Editorial introduction : challenges for bilingual education in the age of globalization

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Inter-Asia Cultural Studies

Publication Date

6-1-2015

Volume

16

Issue

2

First Page

252

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Abstract

Over the last 15 years or so, roughly coinciding with a new phase of globalization, the possibilities for knowledge exchanges and interactions within the Asia region have increased. But along with the excitement afforded by these possibilities there is a growing disquiet in critical circles about English becoming more central than ever in the academic domain. The reasons for this disquiet are many, and they don't always come out of the concern to preserve and cultivate non-Western languages for their own sake. Along with the increased significance of English comes a greater dependence on (a) publishing companies in the Anglophone world (and the consequent dependence on the materials they commission, process and decide to publish); (b) citation indices and modes of academic certification promoted by the Western academy and its institutional apparatuses; (c) teaching methods suited to monolingual English-only settings. Whether it is in the Asian societies that have been directly colonized by the West, such as South Asia or some parts of Southeast Asia, or whether it is in East Asia, which is being increasingly drawn into a globalized academic space, we see the de-legitimation of more local modes of writing outside the English-language circle and the devaluation of forms of knowledge that are rendered illegible under enforced mono-lingualism.

DOI

10.1080/14649373.2015.1037081

Print ISSN

14649373

E-ISSN

14698447

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Niranjana, T. (2015). Editorial introduction: Challenges for bilingual education in the age of globalization. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 16(2), 252. doi: 10.1080/14649373.2015.1037081

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