neil Mercer and Joan Swann. UK The Open University,2002, 205-228.Gupta, Anthea Fraser. English and Empire Teaching English in ordinal Century India. LearningEnglish Development and Diversity. Eds. Neil Mercer and Joan Swann. UK The Open University, 2002, 188-194.vernacular. Compact Oxford English Dictionary. 2005.http//www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/vernacular?view=uk (3 Dec. 2005).