English in India – The language of the cursed?
As a lover of English, I could never have imagined a day when I would actually question my education as well as career. Yet such a day has sadly arrived. No matter how learned or intellectual we may think we are in India, from a global point of view, there is a widening gap between the native or non-native speaker of English.
This does not always work out in favour of a non-native speaker. For example, there have been numerous times when teachers of English in India have faced a dead end while being hired abroad or outside India. The South Asian countries are the worst- with China and Korea being very vocal about wanting white teachers or ‘native’ language users.
I want to understand why ‘native’ language users are considered ‘better’ language users as well as teachers. Is there a scientific reason for it, something stemming from Language Acquisition laws, or is it simply based on an underlying racism that we are speaking a borrowed language?
Finally, I want to reflect on the reverse racism faced by English speakers in India- are they mocked as ‘babus’ or are they actually in a beneficial position with respect to non-fluent speakers of the language?
if we talk about Teaching and Education as a qualitative experience, then how does a native speaker of English provide her learners with benefits solely based on her country of origin?
If anyone has any points to share or some advice
– be it books or research resources, please share it in the comments section,
or e-mail me at alisha.nangia@gmail.comAs a lover of English, I could never have imagined a day when I would actually question my education as well as career. Yet such a day has sadly arrived. No matter how learned or intellectual we may think we are in India, from a global point of view, there is a widening gap between the native or non-native speaker of English.
This does not always work out in favour of a non-native speaker. For example, there have been numerous times when teachers of English in India have faced a dead end while being hired abroad or outside India. The South Asian countries are the worst- with China and Korea being very vocal about wanting white teachers or ‘native’ language users.
I want to understand why ‘native’ language users are considered ‘better’ language users as well as teachers. Is there a scientific reason for it, something stemming from Language Acquisition laws, or is it simply based on an underlying racism that we are speaking a borrowed language?
Finally, I want to reflect on the reverse racism faced by English speakers in India- are they mocked as ‘babus’ or are they actually in a beneficial position with respect to non-fluent speakers of the language?
if we talk about Teaching and Education as a qualitative experience, then how does a native speaker of English provide her learners with benefits solely based on her country of origin?
One word answer? Brand.
ReplyDeleteCan't help but think of it from a marketing standpoint.
It's the same principle on which branding works on. A brand is nothing but an identity with which an intangible set of values are associated. This is why BMW and Volkswagen talk about their German origins. The same reason why you'd pay 60k for a 40" LED Sony Bravia TV instead of paying 40k for a Hyundai (yes, they make TVs too).
There are two reasons why this becomes more pronounced in the subject matter you're talking about. First, the core service on offer is completely intangible, can't be measured through any parameter (except may be looking at graduation scores and all, which however, are not a good indicator of how good some are at teaching); and hence the origin of the teacher serves as a brand.
Second, if we look at the various kind of purchase decisions and try and classify them in two broad buckets - the goal of one set of decisions would be to maximize joy (purchasing clothes and bags for most women and gadgets and games for most men - sorry if I sound sexist here!) and the other set of decisions are about reducing post purchase cognitive dissonance ( most investment decisions would go here). The one you're talking about falls in latter. While in the case of the former, people are often willing to experiment, their risk seeking abilities are higher; in case of latter risk taking abilities are often limited, and people prefer what they perceive as "safer choices".
Whatever I wrote makes up for a slightly long-ish read, so apologies for hogging space on your blog, but couldn't resist posting.
Hope this helps!
Thank you!
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