Indian, foreign educators debate the merits of using English as medium of instruction.
Is English really the root cause of academic problems? Hywel Coleman, editor of Dreams and Realities: Developing Countries and the English Language, and senior research fellow at the University of Leeds, said it can affect the cognitive ability of students if they are instructed in a language alien to their upbringing.
The researcher voiced his concern over English-medium schools and the quality of education imparted by them.
“It can be damaging if English is used as medium of instruction at a primary level, when it is not spoken at home. If you ask children to go to school for the first time and study arithmetic through a language they are not familiar with, it is simply not conducive to learning. Cognitive ability is lost,” he said during a lecture in the city on Friday.
He expressed his misgivings on the involvement of parents as well.
“Parents will be unwilling to go to school when they can’t speak English and will not be able to play a role in their child’s education,” he said.
But not all agree with Coleman. For Mansoor Ali Khan, secretary of the Delhi Public School, language is simply not a formidable barrier.
“Children pick up languages quickly, and it really doesn’t turn into a problem.
Students are able to incorporate what they are taught at school once they are over three years of age. Over time, with sufficient interaction and teaching aids, students will be conversant in English even if their parents are not competent,” he explained, adding that students’ backgrounds do not compute when it comes to their learning curve.
However, others like Archana Vishwanath, director of Jain Heritage School, said that parents who are not comfortable with English not only face problems in playing a qualitative role in their child’s education but also prove to be a hindrance. “When parents do not know the language, it poses a challenge. We hold remedial classes for students who come from homes where English is not regularly used in order to help them cope better with their other classes,” she said.
She also mentioned that the school will be starting classes for parents from the next academic year to deal with the problem.
“We will be setting up classes in phonetics for parents. This will prove beneficial for both parents and students,” she said.
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