First Language Loss and Negative Attitudes towards Dhivehi among Young Maldivians: Is the English-First Educational Policy to Blame?

Autor/in	Mohamed, Naashia
Titel	First Language Loss and Negative Attitudes towards Dhivehi among Young Maldivians: Is the English-First Educational Policy to Blame?
Quelle	In: TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, 54 (2020) 3, S.743-772 (30 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Mohamed, Naashia)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0039-8322
DOI	10.1002/tesq.591
Schlagwörter	Equal Education; Educational Policy; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; English (Second Language); Bilingualism; Comparative Analysis; Educational Attainment; Student Attitudes; Language Attitudes; National Curriculum; Language of Instruction; Indo European Languages; Foreign Countries; Official Languages; Social Mobility; Student Needs; Elementary Secondary Education; Maldives + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Bilingualismus; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut; Schülerverhalten; Sprachverhalten; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Indoeuropäisch; Ausland; Office language; Amtssprache; Soziale Mobilität; Malediven
Abstract	This article focuses on the inequalities of an educational policy that favours English over the national language and the resulting impacts on young people. While the constitution identifies Dhivehi to be the official language of the Maldives, and the National Curriculum recognises both Dhivehi and English as languages of instruction, English has been the dominant language in education for several decades. This English-first policy was initiated to modernise and develop the small island nation, limiting the space for Dhivehi in the curriculum. Following a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study investigates three aspects of this dual-language context. It examines students' attitudes towards Dhivehi and English, compares their language attainment, and considers the extent to which the curriculum fulfils students' linguistic needs. The findings indicate that students' attainment in Dhivehi lags behind their attainment in English and that many students feel inadequate and unprepared for the real-world demands of both their languages. Furthermore, while young people recognise the uniqueness of Dhivehi and are proud to be affiliated with the language, they have a much higher regard for English because it is viewed as being more useful for their upward mobility. The implications for policy and practice are explored. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2022/1/01