English medium instruction in South Asia’s multilingual schools: unpacking the dynamics of ideological orientations, policy/practices, and democratic questions

ABSTRACT

This article provides a critical review of English medium instruction (EMI) policy/practices in the K-12 multilingual schools in South Asia, especially in Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Employing Bourdieu’s (1993) lens of ‘linguistic capital’ and ‘linguistic marketplace,’ the article takes stock of (a) the development of EMI and its ideological and pedagogic motivations, (b) the models of EMI policy in relation to mother-tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) and their practices, and (c) social justice concerns that arise from such policies/practices. As the review of research and policy/practices reveals, EMI is ideologically perceived as a means of acquiring the linguistic capital, often believed to provide access to the global economy; and, therefore, a liberating tool for socioeconomically minoritized groups. Such ideology has, then, oriented the concerned bodies to position EMI within the framework of MTB-MLE in South Asian countries, creating the discourse of inequality and injustice for different social groups. The article continues the argument that the language policies, which are being developed/practiced in the lure of economic globalization, ignoring the local realities, become a source of marginalization along the lines of class, ethnicity, gender, and regions.

KEYWORDS:

• English-medium instruction (EMI)
• political economy
• language policy
• globalization
• South Asia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of British Columbia through a Four-Year Doctoral Fellowship and Killam Doctoral Scholarship.

Notes on contributors

Pramod K. Sah

Pramod K. Sah is a PhD candidate and Killam Scholar in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia, Canada. His research interests include English Medium Instruction, Language Ideology, TESOL and Social Justice, and Critical Pedagogy, which are largely informed by the core values of social justice indexes drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's critical social theories.