Language, Identity, and Social Divides: Medium of Instruction Debates in Bangladeshi Print Media

Abstract

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English as a medium of instruction and the discursive construction of elite identity

“…not understanding test questions written in Bangla and not speaking Bangla without mixing it with English) and therefore less Bangladeshi (e.g. not studying Bangla, leaving Bangladesh, and migrating to the West) (see Hamid & Jahan, , for details). Countering this representation by the BM educated, the EM educated constructed a cosmopolitan self‐identity, which highlighted their exceptional achievement, without referring to class privilege and setting themselves apart from the BM educated.…”

“…It is noted that parents also prefer these schools where their children “learn about values and principles and also good education” (EM‐LTE17). This may point to the alignment between class dispositions of the EM educated elite and the values and expectations of EM schools and their curriculum (Hamid & Jahan, ), which is also indicated by EM‐LTE55 and EM‐LTE84. In Pakistan, Malik's () research on various streams of education, including elite English‐medium schools, emphasized a similar alignment.…”

“…However, it is their (high) level of English (more on this later) which is represented as the main feature of their communicative repertoire. Although EM education is represented as controversial by the BM educated on national identity grounds (see Hamid & Jahan, ), EM educated writers attributed excellence in English learning to themselves and poor English learning to the BM educated to differentiate themselves from the latter. This can be understood from Example 3:

That today even a masters passed student from University (from a Bengali medium background), cannot speak in decent English (with few exceptions of course).

…”

“…Social privilege remains unacknowledged even when the material motivation for the EM educated elite's going global is acknowledged. The EM educated are represented as less patriotic by the BM educated because the EM educated, in the views of the BM educated, have a tendency to migrate overseas (see Hamid & Jahan, ). EM‐LTE37 acknowledged this tendency, but defended the EM educated elite's position by referring to the push factors in society:

Actually, it [migrating] is true.

…”

“…Although research on EMI and identity is limited at present, some researchers have illustrated how class identities and dispositions are maintained by EM schooling in South, East and Southeast Asia (David & Tien, 2009;Hamid & Jahan, 2015;LaDousa, 2014;LaDousa & Davis, 2018;Malik, 2012;Park, 2013;Ramanathan, 2005;Sandhu, 2016;Song, 2013;Sultana, 2014;Tanu, 2014). Ethnographic work in school settings has documented how language-medium ideologies have unfolded in practices of schooling and social life with different consequences for different social classes (Chidsey, 2018;Davis, 2018;LaDousa, 2014;Majumdar & Mukhopadhyay, 2018;Ramanathan, 2005;Sandhu, 2016).…”