Linguistic diversity, multilingualism &The Role of “English-Medium Schools” in India

Linguistic diversity, multilingualism &The Role of “English-Medium Schools” in India

Nowadays there are between 5,000 and 7,000 languages in the world. It is difficult to know the exact number of languages because the distinction between a language and a dialect is not always clear. In fact languages are not isolated entities and in many cases there are no clear boundaries between them, it is rather a continuum that extends along a geographical area.

Linguistic diversity has been defined in a broad sense as the ‘range of variations exhibited by human languages. The Ethnologue  considers that there are 6,912 languages in the world today, but some of the languages included are just considered varieties or dialects in other accounts.

Three-Language Formula

As is mentioned above, India enjoys too many languages to choose a sole official/common language. However, any nation needs (more than) one common language to communicate one another and to unite the nation. Of course, in terms of efficiency and economically it is better for a nation to have the least number of languages as an official language. “The Three-Language Formula”, India’s most representative language policy, is a compromise between different linguistic groups in India. Though the term “the Three-Language Formula” is seldom used by the government of India in official documents, the term is widely accepted and used.

The Three-Language Formula was worked out as a way of accommodating the interest of each linguistic group. The formula is a policy to encourage them to choose and learn three languages at school. The first one of the three languages, in most cases, is speaker’s mother tongue/regional language while the second one is Hindi (a language of national pride and unity). And the last one is English (a language of administrative efficiency, technological progress and international communication).

The Role of “English-Medium Schools” in India

It is necessary to know about “English-medium schools” in India so that we can understand how English in India has been produced. “English-medium schools” are educational institutions where English is used as a medium of instruction. “English-medium schools” vary from school to school. Some have poor facilities and some are well equipped. Some English-medium boarding schools called “public schools” have deluxe facilities as well as well-trained/highly qualified teachers and gather children only from the upper class families. Such “public schools” in India can be regarded as an imitation of public schools in Britain. At “English-medium schools”, all the subjects except Indian languages like Hindi are supposed to be taught through English. At boarding schools called “public schools”, students have to use English all day long. At some “public schools”, students are punished if they use their mother tongue.

Naturally, students become good at English simply because they are forcibly exposed to English and cannot help using it. Generally speaking, the higher the course is, the more frequently English is used as a medium of instruction. Almost all colleges and universities in India prepare courses whose medium of instruction is English while most municipal elementary schools in India are supposed to use the regional language as a medium. However, there are such elementary schools and even kindergartens, mostly private, adopt English as the medium. In such schools and kindergartens, very small children with a still insufficient command of their own mother tongues are forced to use English. Consequently, not a few children feel English the most comfortable.

 Consequently, some children speak English instead of their mother tongue even when they talk with their family at home. “English-medium schools” are virtually producing the elite of the country.

Naturally, those with upward mobility want to send their children to “English medium schools” as long as their finances allow. English, in many aspects, is one of the most important keys to make a success in life in India. Even though they forget their mother tongue as a result of learning at “English-medium schools”, they rush to such schools to receive education through English. Apart from whether it is right or wrong, English can be said to be the most important language to educated Indians and is indispensable to Indian society.