Gibson Ferguson Language Planning and Education Edinburgh ...

192 Language Planning and Education
study in English has prompted the establishment of communication skills units in
many universities (e.g. in Kenya), catering mainly to the needs of first year students.
It is not unreasonable to suppose, therefore, that abandoning English medium at
secondary level would only exacerbate these difficulties. One obvious solution, of
course, would be to adopt an indigenous national language medium at university
level, but such a course of action would run up against many of the constraints we
have already outlined, and more besides.
7.3 THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION ISSUE AND THE
ROLE OF THE APPLIED LINGUIST
This is a suitable juncture at which to take stock of the preceding arguments and
examine the implications for applied linguistic interventions at the level of both
policy and pedagogy. The first point to emphasise is that we have not been arguing
for the retention of English medium at secondary or any other level. On the contrary,
there is ample evidence, theoretical and empirical, of the educational benefits
instruction in a familiar indigenous language can deliver, some of which we have
drawn attention to. Laudable, too, and amply justified on other grounds – the
reduction of social inequalities, for example – is the rehabilitation of the status of
African languages, to which their use as educational media can make a significant
contribution.
There are, however, as we have argued, significant obstacles of a political, practical
and economic kind to the realisation of these goals, and if advocacy of change is
to carry conviction beyond the academic world it is necessary not just that the
supporting arguments are grounded in educational theory but that they show
awareness of the political and, above all, economic realities that constrain action.
Previous discussion also suggests that the rehabilitation of African languages cannot
be brought about by language planning interventions alone (see Chapter 1), for it is
bound up with and dependent on long-term economic developments, which may, if
favourable, restore their economic attractiveness and prestige, relative to the former
colonial languages, and generate the funds necessary for their promotion and
development.
The unavoidable conclusion, then, is that radical change in policies on media of
instruction beyond early primary schooling is unlikely in the near future. English
medium is strongly entrenched, particularly at secondary level, for reasons that have
little to do with any educational rationale or merit. The principal implication is that
applied linguists might be well advised to complement continued advocacy of policy
reform with investigation of measures that might – in the meantime – mitigate some
of the adverse effects of the use of foreign language media. Taking this as a cue, we
outline very briefly some of the ameliorative measures that might be considered, at
the level of both policy and pedagogy. The tentative and programmatic nature of
what follows indicates the scope of the research that still needs to be undertaken.