In contemporary India, the scope of English language has extended beyond a colonial reminiscence to a language of socio-economic mobility, employability, digital media, research databases, social media discourse, academic publishing, education and lingua franca. However, to teach English without acknowledging its historical and contemporary roles in classrooms, risks romanticising what was also an instrument of domination. Freezing it within its colonial legacy is equally limiting, as it can disregard the diverse functions the language performs in contemporary India.
One of the major outcomes of this narrow view on the history and role of English would be missing the chances of claiming our legitimate role in sustaining English as a global language. With around 130 million English speakers in India, comprising 10% of the global English speaking population, the future of this language will also depend on the linguistic landscape of India that supports democratic coexistence of multiple languages including English.
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Instead of categorising English as an external language in our textbooks, it would be worthwhile to situate it within the broader linguistic trajectory of modern India. An approach of this kind helps students understand the key functional roles that English performs which no other language has ever fulfilled in the same way largely due to its global status.
This pedagogical reorientation can yield two major outcomes – While on one hand, India’s linguistic democracy and coexistence of languages can be strengthened and on the other hand, speakers’ attitudes towards English and mother languages can also be clarified and pursued by recognising their distinct yet overlapping functions. In addition to political features, Indian democracy is appreciated and valued also for the cultural diversity and linguistic harmony.
While there have been periodic calls to prioritise across various domains, replacing English in spheres such as communication, science and technology, higher education etc., does not serve the long term interest of the nation in the context of global economic integration. Instead, English can be effectively used as a catalyst for socio-economic mobility, employment and poverty eradication.
Through pedagogical intervention, it has to be made clear that mother language and English have peculiar yet complementary functions, allowing them to coexist through a functional alignment.
A closer assessment of the growth of English in India reveals the increasing functionality and utility of the language in the modern technological world order. In the contemporary globalised world, the command over English language gives Indians a comparative advantage when compared to other developing economies such as China.
The availability of a workforce capable of handling both local language and English has become a major driving force of economic development in contemporary India. As a country that has produced CEOs to multinational giants and possesses one of the largest youth populations in the world, the future is promising if its workforce masters not only technical know-how but also the communication skills required in an interconnected world.
Do our school syllabi treat English realistically?
There appears to be a widening gap between English in reality and English in textbooks. Do the school syllabi continue to consider the language merely as a literature heavy subject, or a grammar testing exercise where the notion of correctness overrides communication. Oftentimes, it seems to be stuck within the colonial canon-centred as a relic of imperial past.
At the university level, English degree programs revolve around Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Dickens with limited focus on contemporary Indian or global Englishes. However, the history of English tells a different story from the political power vantage point – one that encompasses the histories of various cultural interactions and social change. Yet, in many classrooms, it is continued to be taught as though it were stuck in a distant literary past.
The current pattern of teaching of the history of English in India in English degree programs follows a Eurocentric linear model of development – from Old-English to Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. Whilst the history of the journey of English from being the language of the Anglo-Saxons through the Norman Conquest to the Renaissance and the expansion of the British Empire is important, the tale tells only one side of the story – representing only the linear expansion of the language.
English did not arrive and grew in India as a politically neutral language: It initially functioned as a language of the elites creating hierarchies of class and access among the masses. Later years witnessed the entrenchment of the language in the structures of colonial governance, administration and education policy. Further, English has contributed to nation building, socio-economic growth and global engagement in the post-colonial period, the transformation of which is rarely reflected in the syllabi. Students are seldom encouraged to examine how English has evolved within India and how it has contributed to shaping India’s modern identity and its citizens’ participation in the global arena.
Our curriculum lags behind our socio-linguistic reality
In a country like India with complex social structure, English has not only horizontally widened across continents, but also vertically deepened within societies, reshaping their culture. In the Indian context, due to globalisation and changing educational and job prospects, English has infiltrated in family, friendship and institutional domains, that is, mostly in cities, the language has become a primary medium in office conversations, friendship networks, popular culture, institutions and digital spaces, while at the same time seamlessly coexisting and blending with the regional languages, reflecting creative practices of how the language has been reshaped within India’s multilingual fabric. It even embodies as a protective linguistic shield in the politics of language in societies such as Tamils.
English language has become a carrier of identity for many Indians, especially among the urban youth, yet our pedagogy has not kept pace with this sociolinguistic reality. English instruction needs to move beyond descriptivism or prescriptivism listing stages of its historical development in Europe and teaching grammatical correctness. Rather, it needs to implement a critical orientation to how English intersects with power, identity and functions as linguistic capital. This paradigm shift would allow learners to constantly negotiate and redefine concepts of ownership, standards, and accents, and to reflect on whether English should be understood as a foreign language or as an Indian language within India’s multilingual society.
To surpass the understanding of English as a colonial legacy is not to obliterate history, rather it is important to position the history in a larger complex scenario in which English in India is perceived as not merely passive receivers but also active shapers of the language.
Classrooms should be the place that should show this change. Textbooks must move beyond prescriptivism. They should acknowledge the regional variations within English not as flawed features rather characteristic features that add to the diversity of the language. Lessons taught in the class should inculcate discussions on horizontal expansion of English across global South and vertical deepening within local communities.
English across the world and in India is an ever evolving entity and is constantly in engagement with multilingual lives. It is also a site of identity creation, aspiration and negotiation. The real challenge for teachers and policymakers is to ensure that the teaching pedagogy and curriculum align with the sociolinguistic present, reflecting the functional aspects of English. Teaching English only from the past may risk preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist anymore. English needs to be taught not as a relic of a past empire or as a threat to Indian languages, but as a resource that has the capacity to shape and reshape contemporary India’s linguistic ecology.
Restructuring for English in the light of NEP 2020
In order to reflect the changing dynamics and needs of education, the Government of India introduced a new outlook towards education in the country through amending the 1986 education policy after 34 years in 2020. The policy document rightly signals the need to preserve a multilingual educational ecosystem in the country. It is also in line with the global transformative changes such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that also envisions “inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG-4)” by 2030.
The vision of the New Education Policy is to “instill among the learners a deep-rooted pride in being Indian, not only in thought, but also in spirit, intellect, and deeds, as well as to develop knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions that support responsible commitment to human rights, sustainable development and living, and global well-being, thereby reflecting a truly global citizen”. English is definitely going to play a vital role in not just creating the identity of Indians, but also converting them into global citizens who are aware about rights and sustainable development.
NEP proposes an activity based learning for every student in 6-8 Grades in the country, titled as ‘The Languages of India’ in order to expose them to the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative. This fun activity can also include the story of English in India and how it has been inculcated into the life and livelihood of people from different walks of life. Even though the Policy proposes the introduction of all Indian classical languages and many foreign languages to the students, the practical hurdles associated with it are many.
Most importantly, unless you are studying for a longer period of time, it will not be enough to learn a language, it will be just learning for the sake of learning it. It will be hard for students in schools to learn an extra language for many years as it adds more workload. In addition, the question of human resources. Hosting and maintaining native speakers to teach these classical and foreign languages will not be an easy task for the schools in India.
However, the purpose of introducing students to the cultural diversity of the nation and also the artistic richness of classical languages can be achieved to a greater extent through teaching them through English. It will also help them understand the history and culture of other foreign languages. Too much attraction to multiple languages for a short time may distract the young minds. The point here is to expose them to the peculiar historic and cultural features of languages in India and abroad, so that they would be capable of understanding the rich history and harmonious co-existence of various linguistic traditions.
For this purpose, they do not need to study all those languages, unless they develop keen interests. A good command over English will be a catalyst that will equip them to seek knowledge from any part of the world in any subject they want. But this should not be at the expense of home language or mother tongue. The New Education Policy is a visionary project that can direct the upcoming citizen in the right trajectory of nation building, but reducing the growing significance of English in the curriculum may have long term impact on the future.
Contributing Globally
This pedagogical and policy turn to understand the growth of English in India beyond the colonial legacy would also help us contribute to the concept of World Englishes. With a plural and broader outlook, the English language has grown into multiple varieties, constituting the plural concept of ‘Englishes’. With the largest English speakers and largest youth population at home, India today plays a significant and growing role in the global understanding of World Englishes.
English in India is no longer a peripheral variety; it shapes lives and livelihoods, changes popular culture, mobilizes people for human rights and justice, reflects social media activism, channelise political and business communication and so on. It contributes new vocabulary, new idioms and new cultural references to the language. Students may graduate knowing about the Great Vowel Shift but remain unaware of how English functions in their own neighbourhoods. Our schools’ English syllabi should foreground this transformative role of English so that the learners are aware about the broader practical and functional aspects, and theoretical insights about English in India.
(By Elizabeth Eldho, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, Visakhapatnam)
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