Exploring the interrelationship between culture and learning: the case of English as a second language in India

ABSTRACT

Despite the continuous efforts of educationists and policy-makers to customise the existing culture of learning according to universal standards, the verity of Indian classrooms at the primary level has been less convincing, particularly in second-language learning and teaching. The central objective of this article is to analyse and correlate the superficially scattered factors which play a significant role in determining the culture of learning for English as a second language in India. The article examines the status of English among Indian languages and the pertinent reasons which make English the most sought-after medium of instruction in the entire nation. Another factor evaluated is the changing identity of English in India. Further, this article examines the impact of status and identity of English on the English language teachers and the pedagogical activities happening inside classrooms.

KEYWORDS:

• Culture of learning
• second-language learning
• rote learning
• English as a second language
• Indian linguistic diversity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The term culture of learning represents both ‘learning culture’ and ‘teaching culture’.

2. This research article is based on PhD work for which one of the authors visited many schools and collected data from there. All of the research protocols were duly followed.

3. India does not have any national language. Hindi is the official language and English is the associate official language of Union of India. Additionally, 22 scheduled languages are also accorded official status as Article 343/1 of the Indian Constitution mentions.

4. Census of India 2011 shows that larger chunks of the Indian population speak and understand Hindi either as their mother tongue or as a second language.

5. In Kachru’s (1998) concept, ‘The historical relationship between, for example, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and India’s other Indo Aryan group of languages is genetic’.

6. The Pan-Indian phonology is an outcome of the Indian linguistic diversity which mainly influences the phonology of non-Indian languages uniformly.

7. Since Independence, several initiatives such as the Secondary Education Commission (1952–53), the Education Commission (1964–66), the National Commission on Teachers – I & II (1983–85), the National Policy on Education 1986 (revised in 1992), the National Policy on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) adopted in 2013, the National Youth Policy (NYP) 2014, and the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 have been taken by the government to improve and deliver vital education.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Government of India (MOE), India [Full PhD Scholarship].