In many cases, apart from the language used as the medium of instruction (usually an official language of the country), other languages offered in the education system tend to veer towards the world’s lingua franca, English – even in multilingual contexts. This may be due to the legacy of colonisation or changing global trends. Such practices can lead to a largely monolingual society, one that places more value on particular languages at the expense of its local languages. The latter consequence will eventually affect the survival of these local languages.
This keynote presentation explores these points by looking at the impact of language and language education policies on language practices in Malaysia, a linguistically diverse country with over 130 living languages. These include the national language, Malay, and its various regional and social varieties; the country’s many indigenous languages, as well as Chinese and Indian languages and Malaysia’s own variety of English. Apart from Malay, however, the main languages present in the education system are English, Mandarin, Tamil, and also Arabic. Throughout the last six decades, changes in terms of the languages of instruction and language education have influenced the language practices of Malaysians. This keynote will not only explore these influences, but also discuss how (or if) languages in education can strike a balance between emphasising official and selected languages as well as provide equitable access to education, taking into account the various linguistic and cultural backgrounds of Malaysians.
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