Why this English-medium-veri di?

I was (am) an English teacher and the language opens doors for me. But I am very concerned about the increasing mania for instruction in English.
This editorial was published in July 2012 in The Open Page. Read it below or at  (http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=366045620135137&set=a.366045226801843.83548.136382846434750&type=1&theater)

Why this English-medium-veri di?

Admission to English-medium schools has rocketed by 280%! We all want to send our children to schools in which all subjects are taught in English. Why? Why this craze for English-medium instruction? Do our children learn better and more when taught in English as against in Gujarati or Hindi? Do they become smarter or cleverer? Parents with children in English-medium schools in various states in India have their own ideas. Let us see if you agree with them.

Why English-medium schools?

For economic capital. First of all, English is absolutely necessary for my child to get a job. The kind and level of jobs available without a command of English are not good enough for us. I would also like my child to be able to work all over India or the world; without English, my child will be confined to living in one or two states.

For academic capital. All higher education is in English only, especially professional courses like medicine and engineering or in IT. For my child to go to college, he will need to have studied all subjects in English. This is even more important if he is to abroad for higher studies.

For social capital. All of our friends’ kids go to English-medium schools. How can I be left out? What kind of friends will my child have if he does not go to the same kind of school? Who will he play with? Who will invite him to birthday parties?

We feel proud when our children speak English in company. At a party at home or a family wedding, when my child sings an English song or recites a poem, all the guests are impressed. It won’t be the same if they recited a poem in Hindi or sang a song in Gujarati.

Cultural Capital. Let us face it. English-medium schools are more sophisticated than regional language schools. They are stricter, with more discipline and better facilities. The teachers are more refined and classy.

Learning English vs Learning in English

I entirely agree that English is essential for a better job prospect, for higher education and for a wider educational experience. I can also sympathise with the need to keep up appearances.

But there seems to be a small problem here. My friends are confusing ‘learning English’ with ‘learning in English’. Learning English is to be able speak, read and write English fluently. Learning in English is to study all subjects such as maths and science and conduct all school activities such as games and drama in English. So, knowing English is not the same as studying all subjects in English.

And there are two problems with studying in English-medium schools. The first is that research says very clearly that learning both the content and the language at the same time doubles the difficulty for students. Once students know the content, they can easily learn to express the ideas in English. So your child may be better off learning the fundamentals of math and science in Gujarati first in primary school. In the higher classes, students could then learn the English words for the ideas and concepts they already know, which would be much easier for them.

And how many times have you complained about the teachers’ standards of English? The fact is that we do not have required number of teachers to teach all subjects in English. While the teachers may know the subject, not all of them have a good command of English. Thus, teachers teach math in the English they know, which may not be very much. So the students end up learning neither math nor English very well. On the other hand, if the teacher taught in a language she is comfortable with, the content would be well taught.

So perhaps we need to seriously consider providing a regional language medium for the primary classes and the moving the students to English-medium for the high school. And good schools with high-standards will open up if we create a demand for it.

As for the social aspiration of having children be proficient in learning to speak English fluently, that is where tuition classes can be useful. If these were to focus on conversational English, students could learn songs and poems to their parents’ hearts content without their academics being affected.

Where sophistication is concerned, my friends have a right to their opinion. But how important is that for the primary schools? Isn’t it more important for our children to get a good grounding in the subjects?

So let us see if we can build good schools that help children learn to be bright and intelligent and know math and science and social studies very well – in the regional language. Then we can send them to English classes to learn to be socially proficient. By ending this kolaveri for English-medium education, parents and students can win!