LANGUAGE IN INDIA

LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION
A Review of Professor O. N. Koul's Book
Raj Nath Bhat, Ph.D.

Language Education & Communication by Omkar N Koul. Indian Institute of Language Studies, Delhi. Price Rs. 400. Pp. viii+166.

PROFESSOR KOUL AND HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO INDIAN LINGUISTICS

The book under review is a collection of twelve articles written by Professor O.N. Koul, who needs no introduction to the students and scholars of Indian linguistics and adjacent disciplines. Dr. Koul was the founding Principal of the Northern Regional Language Centre of the Central Institute of Indian Languages. He was also full Professor and Director in charge of the same Institute for many years. His book An Intensive Course in Kashmiri and several others have helped thousands of teachers and others to learn Kashmiri, a vital language of the Indian Union. Dr. Koul continues to be a very active doing research in language planning, applied linguistics, and grammatical studies of several Indo-Aryan languages.

Two of the twelve articles in this book were co-authored with L. Devaki, a psycholinguist and educational psychologist with the Central Institute of Indian Languages, on various issues related to language and education.

ISSUES RELATING TO LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION IN INDIA

The book presents an interesting scenario of language use in education across the country. In a Survey on 'Language Preferences in Education' the author finds that the use of mother tongue at the primary level is almost a universal choice but as we move up, the choice of language invariably converges on English. The continuation of English as the sole medium of instruction at the tertiary level especially in medicine, science and technology, management and commerce and such other important areas which have the potential to create the societal elite is a major factor which gives English a mileage over indigenous languages.

NAVODAYA SCHOOLS AND STUDENTS FROM PRE-LITERATE COMMUNITIES

To cater to the needs or aspirations of the rural elite the government has established Navodaya Vidyalayas in the rural areas where English is taught from the primary level. The tribal pockets, the survey indicates, continue to be neglected as far as use of their languages in primary education is concerned. Kolami tribals in Maharashtra cannot read and write Kolami but all the respondents reported that they could read and write Marathi, Hindi, English.

No efforts, it seems, have been made at the governmental level to develop a proper script for Kolami so that the native speakers of the language could learn to read and write in their mother tongue. Kolami is not the only instance of this kind.

The scheduled languages are taught in the respective states throughout the country but the peripheral linguistic communities within the states' territories continue to be neglected. Expansion of state language and English may eventually cause their decay. English has become 'The Language' across the country which attracts maximum attention both at the societal as well as the governmental levels.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

The article on 'Elementary Education' reflects on the need to universalize elementary education for a better tomorrow and recommends that a higher percentage of GDP be allocated to this area so that better infrastructure could be provided to both the teacher as well as the taught. There is also a need to devise a novel mode of evaluation at the end of the year so that there are no failed candidates. That will eventually reduce, if not eliminate, the percentage of dropouts at the elementary level.

THE QUESTION OF THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

In a study of 'Medium of Instruction' at the primary, middle, high school, and higher secondary levels it is found that English is employed as a medium in all the states and union territories across the country which is followed by Hindi and Urdu occupies the third place as a medium of education. The use of languages as media of instruction reduces beyond primary level in all cases except English. In Nagaland English is the sole medium of education from primary onwards. There has been a steady decline from 47 in 1973 to 43 in 1981in the use of vernacular languages as media of instruction.

The tribal and non-scheduled languages are not used as media of education at the higher secondary level anywhere in the country, where as scheduled languages, except Kashmiri, are employed primarily in their respective states. The article on 'Multilingual Education in India' gives a historical account of the use of more than one language in education in the country. Multilingual instruction in India is a societal requirement meant to educate the numerically strong groups, the tribals and other ethnic minorities coexisting in the same/contiguous geographical areas.

THE RELEVANCE OF THE MODELS OF MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION

The Western model does not have much relevance here. The multilingual education is meant for all. The three-language formula of the Government of India has been effectively reduced to a two-language formula in the Hindi speaking states where Sanskrit (through Hindi medium) is taught as the third language. For the ethnic minorities, it has become a four-language formula where in addition to their mother tongues (wherever these are taught), they are required to study the state language, English and Hindi.

LANGUAGE AND NONFORMAL EDUCATION

The article on 'Language and non-formal Education' discusses the objectives of this system of education which is used world-wide to educate adults to make them functionally literate and to enable them to make proper use of technology for economic growth and social development. The issue of language choice assumes importance in this context. In a diglossic situation the lower variety ought to be employed in a teaching programme of this kind because the higher -literary- variety could confuse and discourage the adult learner.

THE NEED FOR DIALOGIC EDUCATION

There is a need to create 'language awareness' among the adult learners and the teaching methodology has to be in tune with the environment and abilities of the adult learners. It has to be an 'interactive' activity/method where the learners are allowed to formulate their requirements and devise techniques of teaching on their own.

LANGUAGE AND POLITICS

'Language and politics in India' gives a comprehensive overview of various language movements like the Tamil movement, Anti-English movement and other regional and local movements through which in a bid to have a fair share in political power at the state and national levels, people, for instance, opposed the imposition of Hindi and its recognition as the sole national language, or opposed the continuation of English as the Union language of administration, or sought recognition of regional languages under the eighth schedule.

Through several amendments to the Constitution, the legislature extended recognition to more and more languages (the number has risen to 22 now, and must swell further) and allowed English to continue as the major language of administration and law. This has placed English at an enviable position in contrast to all other languages across the country.

The article is appended with the constitutional provisions related to languages and the official language rules 1976.

MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION, LANGUAGE FOR ADMINISTRATION, ETC.

In the article on 'Mother tongue Education and Constitutional Safeguards' the author discusses the fate of Kashmiri which though being a scheduled language does not find any place in the state administration and a negligible space in education in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

On 'Use of Indian Languages in Administration' the author proposes that in a democratic set up it is necessary to make a 'careful choice of languages to be used in administration in each state' by giving appropriate room to minority languages as well. 'A central commission' could collaborate with the states to deliberate on this vital issue. Language technology has assumed an unprecedented importance in communication and education.

Dr. Koul believes that the use of language technology, and internet has the potential to bring about enormous positive changes in the language teaching situation at all levels- be it mother tongue, first language, second, third or foreign language. Networks can reduce the dominance of major languages in the learning process. There is a need to facilitate access to the internet through a larger number of languages, both scheduled as well as non-scheduled. This will not only promote inter-group communication but also facilitate teaching of modern skills and techniques to the recipients.

LANGUAGE AND FOREIGN POLICY

'Language as a tool for foreign policy' is an important article in the volume. It focuses upon the common linguistic-literary heritage of the countries in the sub-continent which, if properly harnessed, can bring people closer and there will be more frequent dialogues between scholars of various countries. Punjabi, Urdu and Sindhi in Pakistan and India, Tamil in Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and India, Bengali in India and Bangladesh, Nepali in Nepal and India, Tibetan in China and India, and Sanskrit as a language of scholarship across countries in Europe and Asia- this immense linguistic fraternity can play a significant role in creating diplomatic and cultural bridges between the peoples of these countries and that of India. We can establish 'language and culture' centers in these countries and extend our expertise to them in undertaking linguistic and cultural studies.

TO CONCLUDE

The volume discusses issues in a historical perspective. The reader gets to know a great deal about the British policy on language in education and administration and the post-independence attitudinal changes regarding mother tongue teaching and English learning across the country. It is a welcome addition to the literature on these vital issues. An insightful work from a senior scholar from India.

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