Language Diversity in the Classroom - ymerleksi - home

Chapter 11Multiculturalism and MulticulturalEducationIntroductionWhen we talk about any aspect of the ‘social life of language’, we aretalking, in good part, about markers of broad social attitudes and values.It is true, of course, that in studies of Black English and othernonstandard dialects, there are linguistic and sociolinguistic facts to beascertained and discussed, facts that demonstrate (for example) the rulegovernedand valid nature of such variants. It is true that approachestaken to foreign languages in the classroom can (or should) rest uponclear conceptions of the mechanics of language contact. And it is true thatprovisions made for bilingual educational accommodations somethingI shall turn to in the next chapters may quite satisfactorily arise frompedagogical imperatives alone. But it is equally true that the veryphenomenon of ‘nonstandardness’ suggests something of social stratification,of sociopolitical hierarchy, of prestige and stigma; that it is not somany years ago that speakers of foreign languages in anglophonecontexts were routinely treated as if they were educationally retarded;and that bilingual education is always accompanied by heavy socialbaggage. All of this reflects the fact that, as well as being a carrier ofcommunicative meanings, language is also the bearer of more symbolicand intangible meanings meanings that, ultimately, have to do withquestions of identity, of self-definition and definition by others, of‘groupness’ and its boundaries. Considerations of languages in contact,then, are almost inevitably considerations of cultures in contact.Bilingualism and multilingualism implicate biculturalism and multiculturalism.Multiculturalism can be either a de facto description of an ethnicallyheterogeneous society or a matter of policy, or both. One may findsocieties that are multicultural on the ground, as it were, but officiallymonocultural, but it is rare to find formal policies of multiculturalism atgovernmental, educational and other such levels in contexts that lack anysubstantial or concentrated ethnic variety. Where official policies do exist,206