Developing English language usage in school education - Part IV:

Positive outcomes of bilingual education

G. H. ASOKA

Bilingual education provides learners with ample time for using the target language, unlike in the attempt to develop English by teaching English only as a link language in the curriculum and covering less than four hours a week in the timetable. Learners are thus in a position to use language widely across the curriculum.

In the Sri Lankan context, bilingual learners, in the first four years of their learning from Grade six to nine, usually develop a satisfactory level in achievement in using English parallel to Sinhala/ Tamil (BICS), and the mother tongue is a strong asset in developing English through language transfer and then the learner is gradually able to develop metalanguage skills in English, too.

Researchers of bilingual education have shown positive developments, both at cognitive and social levels, which can be achieved through bilingual education rather than monolingual education.

It has been revealed how strongly bilingual learners use language as a tool for communication at local and global level, cognitive organizers and strong socialization agents. Bilingual education is always more demanding in knowledge economy than monolingual education.

Monolingual education

Additive aspects of this approach ensures superior school achievement everywhere in the world and bilingual learners mostly outperform their counterparts of monolingual education.

You can see the reality of this when the results of GCE (O/L) of 2007 and 2008 of the bilingual learners of the Government school system are compared with that of the monolingual learners in English of the Government assisted private schools.

Importance given to first language as a strong cognitive organizer and initial on-grade-level academic instruction through students’ first languages for as long as possible and then on-grade level academic instruction through English for part of the school day is the reliable and wise practice recommended under bilingual education ensuring the position of learners’ first language as the first predictor of long-term school success.

Learning strategies

This allows learners to maintain their links with family and the school and enhance informal learning.

Another important finding regarding bilingual learners is that their ability of using more learning strategies and consequently become more studious through self directed learning. Their ability of handling multiple variables easily in problem solving is another practical reality in bilingual education.

In this way, the close link found out between bilingualism and intelligence show that bilingual learners’ greater mental flexibility and greater facility in concept formation, greater degree of divergent thinking, creative thinking and verbal transformation.

At the same time, those learners become self-directed and independent: they are automatically motivated to read more and consequently learner empowerment is achieved through individualization of learning.

Socio-linguistically important aspect of bilingual education in Sri Lanka is that it develops Sri Lankan variety of English without room for linguistic genocide.

Bilingual education allows learners to shape a dynamic identity for them in future through the possibility of developing intercultural dialogue and supporting each other to respect and accept different cultures. Bilingual education also paves the way for supporting the country to reach the goals, ‘English for all’ and English as a Life Skill’

Bilingual education in Sri Lanka

Bilingual education has been practiced since 2001 in its recent history of general education in Sri Lanka under the misleading term, ‘English medium education’. This interpretation has already misled many to think that the learners are supposed to study in English from the beginning taking it as another L1.

Therefore there are various generalizations and prejudices when the topic is discussed under the term, ‘English medium education’: as a way of devalourization of local languages, a strategy of closing doors for free education, privatization of education closing doors of education to the majority, violation of child rights, a non-necessity, a barrier for cognitive development and so on.

It is sometimes questioned whether Sri Lanka has not produced scientists, doctors, engineers and other veterans to work in English by learning in the mother tongue within their school education.

They are also products of bilingual education out of the three percent of the students who have entered the University system.

In 2001, the practice of bilingual education was introduced to the school system without much planning and critical thinking.

Initially, this was introduced to the science stream of GCE (A/L) classes in a few selected schools under the project called Amity School Program and then in 2002, from Grade six to Grade 11 recommending to learn a few subjects in English (L2) and the rest in Sinhala/Tamil (L1) after completing the first five years only in L1.

The writer is Chief Project Officer and Head of the Cell of Language Coordination, Project Leader of Bilingual Education, Faculty of Languages, Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Education, Maharagama

To be continued