Download to read offline
![6 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
social integration or keep these different groups socially disintegrated. Articles
18 and 19 in Chapter IV of the Sri Lankan Constitution have designated Sinhala
and Tamil as national languages, while English serves as a link language between
the two communities as well as the language for international communication.
Article 21 of the same chapter says: “(1) [a] person shall be entitled to be edu-
cated through the medium of either of the National Languages”. Accordingly, the
national curriculum is delivered through the respective mother tongue – either
Sinhala or Tamil. Following the Paris Declaration 1953 that stated that “every
pupil should begin his [or her] formal education in his [or her] mother tongue”
(UNESCO, 2003), the primary curriculum (Grade 1 to Grade 5) is delivered
through either of the national languages. English as a link language is a core sub-
ject in the curriculum and is taught as a second language in all schools starting
from Grade 3 until Grade 13. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also intro-
duced the Second National Language (2NL – Sinhala for Tamilians and Tamil
for Sinhalese children) to achieve the goal of trilingual Sri Lanka for national rec-
onciliation. A child’s first language is also a compulsory subject in the curriculum
which is taught from Grade 1 to Grade 11.
The Sri Lankan government has a constitutional obligation to forge
national unity by promoting co-operation and mutual confidence among all
sections of the People of Sri Lanka, including the racial, religious, linguistic
and other groups, and shall, take effective steps in the fields of teaching, edu-
cation and information in order to eliminate discrimination and prejudice.
(The Constitution of Sri Lanka: Chapter VI Article 27 (5),
Parliament Secretariat of Sri Lanka, 2015, p. 18)
However, such macro-level policy and planning do not always yield intended out-
comes. For instance the Sri Lankan public education system seems to perpetuate
ethnic exclusivity, discrimination and prejudice through its linguistically polarised
public schools segregated by mother tongue instruction – that is Sinhala medium
and Tamil medium.
Official statistics (MOE, 2017) show that out of 10,194 public schools, 9,341
have a single language as the medium of instruction (6,332 Sinhala-medium
schools and 3,009 Tamil-medium schools). The Sinhala–Tamil ethnic divide is
clear in these schools, while Muslim students have the freedom to choose either
Sinhala- or Tamil-medium schools. By contrast, there are 680 schools that use
BE or English-medium instruction (EMI) together with MTI. Out of these 680
schools, 633 have either Sinhala or Tamil medium together with English-medium
instructions. These schools cannot eliminate the ethnic divide because students
receive EMI in already ethnically divided schools. However, there are 47 schools
which are attended by students of all ethnicities. These schools have separate
Sinhala Medium Section and Tamil Medium Section, and, therefore, students
are also ethnolinguistically divided when they learn in Sinhala or Tamil-medium
classes. However, students of all ethnicities attend the same BE/EMI class
beyond their ethnolinguistic boundaries. The BE programme in these schools](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-27-2048.jpg)
![8 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
mainly construct their ethicised otherness based on language (Chandra, 2006).
Muslims, on the other hand, cannot be identified with any specific language,
as both languages can be found among the Muslim community, although the
majority of Muslims recognise Tamil as their mother tongue.
From socio-psychological perspectives, social identity is one’s understand-
ing of his or her belongingness or membership in a certain social group with
which he or she identifies (or is identified by others). This group will have some
unique characteristics serving as the basis for its distinction from other groups.
The group membership embodies “emotional and value significance to him [or
her]” (Tajfel, 1972, p. 292) which also leads to out-grouping or discriminating
the others. Based on his minimal group studies, Tajfel (1972) posited that mem-
bers of a certain group tend to prefer in-group members (us) while developing
dislike towards others (them), often developing stereotypical (mis)conceptions
about “others”.
Tajfel also argues that individuals may reposition their social identity in seek-
ing the most self-satisfying group membership. From a Bourdieusian perspective
(see the next section), this is providing what is required of them in the structure
of social microcosms that they inhabit to become “fish in water” (Bourdieu and
Wacquant, 1992, p. 127). Based on their ethnographic studies, Crafter and Abreu
(2010) affirm progression in identity construction or repositioning of identities
over time and social spaces such as homes and schools. Similarly, using post-
structural theories, Norton and Toohey (2011) posit that new social spaces and
contexts (either real or imagined) may trigger new identity positions or identifica-
tion with new social groups. Post-structuralist views suggest that one’s identity is
fluid, hybrid and a fusion of multiple identities that have dialectical relations with
structural features such as religion, language and ethnicity. Language and identity
are inextricable, and this applies to collective group identifications that are nego-
tiated through social constructs such as languages (Lo Bianco, 2010). Therefore,
it is not impossible that ethnocentric attitudes and identities of the students in
our study will be reshaped when a linguistically and ethnically heterogeneous
social space prevails in the BE classroom. We further discuss this potential in the
theoretical framework section.
Language, education and civil conflict
The preceding discussion on ethnolinguistic identity may corroborate Tollef-
son’s (1991) observation that language constitutes an “arena for struggle” where
“social groups seek to exercise power through their control of language” (p. 13).
The civil war in Sri Lanka, which ended in 2009, is categorised as an “ethno-
linguistic conflict” (Saunders, 2007). As argued earlier, the Sri Lankan educa-
tion system seems to sustain the conflict by its ethnolinguistically segregated
schooling (Davis, 2020; Wijesekera et al., 2019). However, ethno-linguicism
was not the only reason behind the ethnic conflict, as the ethnolinguistic issues
were politicised for political outbidding. Pre-colonial Sri Lanka used to have fluid
linguistic boundaries that allowed for “considerable ethnic accommodation and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-29-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 9
intermingling” where language and ethnicity were not essential requirements for
group inclusion or exclusion (Hassan, 2011). As Hassan (2011) maintained,
[t]he genesis of the present conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils is thus
rooted not in the ancient historical past but in recent history, and more spe-
cifically in colonial and post-colonial developments in Sri Lanka.
(p. 148)
Lo Bianco (2011, p. 36) explains, “Prior to decolonization, English was excori-
ated by nationalists as kaduwa, a knife or sword”. The metaphor suggests the
double-edged sharpness of English that slices through and relegates vernacu-
lar language speakers who cannot converse in English. We argue that this situa-
tion has not changed much even after 70 years of independence. The symbolic
violence (Bourdieu, 1991) of English continues to suppress those who cannot
speak the language. For instance one’s inability to use English or not being able
to speak the desirable variety or accent may be seen as a legitimate ground for
one’s stigmatisation, discrimination and disadvantage. The symbolic violence of
English can be linked to discriminatory colonial policy. The establishment of
EMI missionary schools during the colonial era in Tamil-dominated areas gave
the urban Tamil minority more access to English (Blumör and Licht, 2019).
Consequently, the urban Tamilians secured more government jobs and higher
education opportunities (Soulbury Commission Report, 1945 cited in De Silva,
1997). This EMI-based social discrimination led to the demand for MTI, which
was won with the introduction of “Swabasha” (own language) policy. As a result,
the public school system gradually came to comprise single-language-medium
schools with EMI schools switching to MTI. The ensuing segregation deprived
Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children of the shared lived experiences of learn-
ing together. The necessity of English as a language to link the two contesting
speech communities was minimised. The end results were interethnic alienation,
mutual mistrust and prejudice which facilitated the construction of ethnocen-
tric and exclusive identities, rather than an inclusive national identity (Wodak
and Boukala, 2015). Adding to this ethnolinguistic atmosphere, the introduction
of the inflammatory Sinhala Only Act (1958), which replaced the official status
enjoyed by English, further fuelled the separation and consolidated group soli-
darity among Tamilians, excluding the Sinhalese.
The education system continues to perpetuate separatist ethnocentric identity
through its ethnically segregated schooling and “has failed to build a sense of
national identity and social cohesion” (Blumör and Licht, 2019, p. 13). Though
the country has introduced various educational reforms for reconciliation, stu-
dents of diverse ethnicities do not have a practical sense of being with one another
and practice pluralism and tolerance towards their diverse others through lived
experiences due to ethnically segregated classrooms.
However, the social and interactional space created in BE classrooms in bi-
media schools which include Sinhala and Tamil media as well as EMI is differ-
ent. When BE students study subjects through English, they can study in one](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-30-2048.jpg)
![10 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
multiethnic and multilingual classroom. This may have the potential to harness
deeper mutual understanding between the three groups (Davis, 2020). The
shared lived experience of ethnic diversity in these multiethnic BE classrooms
may allow students to practice concepts such as pluralism, democracy and coop-
eration that they study in subjects such as citizenship education. They do so
while also working together to achieve common education goals that potentially
reduce inter-group differences (Tajfel, 1972). Exposure to other groups may pro-
mote positive perceptions and empathy with equality and collaboration prevail-
ing among diverse others. These social affordances may disconfirm stereotypical
misconceptions that members usually have towards members of “other” groups,
reducing future racial and ethnic tensions.
Theoretical perspectives
From a Bourdieusian perspective, if we explore the social affordances of the new BE
space where inclusivity is the capital at stake, the ethnocentric habitus or identity
into which the students had thus far been trapped may be transformed into less
ethnocentric or inclusive supra-ethnic identity on the continuum of identity posi-
tioning. Thus, we have framed the investigation by using Bourdieu’s (1990, p. 55)
logic of practice. The logic of practice is built upon his three theoretical concepts:
habitus, field and capital, which we utilise “not as mere metaphorical descriptors”
but as “dynamic epistemological matrices” (Grenfell, 2013, p. 284). In Bourdieu’s
epistemic thinking, the reality represents the dialectic relations between subjective
structures (i.e. habitus of individuals who occupy a field) and objective structures
(field). Individuals’ practices or actions are predisposed by these relations “without
presupposing a conscious aiming at end” (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 53). This relation-
ship is considered structural constructivism or a two-way structured structuring.
Habitus is “a way of being habituated . . . a predisposition, tendency, propen-
sity or inclination” (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977, p. 214). It is the internalisa-
tion of the external social order and the external becoming embodied (Bourdieu
and Wacquant, 1992). Bourdieu defined habitus as structured subjectivity. The
internalisation of the external occurs first through primary pedagogic work (PW)
in the familial field, which is followed by secondary pedagogic work in schools
and other institutions. In essence, habitus undergoes transformation, although
complete reversibility is not possible because the secondary habitus formation
does not happen ex nihilio since the existing primary habitus acquired through
primary PW is the foundation for subsequent habitus which is also shaped by the
rules of the field (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). From this perspective, a group
of individuals socialised into similar social orders may develop similar habitus.
Bourdieu (1977) argues that
each member of the same class [here same ethnic group] is more likely than any
member of another class [another ethnic group] to have been confronted with
the situations most frequent for members of that class [ethnicity].
(p. 85, emphases added)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-31-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 13
school in the capital and Parakrama College, a semi-government Catholic school.
All three schools taught some subjects through English and were attended by
Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students. When these students learned the subjects
delivered through English, they gathered together in one classroom. This is dif-
ferent from MTI, which includes students in the classroom based on their ethno-
linguistic backgrounds.
Data analysis and interpretation
Content analysis was the main analytical method used to develop the themes
emerging from the data (see Wijesekera, 2018 for details). The analytical process
was mainly deductive and was framed by using Bourdieu’s conceptual tools as the
explanatory framework previously discussed. An iterative process navigating back
and forth between the data and analysis was followed during data collection. We
analyse and interpret the data to illustrate the complex and conflicting ethnolin-
guistic orientations and their potential consequences informing the dynamics of
BE classrooms. We divide the analysis into four main themes which we describe
and illustrate in detail in the following sections.
Identity transformation: moving towards inclusivism
The analysis of the data collected through FGDs with the students indicated that
many of them had had ethnocentric dispositions or ethnically exclusive identities
resulting from primary PW in their families. These identities and dispositions were
consolidated by secondary PW in monolingual (single language as a medium),
and hence monoethnic, schools. This consolidation was facilitated even in the so-
called multiethnic schools due to the separation of students into Tamil-medium
and Sinhala-medium classrooms, which brought little opportunity for students to
learn together, as illustrated in the following excerpt:
When we were young, we only associated with Sinhala students and Sinha-
lese. When I came here and heard Tamil [speaking in Tamil], I got scared
instantly. I wondered if they would talk to me. I have no place to go. I won-
dered if something happened, I may have to hide somewhere. That’s how
I felt in the first few days.
(Sinhala Student 4, Raveendranath College)
This excerpt reveals the degree of culture shock when the student heard other
students speaking Tamil. Similar to this Sinhala student, other students who had
earlier studied in a single-language medium school without exposure to other
cultures shared similar experiences.
However, the ethnocentric attitudes and identities were found to transform
towards less ethnocentric and more inclusive dispositions when the students were
exposed to secondary PW in the BE classroom where they studied together to](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-34-2048.jpg)
![14 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
achieve common educational goals. The following excerpt represents the com-
mon view held by the students irrespective of their ethnicities.
It was very separate, we didn’t know them and they didn’t know about us
ither. From Grade 6 onwards I was in English medium class. And I was
in Sinhala medium before. . . . Well, before I came to English medium in
Grade 6, from Grade 1 to 5, I barely used to play with them. During the
interval also it was very separate, so we didn’t know them and they didn’t
know us either. After Grade 6, when we started moving together and playing
together, exchanging things and working together, that was a big experience
for us.
(Muslim Student 3, Raveendranath College)
Also, the following excerpts from South College students further reflect how
ethnic exclusivity was perpetuated by the public school system, and how socialisa-
tion into the ethnocentric habitus was shaped by, among other factors, the media.
These excerpts also illuminate how ethnocentric dispositions were transformed in
the BE classroom.
Tamil student: Before we were in other schools, we didn’t see them like this.
The problem was [the] war.
Tamil student: When we watched the news we thought Sinhala people were
not good, we have neighbours they are good, but we thought
the Sinhalese in the country is not good. But it was only when
we came to this school (BE) we understood that they are as
good as this much, they are very good.
Sinhala student: [We] saw them [Muslim people] bit different from us, a bit
bad way (before) . . . earlier we thought that they humiliate
and disrespect our religion.
Sinhala student: When during the war we were scared of Tamils.
Sinhala student: During the war Sinhala and Tamil . . . because of it we were
afraid of Tamils earlier.
Muslim student: In [Muslim College] we didn’t meet them, so I didn’t know
about them. I thought they are bad. But now it’s different,
I know them and we are friends.
Transformation of these ethnocentric views was experienced by students at
Raveendranath College. As typical views were represented by Sinhala and Tamil
students:
Sinhala student: It is different now. Earlier we all hated Tamils. Now it is
changed. Now we are in the same one class, we work together
and we understand each other now.
Sinhala student: We didn’t have any knowledge or understanding about them
earlier. On the other hand, we thought that Tamils are bad](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-35-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 15
like that. Now we realised they are really cooperative because
now we are friends.
Tamil student: Maybe I personally think that only parents understand these.
We never knew what was happening. Just suddenly [the] war
finished. They say all the stories, parents had their mental-
ity and that has gone into the children that is what I believe.
They didn’t even know why they have that separation. They
have a deep impact inside that there is some kind of difference
[distance between Tamils and others – mainly Sinhalese].
The experiences reported here by the students provide evidence of how ethnic
distinctions were conferred to be “socially legitimized and consecrated by social
institutions” (Kramsch, 2010, p. 41) such as the family and school, as Tamilians,
Sinhalese or Muslims (Wijesekera, 2018). For instance stereotypical misconcep-
tions inculcated by primary PW of family and then secondary PW in school con-
solidated such stereotypical misconceptions and ethnocentrism (Bourdieu and
Passeron, 1977). Although the public school system is supposed to socialise stu-
dents towards inclusive supra-ethnic identities, it seems to have failed due to the
linguistically divided school system. In contrast, the multiethnic BE classroom
that brought diverse ethnic groups together facilitated the realignment of ethno-
centric identities towards inclusive identities, as students had the opportunity to
meet and come to know one another and work towards common goals.
The emergence of a new group
The data also provided evidence for the emergence of “oneness” among the stu-
dents who studied together in BE classrooms irrespective of their ethnicities. It
appears that they developed an “in-group” sense and solidarity among themselves
as English-medium students as opposed to Tamil- medium or Sinhala-medium
monolingual classes. As the principal of South College noted:
When the students are in one class they all act as one group because they
get the opportunity to work together to achieve one single objective within
that context. Among them, things pertaining to each other are discussed.
When this is like this, a new community is formed even though unofficially.
They have a certain understanding of each other’s culture and they begin to
respect each other. Even though there are differences due to multicultural
nature they are within a certain framework, they think this is our class. For
example if a Sinhala BE student has a grudge with a Tamil student in another
class, Tamil BE students take the side of the Sinhala BE student. In such a
context they are within a framework that it is our colleague [classmate]; they
have that feeling because they are always together in one class.
The emergence of a new community means the disconfirmation of the previ-
ously held stereotypical perceptions. Belonging to one class where students of all](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-36-2048.jpg)
![16 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
ethnicities work together to achieve their educational goals as one learning com-
munity may also have contributed to in-group sense irrespective of ethnicity while
out-grouping the students in other classes. Studying in one classroom requires
them to achieve common educational goals, which, in turn, necessitates mutual
help and support among students. This may have promoted interdependence
and mutual trust and respect and, thereby, in-group solidarity among students in
contrast to out-grouping of others (Harwood and Vincze, 2015; Tajfel, 1972).
The social capital at stake in these classes is not exclusive but inclusive. It
referred to the membership of the multiethnic and multilingual classroom, not
the membership of a single ethnic group. The views expressed by a BE teacher
in a semi-structured interview corroborated the idea of the formation of group
solidarity:
In the BE class, we don’t have to take special effort [effort to promote social
cohesion]. It can be done through the BE programme with the existing
curriculum. For example when we do a science project without conscious
knowledge students automatically begin to cooperate, they share each oth-
er’s knowledge, resources and skills. So they cooperate with each other. They
don’t have limits; they don’t have boundaries then. So one of the aims of BE
is to make this cooperation and understanding. It will contribute to social
cohesion.
The teacher noted that “without conscious knowledge”, students “automatically
begin to cooperate”. This insinuates that the students were acting in a practi-
cal sense. In other words, they became a part of the “game” – becoming fitting
players of the multiethnic and multilingual BE classroom field through illusio –
feeling for the game. This illustrates that working together cooperatively to
achieve common goals creates an in-group sense. This may trigger repositioning
of students’ group identities towards supra-ethnic identities where the exclusion
of students who belonged to other ethnic groups is not any more profitable, at
least in the social space of the BE classroom. In the BE classroom, the “legitimate
pedagogic capital” (Hardy, 2010, p. 144) becomes inclusivity – a new sub-type
of capital that emerges quasi-instantaneously in relation to the “socially situated
conditions” in the multiethnic BE classroom.
English: an “unmarked” code between “marked” codes
Our study illustrates that English played the role of a “friendly knife” among the
students in the multiethnic BE classroom. However, this role also seemed to be
taking on differing traits within and beyond the BE classroom and the school.
The analysis of the data revealed that the schools provided clear evidence that
English as the legitimate linguistic capital (English medium) played the mediat-
ing role between the Sinhala and Tamil languages that have a history of rivalry
as previously discussed. To exemplify this, we present one Sinhala student’s views
which, we suppose, summed up the views of all students in the three schools.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-37-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 17
The “difference” in the following extract refers to the distance or out-grouping
between the students who studied in Sinhala-medium classes and Tamil-medium
classes:
There was a difference and it mattered. We didn’t understand the racial differ-
ences when we were small. But then our interaction with Tamils [students]
who were there [in the school] was a bit low. I didn’t have an issue because
I spoke English but most of my friends were Sinhala medium children, so for
them, the only way they could communicate was English. But Sinhala stu-
dents didn’t have that knowledge of English to speak to the Tamils. I assume
the same experience may have happened with people from Tamil classes
because even the Tamil medium students who were doing Tamil medium
and Muslims also were there in TM classes. So I would say that the lan-
guage was the barrier but English was the bridge. So, even the SM [Sinhala-
medium] students had to speak to Tamils because in classroom activities like
sweeping they had to talk to each other. So there both parties tried their best
to speak to each other through English. But sometimes I noticed that Tamil
students were trying to speak in Sinhala but not Sinhala students in Tamil.
[. . .] But English was the thing that brought them together.
(Sinhala Student, Raveendranath College)
The student reiterated that language was a barrier that kept the two ethnic
groups separate, but English came to remove the barrier, working as a bridge.
When the students were in one class, they were compelled to interact or play the
game as required of them. In addition, some other students viewed that English
as a common medium made everyone connected and created a sense of equality.
Sinhala as the language spoken by the majority population may obviously have
more capital value over Tamil, despite the equal status given to both languages by
the Constitution. On the other hand, English being the language between these
two communities created a common group sense instead of ethnic categorisation
based on languages.
The views of two BE teachers provided additional evidence of the social poten-
tial of English in relation to Sinhala and Tamil. In response to the question of
why other languages were not used in the class, the first, a citizen education
teacher, explained
[t]hat [English-only approach] is very important because as I told you, I don’t
want to think whether this child is a Muslim, Tamil or Sinhala. Actually,
I don’t know whether some children are Muslims or Tamil, actually, we don’t
know. I really don’t know. The connection between us is English. . . . [I]t is
very important for social cohesion. . . . So we don’t feel any difference when
we go to classes. I think so do the children. If Tamil medium students go to
a Sinhala medium class, if you send a Tamil medium student, they can’t com-
municate. You get the feeling that you are a Tamil I am a Sinhala you get that
feeling. But when someone asks “Can I have your book” then “Yes you can](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-38-2048.jpg)
![18 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
take it buddy”[.] There is no communication gap. There is no obstacle . . .
when you speak English, you feel very comfortable if you speak to a person
who belongs to a different ethnic group. There, whatever the ethnicity you
don’t care if you have a common communication medium. . . . you don’t
want to be worried about the ethnicity.
(BE Citizen Education Teacher, Parakrama College)
From this teacher’s perspective, English created the bond between her and the
BE students in her class as it was the common language. She noted that in the
absence of English, an ethnically neutral language, there could be different power
dynamics between the students and between the teacher and the students of dif-
ferent ethnic groups. However, when English was used as the medium of com-
munication, there was a commonality, and this corroborated what the Sinhala
student said earlier: If language created the gulf, English served as the bridge.
The other BE teacher who taught science reaffirmed this role of English and
noted that “[t]here are no Tamil or Muslims or Sinhala groups. . . . Because there
is a common language, there is no difference among them”. This observation was
also substantiated by the fieldwork. When the first author collected data in the
BE classroom, she could not differentiate between the different ethnic groups.
All students were similar physically as they are made of flesh and blood – it is only
the language which divided them but was not embodied. As the teacher noted:
In English medium classes nobody talks in Tamil or Sinhala. [So] [t]here
are no Tamil or Muslim or Sinhala groups. . . . Because there is a common
language there is no difference among them. What they come up with is that
they are English medium, they don’t see who [is] catholic, who [is] Sinhala,
[and] who the Hindus are. . . . They don’t have an attitude like okay you are
a Muslim or he is Tamil. They work as a one-whole class. . . . [I]t happens
due to the common language in use.
(BE Science/Class teacher at Parakrama College)
The teacher’s views illustrate that English was an “unmarked code” that neutral-
ised the historically acquired contending nature of the two national languages:
Tamil and Sinhala. Hence, when English was the language of communication, the
participants experienced an in-group sense, and they could claim their belonging
to one common group. This was clearly articulated by a Sinhala student:
For me and what I have seen I don’t know if it is scientifically proven, but
when you switch a language you switch personality. When people are speak-
ing in English the personality is different. And what I feel is that that proba-
bly happens, I have seen it a couple of times, when Sinhala or Tamil speaking
students speaking in completely English they feel that that wasn’t different,
and the way that the person is acting differently.
(Sinhala Student, Raveendranath College)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-39-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 19
While “local languages and identities suffer from discriminatory markings of
caste, ethnicity, and gender” (Canagarajah, 2005, p. 428), English may work
as a neutral or “unmarked code” (Canagarajah, 2000), where symbolic power
between local languages appears to be null. Based on our data, when a common
language was the legitimate language of the social space, here the BE classroom
(English medium), the inhabitants adopted the symbolic standing in which power
relations resulting from languages of varying capital values were reoriented. In
such a context, ethnic identity/habitus mainly oriented through language might
analogously reorient when they become “a single linguistic community” (May,
2010), as per Bourdieu’s logic of practice. The BE classroom created at least an
illusion of “linguistic communism” (Bourdieu, 1991) by presenting English as
the legitimate language of communication in the classroom even if it is not practi-
cally so. In such a social space, the power struggle between majority and minority
languages originating from differing capital values attributed to the languages
may fade away, at least for the time being.
Nevertheless, the so-called neutral English may work in other ways as well. It
is between those who have the linguistic capital and those who do not – BE stu-
dents and monolingual students. We elaborate on this theme in the next section.
English kaduwa – The symbolic sword
Capital can be either stakes or weapons. In the preceding discussion, we noted
that English as a linguistic capital was a stake. But it can also be a weapon for
people irrespective of ethnicity. Our analysis of the data demonstrates that there
was a hierarchy of power between those who were fluent in English and those
not so fluent, even within the BE classroom. We take into account both per-
spectives. The elitist practice of the BE students contributed to stratification
between BE students and monolingual students. At the time of data collection,
this school had not allowed separate physical classroom spaces for BE students.
The students needed to come to the same classroom when they studied content
subjects through English. At other times, the BE students were in their respec-
tive monolingual classes. In response to the question “Why do you disallow
separate BE classrooms for BE students?”, the principal of Raveendranath Col-
lege noted:
Because we found that another sub-group was forming. This sub-group
always wanted to be different from other students, so this was a big issue . . .
separated from original Sinhala medium or Tamil medium children. . . .
[T]hey wanted to form [their] own “class”, English speaking class.
In fact, this new class formation became such a critical issue that the MOE was
compelled to issue an order disallowing separate classrooms for BE students due to
various complaints by school authorities regarding the formation of an elite group
within schools. This division prevailed even within the BE classroom – between](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-40-2048.jpg)
![20 Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid
those who were highly proficient and those who had more modest levels of Eng-
lish proficiency. This was evident in the students’ responses:
Student 3: There are some students who think they are high class or above us.
Student 2: There are a few students who use English to let others down. They
think that knowing English is having the whole world under them.
So they shout, make noise and push us.
In particular, we concentrate on the struggle between the BE students and the
monolingual students. The most interesting revelation was that this struggle was
prevalent even between Tamil-speaking BE students and Tamil-medium students.
Student 5: When we were like in Grade 8 and got late for Tamil class our Tamil
teacher scolded us saying, “You are English medium people; you are
like English dogs”.
Student 2: So even [though] she is Tamil, she used “English dogs” to scold us.
Student 1: We are scolded as English-Medium. Even when someone talks in the
class they [teachers] just say, “You’re English medium”.
These excerpts show that the students were scolded as a group – “the English-
medium students”. Another student noted: “Tamil teachers favor only Tamil-
medium students. They throw us like the dustbin [garbage]”. This provides a
profound example of the pain that these Tamil BE students may have experi-
enced, especially when they were discriminated against by their own ethnic group.
Their experiences also illustrate the symbolic violence on them and their helpless
submission to the violence in a taken-for-granted manner. This was explicitly
expressed by another Tamil BE student who noted: “We are silent and even if
smile with each other, you know we don’t talk, but if we do smiling like, we get
beaten”. This shows that the students were forced to be silent and accept the
dominant logic of practice in the Tamil-medium classroom where they have to go
to study subjects such as Tamil language and history.
This relegation was mainly reported by Tamil BE students in all schools but not
by Sinhala BE students. Even the BE teachers also expressed similar views that
mainly Tamil students were relegated by Tamil-medium students and teachers.
This may be attributed to the “Tamil-only” hardcore language policy imposed by
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), the de facto rulers of the northern
part of the island before 2009. As Saunders (2007) argues, this policy not only
aimed to facilitate the upward mobility of lower social classes of Tamil but also
served as resistance towards elite English–Tamil bilinguals. The discriminatory
coercion reportedly exercised by the Tamil-medium students and teachers over
Tamil BE students may be a reflection of this policy which may not have disap-
peared even after the end of the war and the adoption of language policies giving
equal status to Sinhalese and Tamilians.
Overall, the foregoing discussion provides evidence for the complex and con-
flicting nature of the social potential of the English language in the education](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-41-2048.jpg)
![Dynamics of bilingual education 21
space. Sometimes, it becomes conflict-fuelling, while at other times, it is seem-
ingly a neutral mediator. In particular, English appears to be “extremely politi-
cally charged” “[u]nable to erase its colonial past or the present political tensions
to which its uses and abuses have given rise” (Saunders, 2007) and continues to
reproduce social disparities. Yet, as this study shows, English language can also
act as a tool of reconciliation between the two contesting linguistic groups, being
an “unmarked code” (Canagarajah, 2000) – a conduit between.
Conclusion
This chapter has provided insights into the multiethnic BE classroom in Sri Lanka
in terms of shaping students’ ethnolinguistic orientations, including the role of the
English language. The Sri Lankan public school system continues to perpetuate eth-
nolinguistic divisions through its language of instruction policies. This is contrary to
the goal that the system is legitimately required to achieve ethnic reconciliation for
social cohesion. The chapter has demonstrated that the BE classroom in multiethnic
schools offers a rite of passage towards transformative expectations in the education
system. We illustrated how students of different ethnicities who once had ethno-
centric hate and negative stereotypical misconceptions towards the “others” were
being transformed into having a common group sense – a mutual likeness and trust
in relation to the “socially situated conditions” of the multiethnic BE classroom.
Our study suggests that sharing lived experience matters in unlearning of negative
ethnocentric dispositions. Based on the study we may argue that “by sheer dint of
being embedded within the field”, one may “undergo a process of personal transfor-
mation” (Shammas and Sandberg, 2016, p. 196, original emphasis).
The chapter has also exemplified that in these multiethnic BE classes, English
language played the role of a “neutral mediator” between the two rival national
languages. However, English as a symbolic capital also acted as a coercive weapon
that victimised and cut through those who did not possess the linguistic capital of
English. In other words, if the so-called neutral mediation of English can recon-
cile ethnolinguistically divided groups, it can do so only by creating new divides
along different linguistic lines – between English proficiency and its absence. This
English-based divide is ultimately an expression of the social and material divides
reported in South Asia (Hamid and Jahan, 2015; Jahan and Hamid, 2019). From
a policy perspective, this is comparable to the use of quinine to treat malaria –
quinine may eliminate the fever, but what will eliminate the quinine?
At the same time, the linguistic power of English may not be seen as being
absolute. If the absence of English proficiency may render people into being
linguistic victims, in some cases those victims may also utilise a different linguis-
tic capital to victimise their English-proficient victimisers. This was evidenced
by the intolerant attitudes and discriminatory behaviours by less English-profi-
cient Tamil students (as well as teachers) towards English-proficient Tamil BE
students. A similar process of victimisation is reported in Bangladesh, where
Bangla-medium students’ representation of their English-medium other shows
intolerance and lack of respect (Hamid and Jahan, 2015).](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-42-2048.jpg)
![This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.
Title: The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 4, December,
1834
Author: Various
Editor: James E. Heath
Release date: December 17, 2016 [eBook #53753]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Ron Swanson
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SOUTHERN
LITERARY MESSENGER, VOL. I., NO. 4, DECEMBER, 1834 ***](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-50-2048.jpg)
![SONNET: by R. H. Wilde
EPIGRAMME FRANCAISE
TRUE CONSOLATION
SONNET: by R. H. Wilde
ADVICE FROM A FATHER TO HIS ONLY DAUGHTER
ORIGINAL LITERARY NOTICES
VATHEK—An Oriental Tale: by Mr. Beckford, author of Italy, c.
LEISURE HOURS, or the American Popular Library: conducted by an
Association of Gentlemen
Selection: MY TWO AUNTS
EDITORIAL REMARKS
EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS OF CORRESPONDENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CONTRIBUTORS, CORRESPONDENTS, C.
SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER.
VOL. I.] RICHMOND, DECEMBER,
1834. [NO. 4.
T. W. WHITE, PRINTER AND PROPRIETOR. FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/47971-250319174329-b0f6a5f1/75/Multilingual-Education-in-South-Asia-At-the-Intersection-of-Policy-and-Practice-1st-Edition-Lina-Adinolfi-Editor-55-2048.jpg)
More Related Content
Similar to Multilingual Education in South Asia: At the Intersection of Policy and Practice 1st Edition Lina Adinolfi (Editor)
Multilingual Education in South Asia: At the Intersection of Policy and Practice 1st Edition Lina Adinolfi (Editor)
- 1. Read Anytime AnywhereEasy Ebook Downloads at ebookmeta.com Multilingual Education in South Asia: At the Intersection of Policy and Practice 1st Edition Lina Adinolfi (Editor) https://ebookmeta.com/product/multilingual-education-in- south-asia-at-the-intersection-of-policy-and-practice-1st- edition-lina-adinolfi-editor/ OR CLICK HERE DOWLOAD EBOOK Visit and Get More Ebook Downloads Instantly at https://ebookmeta.com
- 2. Recommended digital products(PDF, EPUB, MOBI) that you can download immediately if you are interested. Regional Development Planning and Practice Contemporary Issues in South Asia Mukunda Mishra https://ebookmeta.com/product/regional-development-planning-and- practice-contemporary-issues-in-south-asia-mukunda-mishra/ ebookmeta.com English in East and South Asia Policy Features and Language in Use 1st Edition Ee Ling Low https://ebookmeta.com/product/english-in-east-and-south-asia-policy- features-and-language-in-use-1st-edition-ee-ling-low/ ebookmeta.com Big data in education the digital future of learning policy and practice Ben Williamson. https://ebookmeta.com/product/big-data-in-education-the-digital- future-of-learning-policy-and-practice-ben-williamson/ ebookmeta.com The Wealth of a Nation A History of Trade Politics in America Johnson https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-wealth-of-a-nation-a-history-of- trade-politics-in-america-johnson/ ebookmeta.com
- 3. Girl Uprooted AMemoir 1st Edition Lena Lee https://ebookmeta.com/product/girl-uprooted-a-memoir-1st-edition-lena- lee/ ebookmeta.com The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Music and Gender 1st Edition Desconocido https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-routledge-research-companion-to- popular-music-and-gender-1st-edition-desconocido/ ebookmeta.com The Archaeology of Medieval Islamic Frontiers From the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea 1st Edition A Asa Eger https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-archaeology-of-medieval-islamic- frontiers-from-the-mediterranean-to-the-caspian-sea-1st-edition-a-asa- eger/ ebookmeta.com Marks Basic Medical Biochemistry A Clinical Approach 6th Edition Michael A. Lieberman https://ebookmeta.com/product/marks-basic-medical-biochemistry-a- clinical-approach-6th-edition-michael-a-lieberman/ ebookmeta.com Insight Guides Pocket Rhodes 1st Edition Insight Guide https://ebookmeta.com/product/insight-guides-pocket-rhodes-1st- edition-insight-guide/ ebookmeta.com
- 4. The International FilmBusiness: A Market Guide Beyond Hollywood 3rd Edition Angus Finney https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-international-film-business-a- market-guide-beyond-hollywood-3rd-edition-angus-finney/ ebookmeta.com
- 6. Multilingual Education in SouthAsia Spanning scholarly contributions from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this edited volume seeks to capture and elucidate the distinct challenges, approaches and possible solutions associated with interpreting, adapting and applying language-in- education policies in a range of linguistically complex teaching and learning environments across South Asia. Centring on on-the-ground perspectives of scholars, practitioners, pupils, parents and the larger community, the volume offers new insights into one of the most complex, populous and diverse multilingual educational contexts in the world. Language-in-education policies and practices within this setting represent particularly high-stake issues, playing a pivotal role in determining access to literacy, thereby forming a critical pivot in the reproduction of educational inequality. The broad aim of the collection is thus to highlight the pedagogical, practical, ideological and identity-related implications arising from current language-in-education policies in this region, with the aim of illustrating how systemic inequality is intertwined with such policies and their associated interpretations. Aimed at both academics and practitioners – whether researchers and students in the fields of education, linguistics, sociology, anthropology or South Asian studies, on the one hand, or language policy advisors, curriculum developers, teacher educators, teachers, members of funding bodies, aid providers or NGOs, on the other – it is anticipated that the accounts in this volume will offer their readership opportunities to consider their wider implications and applications across other rich multilingual settings – be these local, regional, national or global. Lina Adinolfi is Senior Lecturer in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University, UK, whose professional and research specialisms embrace both language learning and language-in-learning. She has extensive experience of designing technology-enhanced language-supportive teacher professional development programmes in India and other low-resource multilingual South Asian contexts. Usree Bhattacharya is Associate Professor in the Language and Literacy Education Department, College of Education at the University of Georgia, Atlanta. Her research is inspired by questions of diversity, equity and access in multilingual educational contexts. A primary aim of her work is to illuminate the role of discourses, ideologies and everyday practices in the production and reproduction of hierarchical relations within educational systems. Prem Phyak is Assistant Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research areas include language policy, multilingual education, critical pedagogy and indigenous language education. His papers have appeared in journals such as Language Policy, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Language in Society, Multilingua and International Journal of Sociology of Language.
- 7. Scaffolding Language Developmentin Immersion and Dual Language Classrooms Diane J. Tedick and Roy Lyster Soft CLIL and English Language Teaching Understanding Japanese Policy, Practice, and Implications Makoto Ikeda, Shinichi Izumi, Yoshinori Watanabe, Richard Pinner and Matthew Davis Multilingual Learning and Language Supportive Pedagogies in Sub-Saharan Africa Edited by Elizabeth Erling, John Clegg, Casmir Rubagumya and Colin Reilly Multilingual Education in South Asia At the Intersection of Policy and Practice Edited by Lina Adinolfi, Usree Bhattacharya and Prem Phyak For a full list of titles in this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Series-in-Language-and-Content-Integrated- Teaching – Plurilingual-Education/book-series/CITPE Routledge Series in Language and Content Integrated Teaching & Plurilingual Education Series Editors: Angel M. Y. Lin and Christiane Dalton-Puffer
- 8. Multilingual Education in SouthAsia At the Intersection of Policy and Practice Edited by Lina Adinolfi, Usree Bhattacharya and Prem Phyak
- 9. First published 2022 byRoutledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 selection and editorial matter, Lina Adinolfi, Usree Bhattacharya, and Prem Phyak; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Lina Adinolfi, Usree Bhattacharya, and Prem Phyak to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-74604-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-74603-2 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-15866-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003158660 Typeset in Galliard by Apex CoVantage, LLC
- 10. Lists of figuresvii Listsof tablesviii Lists of contributorsix Forewordxii SURESH CANAGARAJAH Introduction 1 LINA ADINOLFI, USREE BHATTACHARYA, PREM PHYAK 1 The dynamics of bilingual education in post-conflict Sri Lanka 4 HARSHA DULARI WIJESEKERA AND M. OBAIDUL HAMID 2 Multilingual practices in Indian classrooms: exploring and supporting teacher awareness and classroom strategies 26 AMY LIGHTFOOT, RAMA MATHEW, LINA MUKHOPADHYAY AND IANTHI M. TSIMPLI 3 English as a medium of instruction, social stratification, and symbolic violence in Nepali schools: untold stories of Madhesi children 50 PRAMOD K. SAH 4 Policy to practice, national to local: multilingual education at the meso and micro levels of Western Nepal 69 NAOMI FILLMORE AND JNANU RAJ PAUDEL 5 Multilingualism and English learning in Pakistan: towards an effective multilingual policy 93 IMDAD ULLAH KHAN, LOUISA BUCKINGHAM AND MARTIN EAST Contents
- 11. vi Contents 6 Bilingualearly schooling among tribal children in India: evidence of long-term learning gains 112 STANLEY V. JOHN 7 Medium of instruction, outcome-based education, and language education policy in Bangladesh 132 TANIA RAHMAN AND PREM PHYAK 8 Participation of Saora children in MLE and MLE Plus schools in Odisha, India: lessons learned and lessons to learn 149 SAKSHI MANOCHA Index172
- 12. 6.1 Academic achievementof Group A and Group B in all subject areas 122 6.2 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in Hindi language 123 6.3 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in English language 123 6.4 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in mathematics124 6.5 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in science 124 6.6 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in social science125 Figures
- 13. 1.1 Summary ofdata collection tools and datasets 12 2.1 Teacher feedback 32 2.2 Self-assessment of learning in the workshop 33 2.3 Overview of observed/filmed teachers’ schools 37 3.1 The number of students based on gender and minority groups 58 5.1 Demographics of the schools 100 6.1 Academic achievement of Group A and Group B pupils in the five subject areas 121 6.2 Gender-based comparison of academic achievement for Group A and Group B pupils in the five subject areas 122 Tables
- 14. Louisa Buckingham isSenior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand. She has extensive international professional experience and has worked in the NGO and government sectors, in addition to academia. Louisa currently teaches courses related to sociolinguistics, multilingualism, second language literacy, and language and technology and has published research in each of these fields. Martin East is Professor of Language Education in the School of Cultures, Lan- guages and Linguistics, University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is an expe- rienced teacher and teacher educator in the field of languages. His research interests include innovative practices in language pedagogy, and language policy and planning, with particular focus on additional language learning in English-dominant contexts. Naomi Fillmore is Language and Education Researcher and Practitioner with experience spanning South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Australia. Currently completing her PhD at the University of Queensland, Australia, her research focuses on the role of language in early education policy, program- ming and assessment. M. Obaidul Hamid is Senior Lecturer in TESOL Education at the Univer- sity of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on the policy and practice of TESOL education in developing societies. He is a co-editor of Language Planning for Medium of Instruction in Asia (Routledge, 2014). Stanley V. John is Assistant Professor in the District Institute of Education and Training, Bastar, Chhattisgarh, India. He presented at the Language and Development conferences in 2011 and 2015 and at the Language, Development and Identity conference in 2012. He received training in teacher education at Arizona State University, Arizona, USA, and is actively involved in developing culturally responsive pedagogies for tribal children. Imdad Ullah Khan is Assistant Professor of English in the Department of Eng- lish and Foreign Languages, University of Swat, Pakistan. He is an experienced Contributors
- 15. x Contributors teacher trainerfocusing on multilingual approaches to teaching of English as a foreign language. His research interests include ethnographic approaches in ELT, critical pedagogies and ecological perspectives for the protection of indigenous languages. Amy Lightfoot is the British Council’s Regional Education and English Aca- demic Lead in South Asia. She leads on the design and quality assurance of English language projects and related research activities across the region. Her areas of interest and expertise include English in multilingual contexts, teacher professional development and the use of technology by teachers. Sakshi Manocha is Research Consultant with a PhD in the area of Multi- lingual Education (MLE) from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, India. She has been a part of National Multilingual Education Resource Consortium (NMRC), an MLE think tank in JNU for the last ten years. Her research interests include MLE pedagogy, child participation, identity, child rights and child protection. Rama Mathew, formerly Professor of Education in Delhi University, is an ELT consultant and has been involved in several teacher development and assess- ment projects. Her research interests include language assessment, teaching English to young learners, CPD of teachers, multilingual education and mak- ing English accessible to learners online. Lina Mukhopadhyay is Professor and Head of the Department of Training and Development, School of English Language Education, at the English and For- eign Languages University, Hyderabad, India. Her research interests include second language acquisition, language testing and assessment, multilingual education and teaching and assessing young learners. Jnanu Raj Paudel is Assistant Professor at Tikapur Multiple Campus, Far-Western University, Nepal. He is currently pursuing a PhD from the Graduate School of Education, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. His areas of interest include lan- guage policy, language in education policy, multilingualism, mother tongue– based multilingual education, critical pedagogy and transformative education. Tania Rahman is Senior Lecturer at the Department of English and Modern Lan- guages (DEML) of North South University in Dhaka. She received her MA in Applied Linguistics degree from the National Institute of Education (NIE) of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore in 2010. Tania’s research interests include language maintenance and shift, language policy, English for academic purposes, corpus linguistics and outcome-based education. Pramod K. Sah is PhD Candidate and Killam Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Canada. His research focuses on English as a medium of instruc- tion (EMI), educational linguistics, language-in-education policy, bi/mul- tilingual education and teacher education. His research has been published in journals such as Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development,
- 16. Contributors xi International Journalof Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, International Multilingual Research Journal and in many edited volumes. Ianthi M. Tsimpli is Professor and Chair of English and Applied Linguistics and Fellow of Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on multilingualism, language acquisition and impairment, language in education and the interaction between linguistic and cognitive skills in chil- dren and adults. Harsha Dulari Wijesekera is Senior Lecturer at the Postgraduate Institute of English, Open University of Sri Lanka. Her areas of interest include language policy in education, TESL/CLIL teacher professional development and applied linguistics.
- 17. South Asia presentsnot only the promises of a diversity of rich and ancient tradi- tions of linguistics and education but also the perils from the new epistemologies forcibly imposed on these disciplines during multiple waves of Anglo-European colonisation and the following postcolonial geopolitical pressures. The tensions between the old and new, local and translocal, indigenous and imperial, and past and future are mind-blowing in their complexity. The contributors to this hand- book do a brilliant job in addressing the challenges in language-teaching policies and pedagogies for imagining more relevant possibilities for the future, marrying a close analysis of local classroom and community conditions with ramifications from broader contemporary philosophies and scholarship to rethink language education in this region. They address a range of learning levels and contexts, including rural and urban schools, and from chalk-and-board teaching to digital gaming. They provide a window into the language education scenario in South Asia to help scholars and teachers elsewhere to participate in their inquiry or to borrow insights from resilient local students and teachers for their own contexts. It is useful to keep in mind the cataclysmic changes this region has been going through as we read the case studies from different communities in this hand- book. Consider first the rich linguistic heritage this region boasts of. Panini’s insights into grammar somewhere around the 4th to 6th centuries BCE have been respected by modern linguists, and his constructs have been appropriated into contemporary phonology. Languages like Sanskrit and Tamil boast of a con- tinuous literate history that spans centuries and claim to be the oldest in the world. Their ancient grammatical and educational discourses are still available to everyone. More importantly, the languages and literacies of the region embody different values and ideologies which provide an interesting alternative to those from European modernity. Sheldon Pollock (2009) has documented through careful archival work that Sanskrit was a lingua franca that allowed itself to be appropriated by diverse communities and mixed with regional languages unlike English or Latin, which were colonising and insisted on the ownership of par- ticular communities. Pollock also argues that languages in South Asia were place- based, thus coexisting with the other languages and cultures inhabiting their shared space. This orientation was different from Anglo-European languages, which were closely associated with the peoplehood of those who spoke them, Foreword
- 18. Foreword xiii controlled bytheir ownership and standardised into autonomous grammatical structures that maintained their claims of purity. Lachman Khubchandani (1997) documents the practices of everyday communication in the region to bring out other matters of uniqueness in what he labels the ‘plurilingual ethos’ of the local people. South Asians treated ‘appropriating deviations as the norm’ (p. 94), as people were open to shuttling between the languages of their interlocutors and borrowing and meshing diverse codes in their interactions. Therefore, they did not depend on grammar or the structure of the language to facilitate meaning making. They focused on the practices of negotiating meaning, drawing from their dispositions to engage with others in collaborative pursuits. David Shulman (2016) brings out the radical embodiment of communication in ancient Tamil communication, where words by themselves were not expected to encode mean- ings but people focused on the whole performance, including the body, setting and the diverse multimodal resources in the interaction. The modernist linguistics that was imposed on the region during and after colonisation dramatically differed from the local language ideologies. The ter- ritorialisation of languages, treating language–community–place as isomorphic, was crystalised in the late 18th-century writings of Johannes Herder, receiving the appellation the ‘Herderian triad’. The later structuralist orientation treats each language as having a life of its own, theorising their self-structured gram- matical status to disentangle them from social and material embeddedness. The representationalist ideologies gaining significance in Chomskyan linguistics treat languages as the blueprint of life, encoding knowledge and helping humans con- trol the environment for their benefit. This representational system is housed in the human mind, thus establishing the superiority of mind and reason. Lan- guages were assessed according to their functionality for material progress, as indicated by the desire to identify some languages as linguistic capital and others as expendable. We South Asians were not given a chance to explore the differences in the language ideologies and practices imposed on us, because colonial education asserted the superiority of Anglo-European languages and traditions. Macaulay’s (1957) Minute demonstrates the extreme claims made in an effort to justify colo- nial education. It also demonstrates the values undergirding European linguistics. Consider his oft-quoted objective for teaching English in India: We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern – a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomencla- ture, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population. The statement makes the functionalist orientation of language teaching clear: it is valued for helping govern the people efficiently, change their values and
- 19. xiv Foreword identities andconvey scientific knowledge. Furthermore, English is considered superior to all local languages; in fact, the local languages are presented as need- ing refinement and enrichment. Ironically, while Macaulay expected that natives would refine their vernaculars and learn English in terms of the owners of the language, English too underwent changes from the region’s ‘plurilingual ethos’. That is English was becoming localised with mixings from local languages and cultures, even before the British left the region in 1947. In the foreword to his novel Kanthapura, a novel written in Indianised English, Rao (1938) wrote: ‘One has to convey in a language that is not one’s own, the spirit that is one’s own. . . . We cannot write like the English, we should not. We can write only as Indians’ (p. vii). Despite these efforts to decolonise English language and education, the rug was soon swept under the feet of local people by dramatic later developments in the form of globalisation, digital technology, late capitalism and the neoliberal marketisation. English returned to the region in the new guise of human capital, value-added transnational communication and hybrid identities. We are asked to remake ourselves constantly with expanded repertoires and skills to be marketable in the new economy. Developing a repertoire of communicative skills and codes is considered an asset. Learning other languages to cross borders and engage in business and educational pursuits transnationally has – for many people – boiled down to learning English. Some are even thankful for the colonial imposition of English in the region, as multinational companies in the West prefer local communities for outsourced work because of the high standards in English pro- ficiency and literacy. Ironically, these developments that promise egalitarian glo- balisation have empowered English and affected the language diversity in the region and the plurilingual ethos of local people. Despite the economic promises of neoliberalism, the costs and damages to local communities are becoming evi- dent. The economic inequality between people in the region is increasing, sectari- anism is rising, environment is polluted and all of these are making the people in the region vulnerable to health hazards. It is clear that we need to rethink about language education in the region and consider the way in which linguistics is implicated in the larger national, regional and geopolitical challenges facing local people. Of course, returning to the past is not an option. An idyllic nativism or ruralism is not possible when the landscapes in the region have been irrevocably changed through its traumatic postcolonial history. Besides, decolonisation scholars like Walter Mignolo (2010) and de Souza Santos (2016) argue that we have to engage with dominant epistemolo- gies and languages in creative activities of ‘border thinking’. This will be a process of translation that doesn’t reduce differences but generates alternate worlds and possibilities for pluriversality. The contributors to this handbook undertake this activity of border thinking and translation as they shuttle between local practices and contemporary scholar- ship, interrogating the indigenous and the imperialistic. They begin the much- needed work of imagining radically creative but culturally relevant alternatives for language education in the region. Admittedly, the challenges they identify will be
- 20. Foreword xv discussed forsome years to come, as local and international scholars continue to wrestle with these questions for appropriate policies and pedagogies. Suresh Canagarajah Penn State University References Khubchandani, L. (1997). Revisualizing boundaries: A plurilingual ethos. New Delhi: Sage. Macaulay, T. B. (1957). Minute of 2 February 1835 on Indian education. In G. M. Young (Ed.), Macaulay, prose and poetry (pp. 719–730). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1835). Mignolo, W. (2010). Cosmopolitanism and the de-colonial option. Studies in Philoso- phy and Education, 29, 111–127. Pollock, S. (2009). The language of the Gods in the world of men: Sanskrit, culture, and power in premodern India. Berkeley: University of California Press. Rao, R. (1938). Kanthapura. London: George Allen Unwin. Santos, B de S. (2016). Epistemologies of the South. New York: Routledge. Shulman, D. (2016). Tamil: A biography. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- 22. DOI: 10.4324/9781003158660-1 Introduction Lina Adinolfi,Usree Bhattacharya, Prem Phyak With its hundreds of regional languages and varieties jostling to maintain their place alongside colonial legacies and complex ideologies of English, South Asia offers a fascinating vantage point from which to examine contemporary issues of complexity within this multilingual educational landscape. Here language-in- education policies and practices represent particularly high-stakes issues, playing a pivotal role in determining access to literacy, thereby forming a critical pivot in the (re)production of educational inequality (e.g. Canagarajah and Ashraf, 2013; Panda and Mohanty, 2015; Bhattacharya, 2017; Jayadeva, 2019). Over the last two decades, South Asia has seen a significant expansion in its provision of basic education, coinciding with the UNESCO-led Education for All movement and, more recently, Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals. The passing of the Right to Education Act (2009) in India, for example, represents a significant first step in enforcing universal national primary educational provi- sion, with the aim of bringing millions of new children into the school system. Yet, simply increasing the number of children on the school roll across South Asia is not enough. Access to quality instruction – with a focus on inclusive, learner- centred, participatory classroom pedagogy – is crucial for pupil engagement, pro- gression and attainment at all levels of education. This requires a critical review of multiple elements of existing educational provision, including its associated language-in-learning policies and practices. Conflicting language-related priorities, combined with the difficulty of embracing high levels of linguistic diversity, mean that many schools in South Asia currently ignore international recommendations for the extended deploy- ment of home and community languages. Rather, the widespread use of domi- nant regional languages and the ever-increasing extension of English as media of instruction risk undermining the long-term success of ongoing widening access initiatives (e.g. Annamalai, 2005; Hamid and Erling, 2016; Erling, Adinolfi and Hultgren, 2017; Mohanty, 2019). To fundamentally and sustainably address the challenges of responding to competing calls for the inclusion of home, state, national and international languages from early years to higher education across such linguistically diverse low-resource contexts with large numbers of vulnerable first-generation learners remains an enduring concern.
- 23. 2 Lina Adinolfiet al. Encompassing scholarly contributions from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, this edited volume seeks to capture and elucidate – from the on- the-ground perspectives of practitioners, pupils, parents and the community – the distinct challenges, approaches and possible solutions associated with inter- preting, adapting and applying language-in-education policies in a range of lin- guistically heterogeneous content and language-integrated teaching and learning environments across South Asia. The broad aim of the collection is to highlight the pedagogical, practical, ideological and identity-related implications arising from current language-in- education policies in this region. Underlying this goal is the desire to illustrate how systemic inequality is intertwined with such policies and their associated interpretations. In the first chapter, Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid examine bilingual education within post-conflict Sri Lanka. They investigate the interplay of ethnically based mother tongue instruction and lingua franca English within education and discuss its role in fostering peace in this post-conflict multilingual and multi-ethnic nation. The next chapter, by Amy Lightfoot, Rama Mathew, Lina Mukhopadhyay and Ianthi M. Tsimpli, describes multilingual educational practices with a focus on teacher awareness and classroom strategies. It reports on a project undertaken in multilingual schools in Hyderabad, India, which sought to heighten teachers’ awareness of language-supportive practices. The third chap- ter, by Pramod K. Sah, offers a platform for the voices of Madhesi children in Nepal. This chapter, a critical ethnography focusing on translanguaging, investi- gates English as a medium of instruction and its role in social stratification and in enacting symbolic violence. Naomi Fillmore and Jnanu Raj Paudel author Chapter 4, which focuses on the policy and practice nexus in Western Nepal. Highlighting the political and ideo- logical contours of recent language educational reforms, it offers several policy implications. In the fifth chapter, Imdad Ullah Khan, Louisa Buckingham and Martin East shine a light on the experiences of multilingual adolescent learners of English in two private educational settings in multilingual Pakistan. Chapter 6, in turn, by Stanley V. John, provides an illuminating comparison of the long-term impact of two distinct primary school language policies on the global academic performance of tribal children in India. Tania Rahman and Prem Phyak author the seventh chapter, which explores the application of outcome-based education within an English language teaching setting in Bangladesh, teasing apart the politics of the debates about the use of Bangla and English as the mediums of instruction. The volume concludes with a chapter by Sakshi Manocha, which compares the features of two multilingual education programmes for tribal children in India. In conceptualising this publication, our goal was to reach both academics and practitioners – embracing researchers in the fields of education, linguistics, sociol- ogy, anthropology and South Asian studies, on the one hand, and language policy advisors, curriculum developers, teacher educators, teachers or members of fund- ing bodies, aid providers and NGOs, on the other.
- 24. Introduction 3 While itscolonial past and specific geopolitical histories contribute to the unique characteristics of South Asia, it is anticipated that the accounts in this vol- ume will offer their readership opportunities to consider their wider implications and applications across other rich multilingual settings – be these local, regional, national or global. References Annamalai, E. (2005). Nation-building in a globalised world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin and P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, glo- balisation: Language in education policy and practice. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Bhattacharya, U. (2017). Colonization and English ideologies in India: A language policy perspective. Language Policy, 16(1), 1–21. Canagarajah, S., and Ashraf, H. (2013). Multilingualism and education in South Asia: Resolving policy/practice dilemmas. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 33, 258–285. Erling, E. J., Adinolfi, L., and Hultgren, K. (2017). Multilingual classrooms: Oppor- tunities and challenges for English medium instruction in low and medium income contexts. Reading, Education Development Trust. Hamid, M. O., and Erling, E. J. (2016). English in education policy and planning in Bangladesh: A critical examination. In R. Kirkpatrick (Ed.), English language edu- cation policy in Asia. Boston, MA: Springer. Jayadeva, S. (2019). English medium: Schooling, social mobility, and inequality in Bangalore, India. Anthropology Education Quarterly, 50(2), 151–169. Mohanty, A. K. (2019). The multilingual reality: Living with languages. Bristol: Mul- tilingual Matters. Panda, M., and Mohanty, A. K. (2015). Multilingual education in South Asia. In W. E. Wright, S. Boun, and O. García (Eds.), The handbook of bilingual and multilin- gual education. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
- 25. DOI: 10.4324/9781003158660-2 1 The dynamicsof bilingual education in post-conflict Sri Lanka Harsha Dulari Wijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid Introduction Post-conflict Sri Lanka was seemingly rising from the ashes of 30 years of civil war. The conflict had ethnolinguistic origins involving two major ethnic groups – Sinhala and Tamil, with Muslims also being implicated. It has been a decade since the civil war ended, and, apparently, things started to look normal. In 2019, the island nation was ranked the world’s number one tourist destination by Lonely Planet. However, the development towards normalcy was punctured by the Easter Sunday attack in 2019, giving a new dimension to the country’s ethnic relations. This indicates that despite the significant work that has been done in the realm of language and social cohesion (see Coleman, 2015), the country has not succeeded in bringing the diverse ethnic groups together, even ten years after the war. Although the capacity of the education system in forging ethnic cohesion is vital (Lopes and Hoeks, 2015; Wijesekera, 2018), exploring the educational potential of social and ethnic harmony seems to be an unfinished agenda. The education system of a county is supposed to “facilitate and ensure partici- pative, inclusive and just societies, as well as social coherence” (UNESCO, 2019, p. 162). This social agenda has been embraced in Sri Lanka’s National Goals of Education (NIE, 2015). Nonetheless, Sri Lankan public schools which are eth- nolinguistically polarised seem to be reproducing and consolidating ethnocentric identities that young people may have acquired through primary socialisation at home (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). The reproduction of ethnocentric identity seems to be facilitated by the mother tongue instruction (MTI) policy. Although MTI brings numerous linguistic, educational and socioeconomic benefits and constitutes the focus of global education advocacy, it may provide little oppor- tunity for children to interact and socialise with other ethnolinguistic groups (Wijesekera, 2018, 2021; Wijesekera and Alford, 2019; Wijesekera, Alford and Mu, 2019). It was only recently that teaching of the second national language policy, that is Tamil for Sinhala-speaking and Sinhala for Tamil-speaking people, was introduced to enable each ethnolinguistic group to study the language of the other group (see the next section). Yet, the implementation of this policy has not been successful in many schools, especially due to the shortage of teachers (Davis, 2015). In such a context, bilingual education (BE:1 English and Sinhala/Tamil)
- 26. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 5 available in bi-media schools (where instructions are available in English and Sinhala/Tamil) may appear more promising in relation to the social agenda, as this education brings together Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children in the same classroom and creates a shared “third space” (Bhaba, 1994) beyond each group’s ethnic and ethnolinguistic boundaries. This shared space accommodates students to learn and grow together suppressing their ethnocentric attitudes, views and perspectives. Our aim in this chapter is to explore this social potential of BE in Sri Lanka. The findings and the insights that we generate from the research may contribute to our understanding of the role of education in social cohesion and harmony. Although we focus on the Sri Lankan education system, the insights can be used more widely in bringing together different ethnolinguistic groups through medium of instruction (MOI) strategies. We first expound on the complex ethnolinguistic landscape of the island nation with reference to MOI, which also includes a brief introduction to bilingual education. Then we present our theoretical framework followed by the research methodology of the larger study. Analysis of the data enables us to report mixed social outcomes of the BE programme. Principally, we illustrate how the pub- lic school system alienates children of the three major ethnic groups from each other through its language policy in education and its practice. We then examine the transformative potential of English-medium instructions underpinning BE, which facilitates reciprocity between the otherwise segregated groups. We also illustrate how English as MOI facilitates the formation of new social groups in schools – groups who feel more empowered and dominant but, at times, disem- powered and suppressed. The context Sri Lanka is a multiethnic, multireligious and multilingual country that has a chronicled history going back to the 2nd century BC. Demarcated by language and religion, Sri Lanka’s population (approximately 21.5 million) comprises three major ethnic groups: Sinhalese (74.9%), Tamilians (15.3%) and Muslims (9.3%) in addition to smaller groups such as Malay and Burger (Department of Census and Statistics, 2012). Though their physical appearance is similar, on the one hand, Tamilians and Sinhalese are distinguished mainly by their distinct languages (Chandra, 2006). Religion is also a factor in their ethnic identity and distinc- tion: the majority of Sinhalese are Buddhists, while Tamilians are mostly Hindus. However, there are considerable percentages of Catholics and Protestants in both groups. The Muslim community, on the other hand, is distinguished by their religion – Islam. They mainly speak Tamil but increasingly Sinhala and English, especially in urban areas. Education system and MOI policy Language policy (LP) in education is a crucial factor, especially in multilingual nations, which may either bring diverse linguistic groups together and cement
- 27. 6 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid social integration or keep these different groups socially disintegrated. Articles 18 and 19 in Chapter IV of the Sri Lankan Constitution have designated Sinhala and Tamil as national languages, while English serves as a link language between the two communities as well as the language for international communication. Article 21 of the same chapter says: “(1) [a] person shall be entitled to be edu- cated through the medium of either of the National Languages”. Accordingly, the national curriculum is delivered through the respective mother tongue – either Sinhala or Tamil. Following the Paris Declaration 1953 that stated that “every pupil should begin his [or her] formal education in his [or her] mother tongue” (UNESCO, 2003), the primary curriculum (Grade 1 to Grade 5) is delivered through either of the national languages. English as a link language is a core sub- ject in the curriculum and is taught as a second language in all schools starting from Grade 3 until Grade 13. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has also intro- duced the Second National Language (2NL – Sinhala for Tamilians and Tamil for Sinhalese children) to achieve the goal of trilingual Sri Lanka for national rec- onciliation. A child’s first language is also a compulsory subject in the curriculum which is taught from Grade 1 to Grade 11. The Sri Lankan government has a constitutional obligation to forge national unity by promoting co-operation and mutual confidence among all sections of the People of Sri Lanka, including the racial, religious, linguistic and other groups, and shall, take effective steps in the fields of teaching, edu- cation and information in order to eliminate discrimination and prejudice. (The Constitution of Sri Lanka: Chapter VI Article 27 (5), Parliament Secretariat of Sri Lanka, 2015, p. 18) However, such macro-level policy and planning do not always yield intended out- comes. For instance the Sri Lankan public education system seems to perpetuate ethnic exclusivity, discrimination and prejudice through its linguistically polarised public schools segregated by mother tongue instruction – that is Sinhala medium and Tamil medium. Official statistics (MOE, 2017) show that out of 10,194 public schools, 9,341 have a single language as the medium of instruction (6,332 Sinhala-medium schools and 3,009 Tamil-medium schools). The Sinhala–Tamil ethnic divide is clear in these schools, while Muslim students have the freedom to choose either Sinhala- or Tamil-medium schools. By contrast, there are 680 schools that use BE or English-medium instruction (EMI) together with MTI. Out of these 680 schools, 633 have either Sinhala or Tamil medium together with English-medium instructions. These schools cannot eliminate the ethnic divide because students receive EMI in already ethnically divided schools. However, there are 47 schools which are attended by students of all ethnicities. These schools have separate Sinhala Medium Section and Tamil Medium Section, and, therefore, students are also ethnolinguistically divided when they learn in Sinhala or Tamil-medium classes. However, students of all ethnicities attend the same BE/EMI class beyond their ethnolinguistic boundaries. The BE programme in these schools
- 28. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 7 delivers the national curriculum using two languages – mother tongue (either Sinhala or Tamil) and English, starting from Grade 6. Subjects such as science, mathematics and citizenship education are taught through English depending on teacher availability, while the other subjects are taught through the students’ respective mother tongue (Sinhala or Tamil). In some schools, there are sepa- rate classrooms for English-medium/BE students, and these classrooms comprise Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims students. When the students have any subject taught through their mother tongue, they go to an assigned mother tongue class and study this subject with other students with the same mother tongue. For instance, Tamil-speaking students in the English-medium (BE) programme go to a Tamil- medium class and work with other Tamil-medium students. Likewise, Sinhala- speaking students go to the Sinhala-medium class and work with other Sinhala students. In schools where there are no separate classrooms for BE/EMI stu- dents, Tamil-speaking and Sinhala-speaking students go to a common classroom to study the subjects taught in English. Hence, in these schools, Tamil-speaking and Sinhala-speaking students work together in the class taught in English (see Wijesekera, 2018). In both cases, it is only the English-medium classroom in these BE schools that brings together Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim students. One of the objectives of the BE programme, which is commonly known as “English-medium”, is to improve students’ English-language proficiency. Although the MOE directives indicate that students and parents have the dis- cretion to choose BE, ironically, the choice seems to be dependent on students’ English-language proficiency at the entry point. This is due to the high demand for English medium on the one hand and MOE’s failure to make BE available in all schools on the other, which is currently available only in 633 non-fee-levying public schools (Wijesekera, 2018). School authorities are compelled to adminis- ter entrance tests and use students’ English-language proficiency as a gatekeeping mechanism for recruitment. Therefore, in almost all schools, only those students whose English proficiency is above the required level have the opportunity to study in BE classes. English serves as a marker of social class in Sri Lanka, as it does in the whole region (Jahan and Hamid, 2019). Therefore, only specific social groups have access to EMI due to class and affordability questions. Ethnolinguistic identity The study reported in this chapter explores how the social conditions created in the multiethnic BE classroom may reshape ethnocentric dispositions of students who were previously exposed to monoethnic and monolingual social spaces. Eth- nic identity is defined as a “subset of identity categories in which eligibility for membership is determined by attributes associated with, or believed to be asso- ciated with descent” (Chandra, 2006, p. 53). Spolsky and Hult (2008) posit that language is inseparable from one’s self and is “fundamental to collective and personal identity” (p. 299). Language is also associated with an “ethnicized construction of otherness” (Gabriel, 2014, p. 2011). This view of identity con- struction is mostly applicable to Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhala ethnic groups who
- 29. 8 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid mainly construct their ethicised otherness based on language (Chandra, 2006). Muslims, on the other hand, cannot be identified with any specific language, as both languages can be found among the Muslim community, although the majority of Muslims recognise Tamil as their mother tongue. From socio-psychological perspectives, social identity is one’s understand- ing of his or her belongingness or membership in a certain social group with which he or she identifies (or is identified by others). This group will have some unique characteristics serving as the basis for its distinction from other groups. The group membership embodies “emotional and value significance to him [or her]” (Tajfel, 1972, p. 292) which also leads to out-grouping or discriminating the others. Based on his minimal group studies, Tajfel (1972) posited that mem- bers of a certain group tend to prefer in-group members (us) while developing dislike towards others (them), often developing stereotypical (mis)conceptions about “others”. Tajfel also argues that individuals may reposition their social identity in seek- ing the most self-satisfying group membership. From a Bourdieusian perspective (see the next section), this is providing what is required of them in the structure of social microcosms that they inhabit to become “fish in water” (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992, p. 127). Based on their ethnographic studies, Crafter and Abreu (2010) affirm progression in identity construction or repositioning of identities over time and social spaces such as homes and schools. Similarly, using post- structural theories, Norton and Toohey (2011) posit that new social spaces and contexts (either real or imagined) may trigger new identity positions or identifica- tion with new social groups. Post-structuralist views suggest that one’s identity is fluid, hybrid and a fusion of multiple identities that have dialectical relations with structural features such as religion, language and ethnicity. Language and identity are inextricable, and this applies to collective group identifications that are nego- tiated through social constructs such as languages (Lo Bianco, 2010). Therefore, it is not impossible that ethnocentric attitudes and identities of the students in our study will be reshaped when a linguistically and ethnically heterogeneous social space prevails in the BE classroom. We further discuss this potential in the theoretical framework section. Language, education and civil conflict The preceding discussion on ethnolinguistic identity may corroborate Tollef- son’s (1991) observation that language constitutes an “arena for struggle” where “social groups seek to exercise power through their control of language” (p. 13). The civil war in Sri Lanka, which ended in 2009, is categorised as an “ethno- linguistic conflict” (Saunders, 2007). As argued earlier, the Sri Lankan educa- tion system seems to sustain the conflict by its ethnolinguistically segregated schooling (Davis, 2020; Wijesekera et al., 2019). However, ethno-linguicism was not the only reason behind the ethnic conflict, as the ethnolinguistic issues were politicised for political outbidding. Pre-colonial Sri Lanka used to have fluid linguistic boundaries that allowed for “considerable ethnic accommodation and
- 30. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 9 intermingling” where language and ethnicity were not essential requirements for group inclusion or exclusion (Hassan, 2011). As Hassan (2011) maintained, [t]he genesis of the present conflict between Sinhalese and Tamils is thus rooted not in the ancient historical past but in recent history, and more spe- cifically in colonial and post-colonial developments in Sri Lanka. (p. 148) Lo Bianco (2011, p. 36) explains, “Prior to decolonization, English was excori- ated by nationalists as kaduwa, a knife or sword”. The metaphor suggests the double-edged sharpness of English that slices through and relegates vernacu- lar language speakers who cannot converse in English. We argue that this situa- tion has not changed much even after 70 years of independence. The symbolic violence (Bourdieu, 1991) of English continues to suppress those who cannot speak the language. For instance one’s inability to use English or not being able to speak the desirable variety or accent may be seen as a legitimate ground for one’s stigmatisation, discrimination and disadvantage. The symbolic violence of English can be linked to discriminatory colonial policy. The establishment of EMI missionary schools during the colonial era in Tamil-dominated areas gave the urban Tamil minority more access to English (Blumör and Licht, 2019). Consequently, the urban Tamilians secured more government jobs and higher education opportunities (Soulbury Commission Report, 1945 cited in De Silva, 1997). This EMI-based social discrimination led to the demand for MTI, which was won with the introduction of “Swabasha” (own language) policy. As a result, the public school system gradually came to comprise single-language-medium schools with EMI schools switching to MTI. The ensuing segregation deprived Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children of the shared lived experiences of learn- ing together. The necessity of English as a language to link the two contesting speech communities was minimised. The end results were interethnic alienation, mutual mistrust and prejudice which facilitated the construction of ethnocen- tric and exclusive identities, rather than an inclusive national identity (Wodak and Boukala, 2015). Adding to this ethnolinguistic atmosphere, the introduction of the inflammatory Sinhala Only Act (1958), which replaced the official status enjoyed by English, further fuelled the separation and consolidated group soli- darity among Tamilians, excluding the Sinhalese. The education system continues to perpetuate separatist ethnocentric identity through its ethnically segregated schooling and “has failed to build a sense of national identity and social cohesion” (Blumör and Licht, 2019, p. 13). Though the country has introduced various educational reforms for reconciliation, stu- dents of diverse ethnicities do not have a practical sense of being with one another and practice pluralism and tolerance towards their diverse others through lived experiences due to ethnically segregated classrooms. However, the social and interactional space created in BE classrooms in bi- media schools which include Sinhala and Tamil media as well as EMI is differ- ent. When BE students study subjects through English, they can study in one
- 31. 10 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid multiethnic and multilingual classroom. This may have the potential to harness deeper mutual understanding between the three groups (Davis, 2020). The shared lived experience of ethnic diversity in these multiethnic BE classrooms may allow students to practice concepts such as pluralism, democracy and coop- eration that they study in subjects such as citizenship education. They do so while also working together to achieve common education goals that potentially reduce inter-group differences (Tajfel, 1972). Exposure to other groups may pro- mote positive perceptions and empathy with equality and collaboration prevail- ing among diverse others. These social affordances may disconfirm stereotypical misconceptions that members usually have towards members of “other” groups, reducing future racial and ethnic tensions. Theoretical perspectives From a Bourdieusian perspective, if we explore the social affordances of the new BE space where inclusivity is the capital at stake, the ethnocentric habitus or identity into which the students had thus far been trapped may be transformed into less ethnocentric or inclusive supra-ethnic identity on the continuum of identity posi- tioning. Thus, we have framed the investigation by using Bourdieu’s (1990, p. 55) logic of practice. The logic of practice is built upon his three theoretical concepts: habitus, field and capital, which we utilise “not as mere metaphorical descriptors” but as “dynamic epistemological matrices” (Grenfell, 2013, p. 284). In Bourdieu’s epistemic thinking, the reality represents the dialectic relations between subjective structures (i.e. habitus of individuals who occupy a field) and objective structures (field). Individuals’ practices or actions are predisposed by these relations “without presupposing a conscious aiming at end” (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 53). This relation- ship is considered structural constructivism or a two-way structured structuring. Habitus is “a way of being habituated . . . a predisposition, tendency, propen- sity or inclination” (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977, p. 214). It is the internalisa- tion of the external social order and the external becoming embodied (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992). Bourdieu defined habitus as structured subjectivity. The internalisation of the external occurs first through primary pedagogic work (PW) in the familial field, which is followed by secondary pedagogic work in schools and other institutions. In essence, habitus undergoes transformation, although complete reversibility is not possible because the secondary habitus formation does not happen ex nihilio since the existing primary habitus acquired through primary PW is the foundation for subsequent habitus which is also shaped by the rules of the field (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). From this perspective, a group of individuals socialised into similar social orders may develop similar habitus. Bourdieu (1977) argues that each member of the same class [here same ethnic group] is more likely than any member of another class [another ethnic group] to have been confronted with the situations most frequent for members of that class [ethnicity]. (p. 85, emphases added)
- 32. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 11 Habitus has “an infinite capacity for generating” (Bourdieu, 1990, p. 55): although it is “a product of history, that is of social experiences and education, it may be changed by history, that is new experiences, education and training” (Bourdieu, 2005, p. 45, original emphasis). We conceptualise ethnic group identity as being underpinned by particular ethnic habitus that students bring to school. This habitus is subject to transformation under pedagogic and social influence in the school setting. The field, on the other hand, is a social microcosm. Society comprises many such microcosms which are structured by their own internal rules or “socially situated conditions” unique to each field. A field is a network of historical accu- mulation of objective positions in the social terrain. These positions are hierar- chically organised based on the value and the amount of capitals that individuals possess. Given the multiethnic and multilingual nature of the social space of the BE classroom, which is different from the MTI classroom, we conceptualise the BE classroom as constituting a field which has certain autonomous rules and power relations unique to them. Central to this chapter is the linguistic market in the BE classroom field, which refers to the capital values potentially gained by different linguistic systems – Eng- lish, Sinhala and Tamil. If we add Spolsky and Hult’s (2008) idea of language as being fundamental to one’s individual and collective identity to the Bourdieusian perspective, language can be seen as “connected, and symptomatic of, an entire cultural attitude” (Grenfell, 2011, p. 44). As such, which linguistic capital would be at stake or accrue the highest value over others would shape the identities defined by languages. This, in turn, is determined by the logic of practice or the socially situated conditions. The socially situated conditions may be shaped by linguistic practices in classrooms executed by teachers who have legitimate authority to impose “sanctions and censorships” (Bourdieu, 1991, p. 37). For example if heteroglossic practices are legitimised in the BE classroom where stu- dents are allowed to freely navigate between differently named “languages” (Sin- hala, Tamil and English), the identities categorised by languages may become fluid and blurred (Garcia and Wei, 2014). This kind of linguistic environment may trigger new forms of social relations in BE classrooms that may facilitate unlearning of previously held individual/group linguistic or ethnic habitus and thereby destabilise ethnocentric habitus. Bourdieu introduced different forms of capital, which are inter-convertible and have the ability to “reproduce itself in identical or expanded form” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 241) – viz. cultural capital, economic capital, social capital, linguistic capital and symbolic capital. Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) posit that individu- als may possess capitals as “piles of tokens” of different values, and they struggle to accumulate more. Most pertinent to this chapter is the social capital which is “made up of social obligations (‘connections’)” (Bourdieu, 1986, p. 243). We theorise social capital as membership of a certain group that confers credentials or resources to individuals in a particular group. When the habitus is ethnocentric, the social capital that will have high stakes would be exclusive ethnocentric group membership, whereas when the ethnic habitus diverges from ethnocentrism, the
- 33. 12 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid social capital at stake would be inclusive group membership supported by supra- ethnic habitus. In such contexts, individuals and groups may socialise into supra/ national identities rather than ethnicity-based identities – for instance as Sri Lan- kans rather than as Sinhalese, Tamilians or Muslim. Methodology It is on these premises that empirical data were gathered to examine the following research question: What are the ethnic group re/orientations taking place among ethnically diverse students when they study together in multiethnic BE classrooms in Sri Lanka? How do these changes happen? The larger study from which the data for the present chapter were drawn fol- lowed a qualitative interpretive approach. The study was based on Bourdieu’s epistemological approach, which rules out the dichotomy of objectivism and sub- jectivism in favour of a philosophical stance that posits that social reality exists in the context as well as in the agents – “in things and in minds, in fields and in habitus, outside and inside of agents” (Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992, p. 127). Multiple methods namely focus-group discussions (FGDs) with student groups (aged 16–17 years) representing Sinhalese, Tamilians and Muslims, classroom observation and audio-recording, interviews with additional stakeholders such as teachers, principals and parents were utilised (see Table 1.1). The data were collected from three schools: South College, which is a school in a remote underdeveloped province; Raveendranath College, a prestigious public Table 1.1 Summary of data collection tools and datasets Data Set Method Participants Data 1 Observation of 3 Two content teachers and Observation multiethnic BE students of three BE protocol/notes classrooms classrooms Audio-recordings (one class in each school) 2 Focus group Three groups comprising Student responses discussions 4–6/7 students (FGDs) representing each ethnic group in each school 3 Semi-structured Two BE teachers at each Teacher responses interviews school 4 Semi-structured Additional stakeholders – Stakeholder responses interviews principals, parents and MOE officials Source: Adapted from Wijesekera (2018).
- 34. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 13 school in the capital and Parakrama College, a semi-government Catholic school. All three schools taught some subjects through English and were attended by Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim students. When these students learned the subjects delivered through English, they gathered together in one classroom. This is dif- ferent from MTI, which includes students in the classroom based on their ethno- linguistic backgrounds. Data analysis and interpretation Content analysis was the main analytical method used to develop the themes emerging from the data (see Wijesekera, 2018 for details). The analytical process was mainly deductive and was framed by using Bourdieu’s conceptual tools as the explanatory framework previously discussed. An iterative process navigating back and forth between the data and analysis was followed during data collection. We analyse and interpret the data to illustrate the complex and conflicting ethnolin- guistic orientations and their potential consequences informing the dynamics of BE classrooms. We divide the analysis into four main themes which we describe and illustrate in detail in the following sections. Identity transformation: moving towards inclusivism The analysis of the data collected through FGDs with the students indicated that many of them had had ethnocentric dispositions or ethnically exclusive identities resulting from primary PW in their families. These identities and dispositions were consolidated by secondary PW in monolingual (single language as a medium), and hence monoethnic, schools. This consolidation was facilitated even in the so- called multiethnic schools due to the separation of students into Tamil-medium and Sinhala-medium classrooms, which brought little opportunity for students to learn together, as illustrated in the following excerpt: When we were young, we only associated with Sinhala students and Sinha- lese. When I came here and heard Tamil [speaking in Tamil], I got scared instantly. I wondered if they would talk to me. I have no place to go. I won- dered if something happened, I may have to hide somewhere. That’s how I felt in the first few days. (Sinhala Student 4, Raveendranath College) This excerpt reveals the degree of culture shock when the student heard other students speaking Tamil. Similar to this Sinhala student, other students who had earlier studied in a single-language medium school without exposure to other cultures shared similar experiences. However, the ethnocentric attitudes and identities were found to transform towards less ethnocentric and more inclusive dispositions when the students were exposed to secondary PW in the BE classroom where they studied together to
- 35. 14 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid achieve common educational goals. The following excerpt represents the com- mon view held by the students irrespective of their ethnicities. It was very separate, we didn’t know them and they didn’t know about us ither. From Grade 6 onwards I was in English medium class. And I was in Sinhala medium before. . . . Well, before I came to English medium in Grade 6, from Grade 1 to 5, I barely used to play with them. During the interval also it was very separate, so we didn’t know them and they didn’t know us either. After Grade 6, when we started moving together and playing together, exchanging things and working together, that was a big experience for us. (Muslim Student 3, Raveendranath College) Also, the following excerpts from South College students further reflect how ethnic exclusivity was perpetuated by the public school system, and how socialisa- tion into the ethnocentric habitus was shaped by, among other factors, the media. These excerpts also illuminate how ethnocentric dispositions were transformed in the BE classroom. Tamil student: Before we were in other schools, we didn’t see them like this. The problem was [the] war. Tamil student: When we watched the news we thought Sinhala people were not good, we have neighbours they are good, but we thought the Sinhalese in the country is not good. But it was only when we came to this school (BE) we understood that they are as good as this much, they are very good. Sinhala student: [We] saw them [Muslim people] bit different from us, a bit bad way (before) . . . earlier we thought that they humiliate and disrespect our religion. Sinhala student: When during the war we were scared of Tamils. Sinhala student: During the war Sinhala and Tamil . . . because of it we were afraid of Tamils earlier. Muslim student: In [Muslim College] we didn’t meet them, so I didn’t know about them. I thought they are bad. But now it’s different, I know them and we are friends. Transformation of these ethnocentric views was experienced by students at Raveendranath College. As typical views were represented by Sinhala and Tamil students: Sinhala student: It is different now. Earlier we all hated Tamils. Now it is changed. Now we are in the same one class, we work together and we understand each other now. Sinhala student: We didn’t have any knowledge or understanding about them earlier. On the other hand, we thought that Tamils are bad
- 36. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 15 like that. Now we realised they are really cooperative because now we are friends. Tamil student: Maybe I personally think that only parents understand these. We never knew what was happening. Just suddenly [the] war finished. They say all the stories, parents had their mental- ity and that has gone into the children that is what I believe. They didn’t even know why they have that separation. They have a deep impact inside that there is some kind of difference [distance between Tamils and others – mainly Sinhalese]. The experiences reported here by the students provide evidence of how ethnic distinctions were conferred to be “socially legitimized and consecrated by social institutions” (Kramsch, 2010, p. 41) such as the family and school, as Tamilians, Sinhalese or Muslims (Wijesekera, 2018). For instance stereotypical misconcep- tions inculcated by primary PW of family and then secondary PW in school con- solidated such stereotypical misconceptions and ethnocentrism (Bourdieu and Passeron, 1977). Although the public school system is supposed to socialise stu- dents towards inclusive supra-ethnic identities, it seems to have failed due to the linguistically divided school system. In contrast, the multiethnic BE classroom that brought diverse ethnic groups together facilitated the realignment of ethno- centric identities towards inclusive identities, as students had the opportunity to meet and come to know one another and work towards common goals. The emergence of a new group The data also provided evidence for the emergence of “oneness” among the stu- dents who studied together in BE classrooms irrespective of their ethnicities. It appears that they developed an “in-group” sense and solidarity among themselves as English-medium students as opposed to Tamil- medium or Sinhala-medium monolingual classes. As the principal of South College noted: When the students are in one class they all act as one group because they get the opportunity to work together to achieve one single objective within that context. Among them, things pertaining to each other are discussed. When this is like this, a new community is formed even though unofficially. They have a certain understanding of each other’s culture and they begin to respect each other. Even though there are differences due to multicultural nature they are within a certain framework, they think this is our class. For example if a Sinhala BE student has a grudge with a Tamil student in another class, Tamil BE students take the side of the Sinhala BE student. In such a context they are within a framework that it is our colleague [classmate]; they have that feeling because they are always together in one class. The emergence of a new community means the disconfirmation of the previ- ously held stereotypical perceptions. Belonging to one class where students of all
- 37. 16 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid ethnicities work together to achieve their educational goals as one learning com- munity may also have contributed to in-group sense irrespective of ethnicity while out-grouping the students in other classes. Studying in one classroom requires them to achieve common educational goals, which, in turn, necessitates mutual help and support among students. This may have promoted interdependence and mutual trust and respect and, thereby, in-group solidarity among students in contrast to out-grouping of others (Harwood and Vincze, 2015; Tajfel, 1972). The social capital at stake in these classes is not exclusive but inclusive. It referred to the membership of the multiethnic and multilingual classroom, not the membership of a single ethnic group. The views expressed by a BE teacher in a semi-structured interview corroborated the idea of the formation of group solidarity: In the BE class, we don’t have to take special effort [effort to promote social cohesion]. It can be done through the BE programme with the existing curriculum. For example when we do a science project without conscious knowledge students automatically begin to cooperate, they share each oth- er’s knowledge, resources and skills. So they cooperate with each other. They don’t have limits; they don’t have boundaries then. So one of the aims of BE is to make this cooperation and understanding. It will contribute to social cohesion. The teacher noted that “without conscious knowledge”, students “automatically begin to cooperate”. This insinuates that the students were acting in a practi- cal sense. In other words, they became a part of the “game” – becoming fitting players of the multiethnic and multilingual BE classroom field through illusio – feeling for the game. This illustrates that working together cooperatively to achieve common goals creates an in-group sense. This may trigger repositioning of students’ group identities towards supra-ethnic identities where the exclusion of students who belonged to other ethnic groups is not any more profitable, at least in the social space of the BE classroom. In the BE classroom, the “legitimate pedagogic capital” (Hardy, 2010, p. 144) becomes inclusivity – a new sub-type of capital that emerges quasi-instantaneously in relation to the “socially situated conditions” in the multiethnic BE classroom. English: an “unmarked” code between “marked” codes Our study illustrates that English played the role of a “friendly knife” among the students in the multiethnic BE classroom. However, this role also seemed to be taking on differing traits within and beyond the BE classroom and the school. The analysis of the data revealed that the schools provided clear evidence that English as the legitimate linguistic capital (English medium) played the mediat- ing role between the Sinhala and Tamil languages that have a history of rivalry as previously discussed. To exemplify this, we present one Sinhala student’s views which, we suppose, summed up the views of all students in the three schools.
- 38. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 17 The “difference” in the following extract refers to the distance or out-grouping between the students who studied in Sinhala-medium classes and Tamil-medium classes: There was a difference and it mattered. We didn’t understand the racial differ- ences when we were small. But then our interaction with Tamils [students] who were there [in the school] was a bit low. I didn’t have an issue because I spoke English but most of my friends were Sinhala medium children, so for them, the only way they could communicate was English. But Sinhala stu- dents didn’t have that knowledge of English to speak to the Tamils. I assume the same experience may have happened with people from Tamil classes because even the Tamil medium students who were doing Tamil medium and Muslims also were there in TM classes. So I would say that the lan- guage was the barrier but English was the bridge. So, even the SM [Sinhala- medium] students had to speak to Tamils because in classroom activities like sweeping they had to talk to each other. So there both parties tried their best to speak to each other through English. But sometimes I noticed that Tamil students were trying to speak in Sinhala but not Sinhala students in Tamil. [. . .] But English was the thing that brought them together. (Sinhala Student, Raveendranath College) The student reiterated that language was a barrier that kept the two ethnic groups separate, but English came to remove the barrier, working as a bridge. When the students were in one class, they were compelled to interact or play the game as required of them. In addition, some other students viewed that English as a common medium made everyone connected and created a sense of equality. Sinhala as the language spoken by the majority population may obviously have more capital value over Tamil, despite the equal status given to both languages by the Constitution. On the other hand, English being the language between these two communities created a common group sense instead of ethnic categorisation based on languages. The views of two BE teachers provided additional evidence of the social poten- tial of English in relation to Sinhala and Tamil. In response to the question of why other languages were not used in the class, the first, a citizen education teacher, explained [t]hat [English-only approach] is very important because as I told you, I don’t want to think whether this child is a Muslim, Tamil or Sinhala. Actually, I don’t know whether some children are Muslims or Tamil, actually, we don’t know. I really don’t know. The connection between us is English. . . . [I]t is very important for social cohesion. . . . So we don’t feel any difference when we go to classes. I think so do the children. If Tamil medium students go to a Sinhala medium class, if you send a Tamil medium student, they can’t com- municate. You get the feeling that you are a Tamil I am a Sinhala you get that feeling. But when someone asks “Can I have your book” then “Yes you can
- 39. 18 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid take it buddy”[.] There is no communication gap. There is no obstacle . . . when you speak English, you feel very comfortable if you speak to a person who belongs to a different ethnic group. There, whatever the ethnicity you don’t care if you have a common communication medium. . . . you don’t want to be worried about the ethnicity. (BE Citizen Education Teacher, Parakrama College) From this teacher’s perspective, English created the bond between her and the BE students in her class as it was the common language. She noted that in the absence of English, an ethnically neutral language, there could be different power dynamics between the students and between the teacher and the students of dif- ferent ethnic groups. However, when English was used as the medium of com- munication, there was a commonality, and this corroborated what the Sinhala student said earlier: If language created the gulf, English served as the bridge. The other BE teacher who taught science reaffirmed this role of English and noted that “[t]here are no Tamil or Muslims or Sinhala groups. . . . Because there is a common language, there is no difference among them”. This observation was also substantiated by the fieldwork. When the first author collected data in the BE classroom, she could not differentiate between the different ethnic groups. All students were similar physically as they are made of flesh and blood – it is only the language which divided them but was not embodied. As the teacher noted: In English medium classes nobody talks in Tamil or Sinhala. [So] [t]here are no Tamil or Muslim or Sinhala groups. . . . Because there is a common language there is no difference among them. What they come up with is that they are English medium, they don’t see who [is] catholic, who [is] Sinhala, [and] who the Hindus are. . . . They don’t have an attitude like okay you are a Muslim or he is Tamil. They work as a one-whole class. . . . [I]t happens due to the common language in use. (BE Science/Class teacher at Parakrama College) The teacher’s views illustrate that English was an “unmarked code” that neutral- ised the historically acquired contending nature of the two national languages: Tamil and Sinhala. Hence, when English was the language of communication, the participants experienced an in-group sense, and they could claim their belonging to one common group. This was clearly articulated by a Sinhala student: For me and what I have seen I don’t know if it is scientifically proven, but when you switch a language you switch personality. When people are speak- ing in English the personality is different. And what I feel is that that proba- bly happens, I have seen it a couple of times, when Sinhala or Tamil speaking students speaking in completely English they feel that that wasn’t different, and the way that the person is acting differently. (Sinhala Student, Raveendranath College)
- 40. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 19 While “local languages and identities suffer from discriminatory markings of caste, ethnicity, and gender” (Canagarajah, 2005, p. 428), English may work as a neutral or “unmarked code” (Canagarajah, 2000), where symbolic power between local languages appears to be null. Based on our data, when a common language was the legitimate language of the social space, here the BE classroom (English medium), the inhabitants adopted the symbolic standing in which power relations resulting from languages of varying capital values were reoriented. In such a context, ethnic identity/habitus mainly oriented through language might analogously reorient when they become “a single linguistic community” (May, 2010), as per Bourdieu’s logic of practice. The BE classroom created at least an illusion of “linguistic communism” (Bourdieu, 1991) by presenting English as the legitimate language of communication in the classroom even if it is not practi- cally so. In such a social space, the power struggle between majority and minority languages originating from differing capital values attributed to the languages may fade away, at least for the time being. Nevertheless, the so-called neutral English may work in other ways as well. It is between those who have the linguistic capital and those who do not – BE stu- dents and monolingual students. We elaborate on this theme in the next section. English kaduwa – The symbolic sword Capital can be either stakes or weapons. In the preceding discussion, we noted that English as a linguistic capital was a stake. But it can also be a weapon for people irrespective of ethnicity. Our analysis of the data demonstrates that there was a hierarchy of power between those who were fluent in English and those not so fluent, even within the BE classroom. We take into account both per- spectives. The elitist practice of the BE students contributed to stratification between BE students and monolingual students. At the time of data collection, this school had not allowed separate physical classroom spaces for BE students. The students needed to come to the same classroom when they studied content subjects through English. At other times, the BE students were in their respec- tive monolingual classes. In response to the question “Why do you disallow separate BE classrooms for BE students?”, the principal of Raveendranath Col- lege noted: Because we found that another sub-group was forming. This sub-group always wanted to be different from other students, so this was a big issue . . . separated from original Sinhala medium or Tamil medium children. . . . [T]hey wanted to form [their] own “class”, English speaking class. In fact, this new class formation became such a critical issue that the MOE was compelled to issue an order disallowing separate classrooms for BE students due to various complaints by school authorities regarding the formation of an elite group within schools. This division prevailed even within the BE classroom – between
- 41. 20 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid those who were highly proficient and those who had more modest levels of Eng- lish proficiency. This was evident in the students’ responses: Student 3: There are some students who think they are high class or above us. Student 2: There are a few students who use English to let others down. They think that knowing English is having the whole world under them. So they shout, make noise and push us. In particular, we concentrate on the struggle between the BE students and the monolingual students. The most interesting revelation was that this struggle was prevalent even between Tamil-speaking BE students and Tamil-medium students. Student 5: When we were like in Grade 8 and got late for Tamil class our Tamil teacher scolded us saying, “You are English medium people; you are like English dogs”. Student 2: So even [though] she is Tamil, she used “English dogs” to scold us. Student 1: We are scolded as English-Medium. Even when someone talks in the class they [teachers] just say, “You’re English medium”. These excerpts show that the students were scolded as a group – “the English- medium students”. Another student noted: “Tamil teachers favor only Tamil- medium students. They throw us like the dustbin [garbage]”. This provides a profound example of the pain that these Tamil BE students may have experi- enced, especially when they were discriminated against by their own ethnic group. Their experiences also illustrate the symbolic violence on them and their helpless submission to the violence in a taken-for-granted manner. This was explicitly expressed by another Tamil BE student who noted: “We are silent and even if smile with each other, you know we don’t talk, but if we do smiling like, we get beaten”. This shows that the students were forced to be silent and accept the dominant logic of practice in the Tamil-medium classroom where they have to go to study subjects such as Tamil language and history. This relegation was mainly reported by Tamil BE students in all schools but not by Sinhala BE students. Even the BE teachers also expressed similar views that mainly Tamil students were relegated by Tamil-medium students and teachers. This may be attributed to the “Tamil-only” hardcore language policy imposed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), the de facto rulers of the northern part of the island before 2009. As Saunders (2007) argues, this policy not only aimed to facilitate the upward mobility of lower social classes of Tamil but also served as resistance towards elite English–Tamil bilinguals. The discriminatory coercion reportedly exercised by the Tamil-medium students and teachers over Tamil BE students may be a reflection of this policy which may not have disap- peared even after the end of the war and the adoption of language policies giving equal status to Sinhalese and Tamilians. Overall, the foregoing discussion provides evidence for the complex and con- flicting nature of the social potential of the English language in the education
- 42. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 21 space. Sometimes, it becomes conflict-fuelling, while at other times, it is seem- ingly a neutral mediator. In particular, English appears to be “extremely politi- cally charged” “[u]nable to erase its colonial past or the present political tensions to which its uses and abuses have given rise” (Saunders, 2007) and continues to reproduce social disparities. Yet, as this study shows, English language can also act as a tool of reconciliation between the two contesting linguistic groups, being an “unmarked code” (Canagarajah, 2000) – a conduit between. Conclusion This chapter has provided insights into the multiethnic BE classroom in Sri Lanka in terms of shaping students’ ethnolinguistic orientations, including the role of the English language. The Sri Lankan public school system continues to perpetuate eth- nolinguistic divisions through its language of instruction policies. This is contrary to the goal that the system is legitimately required to achieve ethnic reconciliation for social cohesion. The chapter has demonstrated that the BE classroom in multiethnic schools offers a rite of passage towards transformative expectations in the education system. We illustrated how students of different ethnicities who once had ethno- centric hate and negative stereotypical misconceptions towards the “others” were being transformed into having a common group sense – a mutual likeness and trust in relation to the “socially situated conditions” of the multiethnic BE classroom. Our study suggests that sharing lived experience matters in unlearning of negative ethnocentric dispositions. Based on the study we may argue that “by sheer dint of being embedded within the field”, one may “undergo a process of personal transfor- mation” (Shammas and Sandberg, 2016, p. 196, original emphasis). The chapter has also exemplified that in these multiethnic BE classes, English language played the role of a “neutral mediator” between the two rival national languages. However, English as a symbolic capital also acted as a coercive weapon that victimised and cut through those who did not possess the linguistic capital of English. In other words, if the so-called neutral mediation of English can recon- cile ethnolinguistically divided groups, it can do so only by creating new divides along different linguistic lines – between English proficiency and its absence. This English-based divide is ultimately an expression of the social and material divides reported in South Asia (Hamid and Jahan, 2015; Jahan and Hamid, 2019). From a policy perspective, this is comparable to the use of quinine to treat malaria – quinine may eliminate the fever, but what will eliminate the quinine? At the same time, the linguistic power of English may not be seen as being absolute. If the absence of English proficiency may render people into being linguistic victims, in some cases those victims may also utilise a different linguis- tic capital to victimise their English-proficient victimisers. This was evidenced by the intolerant attitudes and discriminatory behaviours by less English-profi- cient Tamil students (as well as teachers) towards English-proficient Tamil BE students. A similar process of victimisation is reported in Bangladesh, where Bangla-medium students’ representation of their English-medium other shows intolerance and lack of respect (Hamid and Jahan, 2015).
- 43. 22 Harsha DulariWijesekera and M. Obaidul Hamid We can draw various policy lessons from the study for multiethnic and mul- tilingual societies such as Sri Lanka, regardless of whether such lessons will translate into policy or not. First of all, in acknowledging the educational sig- nificance of MTI, we need to be aware of its ethnocentric potential in socie- ties with multiple languages and ethnicities. One policy response is to provide opportunities to students to learn through the medium of ethnic other’s language – through the second national language – for instance Sinhala students learning content through Tamil and vice versa – which may facilitate under- standing each other and help them to develop supra-ethnic habitus and identity replacing their ethnocentric views and identities. However, this transformation of ethnic habitus may not be an automatic process; schools and teachers need to achieve this goal through essential pedagogical work. This calls for viewing curriculum from a wider perspective inclusive of social work that can develop respect, trust and harmony between different ethnolinguistic groups. Bridging the social divide marked by English is more challenging for policy and peda- gogy. Which groups of students have higher levels of English proficiency and which groups are less proficient are both educational and sociological ques- tions. At the risk of sounding pessimistic, no intervention is likely to address the problem at both fronts at the same time. Realistically, schools can fight the problem only in the education domain. If they can do their best with an aware- ness of the inequality, disadvantaged students may become optimistic and make their own efforts to overcome the English proficiency barrier. Policies guided by political will and resource commitment and informed by grassroots realities are also essential to achieve these goals. At the end, at the societal level, there should be programmes and activities to develop an awareness of the value of living together with others and a greater appreciation of the role of language in collective existence (Coleman, 2015). This public pedagogical work should utilise the lived civil war as a critical heuristic to remind different ethnolinguistic groups that the civil strife ended only in one specific sense. In a more important sense, this is an unfinished war, which needs to be fought on a regular basis in school and society. Note 1 Bilingual education is generally known as English-medium instruction (EMI) in the Sri Lankan education system. In this chapter, we use BE and EMI interchangeably. References Bhaba, H. (1994). The location of culture. London; New York: Routledge. Blumör, R., and Licht, S. (2019). Education as a lever for social cohesion? The social cohesion radar in schools in Sri Lanka. Education, Social Cohesion and Anomie, 49. The Centre for Poverty Analysis: Sri Lanka. www.cepa.lk/publications/education- social-cohesion-and-anomie/.
- 44. Dynamics of bilingualeducation 23 Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Westport, CT: Greenwood. ———. (1990). The logic of practice. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ———. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Harvard: Harvard University Press. ———. (2005). The social structures of the economy. Oxford, UK: Polity Press. Bourdieu, P., and Passeron, J-C. (1977). Reproduction in education, society and cul- ture. London: Sage. Bourdieu, P., and Wacquant, L. J. D. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Cam- bridge: Polity Press. Canagarajah, A. S. (2000). Negotiating ideologies through English: Strategies from the periphery. In T. Ricento (Ed.), Ideology, politics and language policies: Focus on English (pp. 121–132). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. ———. (2005). Dilemmas in planning English/vernacular relations in post-colonial communities. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 9(3), 418–447. Chandra, K. (2006). What is ethnic identity and does it matter. Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 397–424. Coleman, H. (Ed.). (2015). Language and social cohesion in the developing world. Colombo: British Council. Crafter, S., and de Abreu, G. (2010). Constructing identities in multicultural learn- ing. Contexts, Mind, Culture, and Activity, 17(2), 102–118. Davis, C. P. (2015). Speaking conflict: Ideological barriers to bilingual policy imple- mentation in Civil War Sri Lanka. Anthropology Education Quarterly, 46(2), 95–112. ———. (2020). The struggle for a multilingual future: Youth and education in Sri Lanka. Oxford: Oxford University Press. De Silva, K. M. (1997). Affirmative action policies: The Sri Lankan experience. Ethnic Studies Report, 15(2), 245–287. Department of Census Statistics. (2012). Census of population and housing 2012. www.statistics.gov.lk/ on 3 January 2014. Gabriel, S. P. (2014). ‘After the break’: Re-conceptualizing ethnicity, national identity and ‘Malaysian-Chinese’ identities. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 37(7), 1211–1224. Garcia, O., and Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and educa- tion. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Grenfell, M. J. (Ed.). (2011). Bourdieu, language and linguistics. London: Bloomsbury. ———. (2013). “Shadow boxing”: Reflections on Bourdieu and language. Social Epistemology, 27(3–4), 280–286. Hamid, M. O., and Jahan, I. (2015). Language, identity and social divides: Medium of instruction debates in Bangladeshi print media. Comparative Education Review, 59(1), 75–101. Hardy, C. (2010). Language and education. In M. Grenfell (Ed.), Bourdieu, language and linguistics (pp. 170–193), London: Bloomsbury. Harwood, J., and Vincze, L. (2015). Ethnolinguistic identification, vitality, and gratifications for television use in a bilingual media environment. Journal of Social Issues, 7(1), 73–89. Hassan, R. (2011). Life as a weapon: The global rise of suicide bombings. London: Routledge.
- 45. Other documents randomlyhave different content
- 49. The Project GutenbergeBook of The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 4, December, 1834
- 50. This ebook isfor the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The Southern Literary Messenger, Vol. I., No. 4, December, 1834 Author: Various Editor: James E. Heath Release date: December 17, 2016 [eBook #53753] Most recently updated: October 23, 2024 Language: English Credits: Produced by Ron Swanson *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER, VOL. I., NO. 4, DECEMBER, 1834 ***
- 51.
- 52. EVERY DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE AND THEFINE ARTS. Au gré de nos desirs bien plus qu'au gré des vents. Crebillon's Electre. As we will, and not as the winds will. RICHMOND: T. W. WHITE, PUBLISHER AND PROPRIETOR. 1834-5. CONTENTS OF VOLUME I, NUMBER 4 SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY and Present Condition of Tripoli, with some accounts of the other Barbary States (No. II): by R. G. REVIEW of Governor Tazewell's Report to the Legislature of Virginia, on the Deaf and Dumb Asylum
- 53. COLONIAL MANNERS WESTERN SCENERY THOM'SGROUP OF STATUARY, FROM BURNS'S TAM O'SHANTER CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE: by Emillion LAW LECTURE AT WILLIAM AND MARY: by Professor Beverley Tucker THE MARCH OF MIND: by V. THE VILLAGE ON FOURTH JULY 183—: by T. P. TO D——: by E. INVOCATION TO RELIGION: by L. BEAUTY AND TIME: by S. ANTICIPATION: by L. HINTS TO STUDENTS OF GEOLOGY: by Peter A. Browne, Esq. ESSAY ON LUXURY: by B. B. B. H. TO ——: by Powhatan ELOQUENCE: by H. M. LETTERS FROM NEW ENGLAND—No. 2: by a Virginian ON THE POLICY OF ELEVATING THE STANDARD OF FEMALE EDUCATION: by L. H. S. MY NAME: by J. D. TO THE DEFENDERS OF NEW ORLEANS: by Dr. J. R. Drake
- 54. VALEDICTORY IN JULY1829 THE SEASONS: by V. BYRON'S LAST WORDS: by D. Martin TO A YOUNG LADY: by A. B. M. LINES IN AN ALBUM: by A. B. M. PARTING: by A. B. M. LINES SUGGESTED ON VIEWING THE RUINS AT JAMESTOWN: by Sylvanus ODE WRITTEN ON A FINE NIGHT AT SEA AUTUMN WOODS: by H. THE DECLARATION FROM MY SCRAP BOOK: by Powhatan THE MECHANICIAN AND UNCLE SIMON: by Nugator LINES WRITTEN IMPROMPTU, on a Lady's intimating a wish to see some verses of mine in the Messenger.: by A. B. THE PEASANT-WOMEN OF THE CANARIES: by Eliza THE HEART PARODY ON BRYANT'S AUTUMN THE BATTLE OF BREED'S HILL: by Alpha TO A LADY: by M. S. L. TO IANTHE: by Fergus
- 55. SONNET: by R.H. Wilde EPIGRAMME FRANCAISE TRUE CONSOLATION SONNET: by R. H. Wilde ADVICE FROM A FATHER TO HIS ONLY DAUGHTER ORIGINAL LITERARY NOTICES VATHEK—An Oriental Tale: by Mr. Beckford, author of Italy, c. LEISURE HOURS, or the American Popular Library: conducted by an Association of Gentlemen Selection: MY TWO AUNTS EDITORIAL REMARKS EXTRACTS FROM THE LETTERS OF CORRESPONDENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO CONTRIBUTORS, CORRESPONDENTS, C. SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER. VOL. I.] RICHMOND, DECEMBER, 1834. [NO. 4. T. W. WHITE, PRINTER AND PROPRIETOR. FIVE DOLLARS PER ANNUM.
- 56. For the SouthernLiterary Messenger. SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY And Present Condition of Tripoli, with some accounts of the other Barbary States. No. II. From the year 1551, when Tripoli was taken by Dragut, to the early part of the eighteenth century, it continued to form a part of the Turkish empire; and as such, but little is known respecting it. However, though governed by a Pasha appointed from Constantinople, and garrisoned exclusively by Turkish troops, it did not entirely lose its nationality, and appears to have been much less dependant on the Sultan, than the other parts of his dominions; for we find upon record, treaties between Tripoli and various European powers concluded within that period, in which no mention whatever is made of the Porte. That with England, was negotiated in 1655 by Blake, immediately after his successful bombardment of Tunis; it proved however of little value, for ten years after, Sir John Narborough was sent with a fleet against Tripoli, on which occasion the celebrated Cloudesley Shovel first distinguished himself, in the destruction of several ships under the guns of the castle. At length a revolution was effected in the government; the allegiance to the Sultan was thrown off, and his paramount authority was reduced to a mere nominal suzerainty. In the year 1714, Hamet surnamed Caramalli, or the Caramanian, from a province of Asia Minor in which he was born, while in command of the city as Bey or lieutenant during the absence of the Pasha, formed a conspiracy among the Moors, by whose aid, the city was freed from Turkish troops in a single night. Three hundred of them were invited by him
- 57. to an entertainmentat a castle a few miles distant from Tripoli, and were despatched as they successively entered a dark hall or passage in the building; of the others, many were found murdered in the streets next morning, and but a small number escaped to tell the dreadful tale. A Moorish guard was instantly formed, strong enough to repel any attack which could have been expected; and Hamet was proclaimed sovereign, under the title of Pasha. The new prince did not however trust entirely to arms, for the security of his title, but instantly sent a large sum to Constantinople, which being properly distributed, he succeeded in obtaining confirmation, or rather recognition by the Sultan. He moreover solemnly adopted Abdallah the infant son of his predecessor and declared him heir to the throne; but he altered these views, if he had ever entertained them, when his own children grew up, for his eldest son was made Bey or lieutenant at an early age, and afterwards succeeded him; Abdallah, however, lived through nearly three reigns, as Kiah, or governor of the castle, and was murdered in 1790, by the hand of the late Pasha Yusuf. Hamet seemed really desirous to advance the true interests of his dominions, and for that purpose endeavored to make friends of the European nations. Within a few years after his accession, he concluded treaties with England, the United Provinces, Austria and Tuscany, one of which alone, contains a vague proviso, respecting the approval of the Sultan. The stipulations of these treaties are principally commercial, or intended to secure the vessels of the foreign power, from capture; no mention is made in them of any payments to Tripoli, but it is generally understood that considerable sums were annually given by the weaker states for the purpose of obtaining such exemption, and by the more powerful in order to encourage the piracies. By these means the commerce of the country was increased; the manufactures of Europe were imported for the use of its inhabitants, and for transportation into the interior, by the caravans; in return, dates, figs, leather, c. were exported from Tripoli, and cattle from the ports lying east of it. One of the most valuable articles sent to Europe, was salt, brought from the
- 58. desert and thecountries beyond, where it is found in abundance, of the finest quality, either as rock-salt or in sheets resembling ice on the sand. Soda was likewise exported in great quantities, principally to France; but the facility with which it is now obtained from common salt, has much lessened the value of that substance and the quantity of it carried from Tripoli. This commerce was carried on exclusively in foreign vessels, principally English, Dutch and French; those of Tripoli being all fitted out as cruisers, and engaged in piracy. None of its vessels indeed could venture to leave the place without being armed and manned to an extent which the profits of a trading voyage would not warrant; for in addition to the Spaniards, Venitians, Genoese and other maritime states, with one or other of which the Tripolines were generally at war, they had a constant and inveterate enemy in the Knights of Malta, whose gallies were ever hovering about the port, and who in the treatment of their captives, improved upon the lessons of cruelty taught by their Barbary neighbors. These cruisers were charged to respect all vessels belonging to powers with which Tripoli had treaties; but such charges were occasionally forgotten, when a richly laden ship was encountered by a Corsair returning perhaps from a fruitless cruise; and the Pasha who was entitled to a large portion of each prize, sometimes shewed less alacrity than was promised by his treaties in causing the damage to be repaired. A mistake of this kind with regard to some French vessels, provoked that government in 1729, when it was at peace with England, to send a squadron to Tripoli, for the purpose of demanding satisfaction. The result of this display was a treaty, the terms of which were dictated by the French Admiral de Gouyon. The Pasha in the most abject manner acknowledged his infractions of the former treaty, and accepted with gratitude, the pardon and peace which the Emperor1 of France was pleased to grant him—all the French prizes taken were to be restored, or indemnification made for those which were lost or injured—the French captives were to be released, together with twenty other Catholic prisoners to be
- 59. selected by theAdmiral—Tripoline cruisers were to be furnished with certificates from the French Consul, who was to take precedence of all other Consuls on public occasions—French vessels with their crews were not to be molested—together with many other provisions, calculated to give to France immunities and advantages, not enjoyed by any other nation. As an additional humiliation, all stipulations made or that might be made with the Porte, were to be observed by Tripoli; and the treaty was to remain in force one hundred years. 1 The King of France is always styled Emperor in negotiations with the Oriental Powers. This treaty is one of the many evidences of the want of common sense, which formerly presided over diplomatic negotiations, and rendered their history a record of unjust pretension on the one hand, of duplicity and subterfuge on the other. Exclusive advantages for a period which might as well have been left indefinite, are arrogantly extorted from a petty state, without reflecting, that supposing the utmost desire on its part, they could be observed only until some other strong power should demand the same for itself. The Barbary states have long known the absurdity of this, and have profited by it; to the force of the greater nations, they have merely opposed the Punica fides, and when availing resistance cannot be made, they sign any treaty however humiliating, trusting to Allah for an opportunity to break it profitably. The inutility of these exclusive stipulations was soon proved; for in 1751 Tripoli became involved in difficulties with Great Britain, from circumstances similar to those which had provoked the ire of France. The quarrel terminated in a similar manner; a fleet was sent, and a treaty dictated, less humiliating in style to the weaker and less arrogant on the part of the stronger, than that with France, but giving to Great Britain in effect, all the exclusive or superior advantages, and to her consul the same precedence of all other consuls, which had already been solemnly guarantied to the French.
- 60. As a matterof course the latter sent a squadron soon after, to require a renewal of the treaty of 1729 with stipulations still more in their favor, to which of course the Pasha consented. The same plan has been pursued by these two great nations, with regard to the other states of Barbary; and the court of each Bey, Pasha or Emperor, has been a perpetual theatre for the intrigues and struggles for influence of their consuls. In the early treaties with these states, we see no provision against piracy in general, no protest against the principle;—Tripoline cruisers shall not make prizes of our vessels, nor appear within a certain distance of our coasts—thus much they say; but nothing else appears, from which it might be gathered, that Tripoli was other than a state, respectable itself and complying with those evident duties, which compose the body of national morals. In fact Great Britain and France, each keeping a large naval force in the Mediterranean, which could immediately chastise any offence against its own commerce, not only had no objection to the practice of piracy, but even secretly encouraged it; as the vessels of the weaker states were thus almost excluded from competition in trade. The abandonment of this despicable policy is one among the many triumphs of principle and feeling, which have marked the advance of civilization during the last twenty years, and which authorize us in hoping that a desire to promote the general welfare of mankind, may in future exert an influence in the councils of statesmen. In addition to his acts of pacific policy, Hamet extended his dominions by force of arms; he conquered Fezzan, a vast tract of desert, sprinkled with oases or islands of fertile soil, lying south of Tripoli and which has until lately been held by his successors; this conquest was important from the revenue it yielded, and from the advantages it afforded to caravans to and from the centre of Africa. He also reduced to complete subjection, the intractable inhabitants of the ancient Cyrenaica or part lying beyond the Great Syrtis; and upon the whole displayed so much energy and real good sense in his actions, that viewing the circumstances under which he was placed,
- 61. he may beconsidered fairly entitled to the appellation of Great, which has been bestowed on him by the people of Tripoli. Sometime before his death, he became totally blind, which affliction was believed by the more devout of his subjects, to have been sent as punishment for an act of tyranny, such as daily practised in those countries. In one of his visits to a mosque in the vicinity of the city, he chanced to see a young girl, the daughter of the Marabout or holy man of the place, whose beauty made such an impression on him, that he ordered the father to send her that evening richly drest to the castle, under penalty of being hacked to pieces, if he should fail to do so. She was accordingly conveyed to the royal apartments, but the Pasha on entering the room, found her a corpse; in order to save herself from violence, she had acceded to the wish of her father and taken a deadly potion. It is needless to relate what were the torments inflicted upon the parent; while writhing under them, he prayed that Allah would strike the destroyer with blindness; and his prayer was granted, it is said, as soon as uttered. However this may have been, a blind sovereign cannot long retain his power in Barbary; and Hamet probably felt that his own authority was less respected; for without any other ostensible reason, he deliberately shot himself in presence of his family in 1745. At least such is the account of his end given to the world. After the death of Hamet the Great, the usual dissensions as to who should succeed him, for sometime distracted the country; his second son Mohammed at length established his claim, and with singular magnanimity, permitted seven of his brothers to live through his reign, which ended with his life in 1762. Ali, the son and successor of Mohammed, was not so indulgent, and accordingly his uncles were soon despatched. One of them, a child, was however believed to have escaped, and a man was for many years supported at Tunis, whom the politic sovereign of that country affected to consider as the prince. The pretensions of this person were even favored by the Sultan, who, ever desirous of re- establishing his power over Tripoli, adopted this means of keeping
- 62. the country ina ferment, and the Pasha in alarm. However, after this first bloody measure, which is considered as a mere act of prudence in the East, Ali passed his reign, not only without any show of cruelty, but actually exhibiting in many cases a degree of culpable kindness. He seems indeed to have been a weak and really amiable man, possessing many negative virtues, and even a few positive; among the latter of which, were constancy and real attachment for his family. He had but one wife, who doubtless merited the devoted respect with which he always treated her; and when we read the details of their family life, as recorded in the agreeable pages of Mrs. Tully,2 it is difficult to imagine that such scenes could have taken place within the bloodstained walls of the castle of Tripoli. 2 Narrative of a Ten Year's residence in Tripoli, from the Correspondence of the family of the late Richard Tully, British Consul at Tripoli, from 1785 to 1794. But if Ali received pleasure and consolation from his faithful Lilla Halluma, the mutual hatred of their three sons rendered the greater part of his existence a horrible burden. Hassan, the eldest of the princes, was a man of much energy, together with a considerable share of generosity and good feeling. He was at an early age invested by his father with the title of Bey, which implies an acknowledgement of his right to succeed to the throne, and moreover gives him the command of the forces, the only effectual means of substantiating that right. In this office he soon distinguished himself during many expeditions which he commanded against various refractory tribes; and under his administration, the army and the revenues of the country began to recover from the miserable state in which the supineness of his father had permitted them to languish. Indeed, upon the whole, he gave promise of as much good with as little alloy, as could possibly have been expected in a sovereign of Tripoli. Hamet, the second son of the Pasha, inherited the weakness of his father, without his better qualities, and exhibited throughout life the utmost want of decision; in prosperity ever stupidly insolent; in
- 63. adversity the mostabject and degraded of beings, the slave of any one who was pleased to employ him. An improper message sent by the Bey to his wife, soon after their marriage, provoked a deadly hatred against his elder brother, which only exhibited itself however in idle vaporing threats of vengeance. The distracted parents did all in their power to produce a reconciliation, but in vain; the Bey was haughty, and Hamet implacable; neither trusting himself in the presence of the other, unless armed to the teeth and environed by guards. Yusuf, the youngest son, was the reverse of Hamet; brave, dashing and impetuous, he had scarcely reached his sixteenth year, before he openly declared his determination to struggle with the Bey for the future possession of the crown, or even to pluck it from the brow of his fond and tottering parent. Hassan at first regarded this as the mere ebullition of boyish feelings, and endeavored to attach him by acts of kindness; but they were thrown away on Yusuf, who apparently siding with Hamet, acquired over him an influence which rendered him a ready tool. The whole country was engaged in the dispute, and daily brawls between the adherents of the opposing parties rendered Tripoli almost uninhabitable. The report of this state of things produced much effect at Constantinople; the Sultan wished to regain possession of Tripoli, and he had reason to fear lest its distracted state should induce some christian power to attempt its conquest. It was therefore arranged in 1786, that an attack should be made on the place by sea, while the Bey of Tunis should be ready with a force to co- operate by land if necessary. The Capoudan Pasha or Turkish High Admiral, at that time was the famous Hassan, who afterwards distinguished himself in the wars against Russia on the Black Sea, and against the French in the Levant, particularly by the relief of Acre in 1799, while it was besieged by Buonaparte. He was the mortal enemy of Ali, and was moreover excited by the hope of obtaining the sovereignty of the country in case he should succeed in getting a footing. A large armament was therefore prepared; but
- 64. its destination waschanged, and instead of recovering Tripoli, the Capoudan Pasha had orders to proceed to Egypt, and endeavor to restore that country to its former allegiance; the Mamelukes having succeeded in establishing there an almost independent authority. The Tripoline Princes had been somewhat united by the news of the projected invasion; but this change in the objects of the Porte, again set the angry feelings of the brothers in commotion, and a severe illness with which their father was seized at the time, gave additional fury to their enmity, by apparently bringing the object of their discord nearer. As the old Pasha's death was expected, the Bey called the troops around him, and every avenue to the castle was defended; Yusuf and Hamet on their parts assembled their followers, and declared their resolution to overthrow Hassan or perish in the attempt, being convinced that his success would be the signal of their own destruction. Their tortured mother prepared to die by her own hands, rather than witness the dreadful scenes which would ensue on the decease of her husband. Ali however recovered, and things remained in the same unsettled state for three years longer; the mutual animosity of the Princes increasing, and the dread of invasion causing every sail which appeared, to be regarded with anxiety and suspicion. Yusuf had now reached his twentieth year, and had acquired complete influence over the mind of his father; a quarrel about a servant had raised a deadly feud between him and Hamet, and the Bey feeling more confidence from the success of several expeditions, was rendered less cautious than he should have been. Lilla Halluma made every effort to produce unity of feeling among them, and at length prevailed upon Hassan to meet his youngest brother in her apartments. The Bey came armed only with his sword, and even that defence he was induced to lay aside, by the representations of his mother. Yusuf appeared also unarmed, but attended by some of his most devoted black followers; he embraced his brother, and declaring himself satisfied, called for a Koran on which to attest the honesty of his purpose. But that was a signal which his blacks
- 65. understood, and insteadof the sacred volume, two pistols were placed in his hands; he instantly fired at the luckless Bey, who was seated next their mother; the ball took effect—the victim staggered towards his sword—but ere he could reach it, another shot stretched him on the floor; he turned his dying eyes towards Lilla Halluma, and erroneously conceiving that she had betrayed him, exclaimed, Mother, is this the present you have reserved for your eldest son! The infuriated blacks despatched him by an hundred stabs, in the presence not only of his mother, but also of his wife, whom the reports of the pistols had brought to the room. Yusuf made his way out of the castle, offering up as a second victim the venerable Kiah Abdallah, whom he met with on his passage; he then celebrated the successful issue of his morning's achievement by a feast. This happened about the end of July, 1790. Hamet was absent when the murder took place, and on his return was proclaimed Bey, but not until the consent of Yusuf had been obtained, which the miserable Pasha had been weak enough to require. The two brothers then swore eternal friendship, accompanying the oath with the ceremonies considered most solemn on such occasions. But oaths could have but little weight with men of their respective characters; they could give no security to Hamet, nor act as restraints upon Yusuf. In a short time the brothers disagreed; the Bey fortified himself in the castle, while Yusuf established his quarters in the Messeah, or plain which lies on one side of the City, and raised the standard of revolt. A number of discontented Moors and Arabs were soon assembled in his cause, and he formed a partial siege of the place. Meanwhile the Sultan was again at leisure to carry into effect the long projected plan against the country. A squadron was prepared, and one Ali-ben-Zool, a notorious pirate, was placed in command, and furnished with a firman or commission as Pasha. This squadron entered the harbor of Tripoli on the night of the 29th of July, 1793, and during the confusion that ensued, the Turks having got possession of the gates, were in a short time masters of the town.
- 66. The firman wasthen read, and the Pasha was summoned to deliver the castle to the representative of his sovereign. The poor old man was struck almost senseless with the news; his wife and family finding that resistance was impossible escaped, carrying the Pasha more dead than alive out of the city, where they at first were protected by an Arab tribe. Yusuf seeing when too late the misery which he had brought on his family, at length begged forgiveness from his father, and the Princes uniting their forces, endeavored by an assault on the town to retrieve their fortunes; but it proved unsuccessful; the Pasha's party was betrayed, and the Turkish power was for a time established. Every species of cruelty was then committed by Ali-ben-Zool, for the purpose of extorting money from the wretched inhabitants, and scenes were acted, which it would be shocking to relate. The unfortunate Lilla Halluma soon died of grief; her husband and sons retired to Tunis, where they were received and generously assisted by the Bey. The Porte at length was induced by the cruelties of its agent, to withdraw its support, and leave was given to the Caramalli family to regain their dominions. Ten thousand troops accordingly marched from Tunis in the spring of 1795, under the command of Hamet and Yusuf; ere they reached Tripoli, Ali-ben-Zool had evacuated the place, and retired to Egypt. This ruffian was afterwards made Governor of Alexandria in 1803, subsequently to the expulsion of the French, where he pursued the same course of cruelty and extortion as at Tripoli, until he was at length murdered by his guards. It is not to be supposed that Yusuf took all these pains merely to establish his brother quietly in Tripoli; the rude soldiery who decide matters of that kind in Barbary, could not but see a difference between him and Hamet, which was by no means in favor of the latter. Of this disposition Yusuf took full advantage, and so ingratiated himself with the troops, that when at length the news of old Ali's death reached the city, he was unanimously proclaimed Pasha; his brother, who was absent at the time, on returning, found the gates closed against him, and received an order from the new
- 67. sovereign to retireto the distant province of Derne, and remain there as Bey. Hamet having no other resource, went to his place of banishment, and remained there for some time; but finding that his brother was daily making attempts to destroy him, he at length in 1797 retired to Tunis, where he was supported by the Bey. The earliest act of Yusuf with regard to foreign intercourse, was the conclusion of a treaty with the United States, which was signed on the 4th of November, 1796, Joel Barlow then American Consul at Algiers and Colonel David Humphries, being the agents of the latter party. Its terms are generally reciprocal; passports are to be given to vessels of each country by which they are to be known—As the Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the christian religion, and has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquillity of Mussulmen, no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony between the two countries—the Pasha acknowledges the receipt of money and presents, in consideration for this treaty of perpetual peace and friendship, and no pretence of any periodical tribute or farther payment is ever to be made by either party. Finally, the observance of the treaty is guarantied by the most potent Dey and Regency of Algiers, and in case of dispute, no appeal shall be made to arms, but an amicable reference shall be made to the mutual friend of both parties, the Dey of Algiers, the parties hereby engaging to abide by his decision. To the terms of this treaty it would be difficult to offer any objection; the United States were anxious that their commerce in the Mediterranean should be undisturbed; their naval force was inadequate to its protection, and it was then considered inexpedient to increase that force. Presents were given in compliance with a custom generally if not always observed, and it was certainly the more manly course to have the fact openly stated in the treaty, with the proviso annexed, that none others were to be expected. The treaty between the United States and Algiers was on terms less
- 68. equal, as itcontained a stipulation on the part of the former to pay an annual value of twenty-one thousand dollars in military stores. Thus secured from interruption, the American commerce in the Mediterranean rapidly increased, and the Tripoline corsairs were daily tantalized by the sight of large vessels laden with valuable cargoes, which were to be passed untouched, for no other reason than because they sailed under the striped flag and carried a piece of parchment covered with unintelligible characters. This must have been the more vexatious to the corsairs as they never met with ships of war belonging to the nation which they were thus required to respect. Reports of this nature did not fail to produce their effect upon Yusuf; his cupidity was excited, and he doubtless feared that his popularity might suffer, if his subjects were longer prevented from pursuing what had always been considered a lawful and honorable calling in Barbary. He had collected a small maritime force, estimated in 1800 at eleven vessels of various sizes, mounting one hundred and three guns, and thus considered himself strong enough to give up the further observance of a treaty with a power which appeared so incapable of enforcing it. In this idea he was encouraged by his naval officers. The chief of these was a Scotch renegade, who had been tempted to exchange the kirk for the mosque, and his homely name of Peter Lyle, with his humble employment of mate to a trading vessel, for the more sounding title of Morat Rais, and the substantial appointment of High Admiral of Tripoli. Rais Peter is represented by all who knew him as destitute of real talent, but possessing in its stead much of that pliability of disposition which is supposed to form an essential characteristic of his countrymen; however that may have been, he for some time enjoyed great credit with the Pasha, and employed it as far as he could against the interests of the United States. Whether this arose from any particular enmity, or from the hope of enjoying a share of the anticipated spoil, is uncertain; but to his influence was mainly ascribed the proceedings which led to a rupture of the peace. Another abettor of
- 69. the war wasthe Vice Admiral Rais Amor Shelly, a desperate ruffian, who was most anxious to be engaged where there was such evident promise of gain. Hamet Rais, the minister of marine, was of the same opinion, and probably of all his councillors, Yusuf placed the greatest confidence in him; he is represented as a man of great sagacity and energy—such indeed, that Lord Nelson thought proper in 1798, to send a ship of the line, with a most overbearing letter, demanding his exile, which the Pasha promised, but after the departure of the ship thought no more about it. The only friend of the United States in the regency, was the Prime Minister Mahomet d'Ghies, whom every account represents as an honorable and enlightened gentleman. Thus fortified by the assurances of his counsellors, and farther induced by his success in bringing Sweden to his terms, Yusuf commenced his proceedings against the United States in 1799, by making requisitions of their consul; these were resisted, and to a proposal from Mr. Cathcart (the consul) that reference should be made to the Dey of Algiers, as provided in such cases by the treaty, the Pasha replied that he no longer regarded the stipulations of that convention. His intentions became more clearly defined in the ensuing year, when Rais Shelly returned from a cruise, with an American brig, which he had brought in under pretence of irregularity in her papers; she was indeed restored, but not until after long delay and the commission of numberless acts of petty extortion, accompanied by hints that such lenity would not be again displayed. Considerable time having elapsed without any answer from the United States, the consul was informed that the treaty with his country was at an end; that the Pasha demanded two hundred and fifty thousand dollars as the price of a new one; and that it must contain an engagement on the part of the United States, to pay an annual tribute of twenty-five thousand dollars for its continuance. No reply having been made to this, war was formally declared by Tripoli on the 11th of May, 1801, the American flag staff was cut down by the Pasha's orders on the 14th, and Mr. Cathcart left the place a few days after.
- 70. A swarm ofcruisers instantly issued from the port of Tripoli, and spread themselves over every part of the Mediterranean; two of them under Morat Rais arrived at Gibraltar, with the intention of even braving the perils of the unknown Atlantic, in search of American vessels. In the course of a few weeks five prizes were taken by the corsairs; but the consul of the United States had long foreseen the danger, and given timely warning, so that interruption of their commerce was almost the only evil afterwards suffered. As soon as the news of these exactions arrived in Washington, President Jefferson caused a squadron, composed of three frigates and a sloop of war, to be fitted out and despatched to the Mediterranean, under Commodore Dale; it entered that sea about the end of June, 1801, and was probably the first American armed force seen in its waters. This squadron was sent with the hope that its display would be alone sufficient to bring the Pasha back to the observance of the treaty; the Commodore was therefore instructed to act with great caution, so as to repress rather than provoke hostilities; and he was made the bearer of letters to each of the Barbary sovereigns, couched in the most amicable terms and disclaiming all warlike intentions. The squadron touched first at Tunis, where its appearance somewhat softened the Bey, who had begun the same system of exactions from the American consul; it then sailed for Tripoli, before which it appeared on the 24th of July. The sight of such a force was very disquieting to Yusuf, who sent a messenger on board to learn what were its objects. The Commodore replied by asking what were the Pasha's views in declaring war, and on what principles he expected to make peace? To this Yusuf endeavored to evade giving a direct answer, and he hinted that his principal cause of complaint was the dependence on Algiers implied by the terms of the first and the last articles of the treaty, which he considered humiliating. The American commander not being empowered to negotiate, remained for some days blockading the harbor, until having learnt that several cruisers were out, he thought proper to go in search of them. One only was encountered, a ship of
- 71. fourteen guns, commandedby Rais Mahomet Sous, which after an action of three hours, on the 1st of August, with the schooner Enterprize, struck her colours; the Americans lost not a man, the Tripolines had nearly half their crew killed or wounded. As orders had been given to make no prizes, the cruiser was dismantled, and her captain directed to inform the Pasha, that such was the only tribute he would receive from the United States. Notwithstanding the desperate valor displayed in this action by the Tripolines, Yusuf thought proper to ascribe the result to cowardice on the part of the commander; and poor Mahomet Sous, after having been paraded through the streets of the city on an ass, exposed to the insults of the mob, received five hundred strokes of the bastinado. This piece of injustice and cruelty however, produced an effect the reverse of that which was intended; for after it, no captain could be induced to put to sea, and those who were out already, on learning the treatment experienced by their comrade, took refuge from the Americans and the Pasha, for the most part among the islands of the Archipelago. The two largest vessels which had been arrested at Gibraltar on their way to the Atlantic, by the appearance of the United States' squadron, were laid up at that place, their crews passing over into Morocco. The American commerce being thus for the time secured from interruption, a portion of the squadron returned to the United States; the remainder passed the winter in the Mediterranean, and were joined in the ensuing spring (1802) by other ships. Nothing however was attempted towards a conclusion of the difficulties with Tripoli by any decisive blow; the American agents in the other Barbary states were instructed to procure peace if possible, on condition of paying an annual tribute; and partial negotiations were carried on, principally through the mediation of the Bey of Tunis. They however proved ineffectual, as Yusuf demanded an amount far beyond that which the American government proposed. The operations of the squadron were limited to mere demonstrations; a simple display of force being considered preferable to active measures. On one occasion however, the Constellation frigate, while
- 72. cruising off theharbor of Tripoli, was suddenly becalmed, and in this defenceless situation, was attacked by a number of Tripoline gun- boats; their fires would soon have reduced her to a wreck, had not a breeze fortunately sprung up, which enabled her to choose her position; several of the gun-boats having been then quickly destroyed, the remainder were forced to retreat into port. The system of caution and forbearance by which the foreign policy of the American government was then regulated, renders the history of its transactions in the Mediterranean during the first four years of this century by no means flattering to the national pride. There was a disposition to negotiate and to purchase peace, rather than boldly to enforce it, which must have been most galling to the brave spirits who were thus obliged to remain inactive; and it certainly encouraged the Barbary governments in the opinion that the Americans were disposed to accept the more humiliating of the two alternatives, paying or fighting, which they offered to all other nations. It would not perhaps be just at present to censure this patient policy; the institutions of the country were then by no means firmly established, and the utmost circumspection was necessary in the management and disposition of its resources. There was also great reason to apprehend that a decided attack on one of the Barbary powers, would produce a coalition of the whole, aided by Turkey, which might have given a blow, severe and perhaps fatal, to the commerce of the United States in the Mediterranean. The Americans may however at least rejoice, that a more dignified system can now with assurance be pursued, in the conduct of all their affairs with foreign nations. The length of this article renders its conclusion in the present number inconvenient; the remainder will appear in our next.