Elite Appropriation of English as a Medium of Instruction Policy and Epistemic Inequalities in Himalayan Schools

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Y

15

Advantaged; Language of Instruction; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Foreign Countries; Administrator Attitudes; Teacher Attitudes; Student Attitudes; Kindergarten; Elementary Secondary Education; Educational Policy; Neoliberalism; Multilingualism; Bilingualism; Language Planning; Language Attitudes; Social Capital; Economic Factors; Educational Quality; Minority Group Students; Language Proficiency; Language Teachers; Barriers; Ideology; Language Usage; Indo European Languages; Classroom Communication

10.1080/01434632.2020.1789154

0143-4632
1747-7557

This study reports on an investigation into the perspectives of different stakeholders (e.g. administrators, teachers, students, and parents) towards motivations for introducing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) policy in low-resourced public schools, serving minoritized students, and language ideologies that form its practices. Framed within the notions of neoliberalism and elite bi/multilingualism, this study provides a nuanced understanding of ideological and implementational discourses of the EMI policy in the K-12 context, which contributes to the emerging field of EMI. As the analysis of interviews and focus groups with the above stakeholders from five different schools in Mt. Everest region and the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal reveals, the key motivations for EMI were to help students gain social and material (economic) capital as EMI was perceived as a means to achieve English skills and quality education. However, such desires, guided by neoliberal logics, have put the minoritized students under delusion because the insufficiency of English proficiency among both teachers and students and the lack of rudiments to effectively implement EMI have created a 'comprehension crisis' and 'epistemic inequalities' for minoritized students. The findings also illustrate how neoliberal ideologies have led to the practice of elite bilingualism in EMI classrooms, also influencing the local language ecology.

As Provided

2023

EJ1379170