Uruguay national curriculum background

In 2012 the small Latin American country of Uruguay embarked on a radical plan to provide English as a foreign language (EFL) for learners throughout the country from year 4 (age 9) with classroom tuition via a digital connection to a remote teacher based somewhere else in the world. This initiative was part of a much wider plan to reform the education system with the aim of “providing high-quality education, ensuring educational continuity from the beginning of the formal educational process, at pre-school level, until the end of the upper secondary education” (ANEP, 2017ANEP (2017) Marco curricular de referencia nacional. Uruguay: Administración Nacional de Educación Pública (ANEP) (English translation Federico Brum). Available at: https://​mcrn​.anep​.edu​.uy​/sites​/default​/files​/Documento%20MCRN%20agosto%202017​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 11).[ p.16 ]

The planned reforms bear the hallmarks of influence from recently documented global educational priorities such as those listed in the GEM Report (UNESCO, 2016UNESCO (2016) Global education monitoring report 2016 (GEM). Education for people and planet. Retrieved from: https://​en​.unesco​.org​/gem​-report​/report​/2016​/education​-people​-and​-planet​-creating​-sustainable​-futures​-all> (20 November 2019).). In the case of Uruguay, the National Curriculum Reference Framework (ANEP, 2017ANEP (2017) Marco curricular de referencia nacional. Uruguay: Administración Nacional de Educación Pública (ANEP) (English translation Federico Brum). Available at: https://​mcrn​.anep​.edu​.uy​/sites​/default​/files​/Documento%20MCRN%20agosto%202017​.pdf> (20 November 2019).) identifies the following aspects as a priority: education as a human right; inclusive provision for all learners from pre-school to upper secondary school (3–18 years) and provision of student-centred learning which meets the diverse needs of all learners, particularly those in disadvantaged contexts such as geographically remote areas and low socio-economic circumstances. Threaded throughout the document is an emphasis on establishing education as a democratic principle which prioritises equitable provision. The following section provides a short summary of the historical and contemporary languages spoken in Uruguay to clarify the linguistic context further.

A brief historical perspective on language and language planning in Uruguay

Bertolotti and Coll (2014Bertolotti, V., & Coll, M. (2014) Retrato lingüístico del Uruguay. Un enfoque histórico sobre las lenguas en la región. Universidad de la República, Uruguay: Comisión Sectorial de Educación Permanente. Available at: http://​udelar​.edu​.uy​/eduper​/wp​-content​/uploads​/sites​/29​/2015​/09​/retrato​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 102) provide detailed accounts of language use across the Uruguayan region from the period prior to colonisation up to the present day. Reportedly, prior to the first contacts with Europeans in the sixteenth century, a number of indigenous languages were spoken including Charrúa, Chaná, Güenoa and Guaraní. With European settlement and subsequent colonisation came the spread of new diseases, warfare, genocide and inter-marrying between the indigenous people and Spanish colonisers, resulting in the disappearance of all indigenous languages by the mid-nineteenth century. From this period Spanish became the de facto language of Uruguay, although a form of Portuguese was spoken close to the border with Brazil (known as Portugués del Uruguay), together with other European languages brought by settlers, including Italian, German, French, Russian and English. A number of African languages also arrived as a result of slave trade (Canale, 2015Canale, G. (2015) Mapping conceptual change: The ideological struggle for the meaning of EFL in Uruguayan education. L2 Journal, 7(3), 15–39. Retrieved from: https://​cloudfront​.escholarship​.org​/dist​/prd​/content​/qt7x30w26x​/qt7x30w26x​.pdf> (8 September 2018) , p. 19).

Evidence of concerted efforts for language-in-education planning emerged with the publication of the General Education Law (MEC, 2008MEC (2008) Ley general de educación. Ley No. 18.437 [General education law. No. 18,437], Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. República Oriental del Uruguay. Montevideo: Dirección Nacional de Impresiones y Publicaciones Oficiales., p. 7) which explicitly referred to Uruguayan Spanish, Uruguayan Portuguese, Uruguayan Sign Language and the teaching of second and foreign languages in schools. While this document can be seen as top-down national planning for languages, it also recognised the position of regional varieties, significantly emphasising the importance of plurilingualism / multilingualism. This signalled an increasing awareness of the complexity of language planning, acknowledging the potential benefits that might ensue as a result of adopting a consultative process. In similar vein, the report of the Commission on Language Policy (ANEP, 2008ANEP (2008) Documentos de la comisión de políticas lingüisticas en la educación pública (Documents of commission on language policy for public education). Uruguay: Administración Nacional de Educación Pública.) confirmed a plan to include English in the primary school curriculum. Here, English was positioned as offering new opportunities for all, representing English as ‘empowering’ in the sense [ p. 17 ]that all citizens should have a democratic right to a twenty-first century education. According to Canale (2015Canale, G. (2015) Mapping conceptual change: The ideological struggle for the meaning of EFL in Uruguayan education. L2 Journal, 7(3), 15–39. Retrieved from: https://​cloudfront​.escholarship​.org​/dist​/prd​/content​/qt7x30w26x​/qt7x30w26x​.pdf> (8 September 2018) , p. 31) “more than 120 stakeholders (teachers, coordinators, administrators, policy makers, etc.), and around 12 institutions” were involved in the design of the 2008 curriculum – a procedure which can be seen as predicated on democratic principles.

Current provision for primary foreign languages in Uruguay

Following the decision to introduce English in primary schools a substantial national budget was allocated to establishing provision throughout the country with the aim of achieving full coverage by 2020. Two pathways to provision were identified. Firstly, a continuation of the already-established pre-service teacher education programme (known as Segundas Lenguas) and secondly, via the innovative use of interactive video conferencing, connecting classrooms to specialist primary English teachers located remotely (anywhere in the world where suitable technical hubs are made available). The pathway for primary English teachers trained in the Segundas Lenguas programme has proved effective, with qualified teachers able to offer English from year 1 (6 years) in 317 primary schools in 2017 (Kaplan & Brovetto, 2019Kaplan, G., & Brovetto, C. (2019) Ceibal en Inglés: Innovation, teamwork and technology. In G. Stanley (Ed.), Innovations in education. Remote teaching (pp. 28–35). London: British Council., p. 29). However, teacher supply is very limited, hence, the provision via video conferencing has now been expanded to reach an additional 536 primary schools by 2017 (Kaplan & Brovetto, 2019Kaplan, G., & Brovetto, C. (2019) Ceibal en Inglés: Innovation, teamwork and technology. In G. Stanley (Ed.), Innovations in education. Remote teaching (pp. 28–35). London: British Council., p. 29). The video conferencing solution was selected partly because it was already in use in schools for a number of other projects, thus easing the implementation of innovative technology.

Following an initial piloting period in 2012 (Banegas, 2013Banegas, D. L. (2013) ELT through videoconferencing in primary schools in Uruguay: First steps. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 7(2), 179–188. ), provision was rolled out firstly to regions of the country where household income was generally lower, then subsequently to all urban regions of the country. Finally, the remaining rural regions for which it has proved more difficult to provide high quality digital interconnectivity are currently being addressed – with digital provision where possible or with the availability of upskilling opportunities for locally-based teachers elsewhere. Recent figures reflecting national provision indicated that approximately 95 percent of all urban primary schools were able to provide good quality English language teaching in years 4, 5 and 6, 70 percent of which was provided by videoconferencing and 30 percent by face-to-face teaching (Plan Ceibal, 2017Plan Ceibal (2017) Adaptive assessment of English language in the Uruguayan educational system – 2017. Executive summary. Montevideo, Uruguay: British Council.). Further solutions for the provision of primary English in rural contexts where digital connectivity is poor have been sought more recently. These have included transporting children from a rural school to the nearest available urban school with remote teacher provision (Escuela Amiga programme); linking schools using Cisco Jabber software to a teaching point with standard videoconferencing facilities (Kaplan & Brovetto, 2017Kaplan, G., & Brovetto, C. (2019) Ceibal en Inglés: Innovation, teamwork and technology. In G. Stanley (Ed.), Innovations in education. Remote teaching (pp. 28–35). London: British Council., p. 29) and a weekly e-coaching [ p. 18 ]initiative in rural schools for teachers with a minimum intermediate level of proficiency. However, given the remoteness of some primary schools in Uruguay, often with school populations of less than 10 pupils, more than 900 teachers remain yet to be reached (interview with V. Dubini, 13 October, 2018). Nonetheless, the introduction of these complex solutions reflect a national commitment to facilitate equality of opportunity in learning English for all primary school learners across Uruguay.

Given the challenges of achieving national provision it is encouraging to note recent evidence of learning outcomes in English tests of vocabulary, reading, grammar and listening of at least A2 level have been achieved. In tests conducted with a sample of a little over 50 percent of all learners in Years 4, 5 and 6, approximately 70 percent of the learners tested in Year 6 reached an A2 level in late 2017, in both the face-to-face and remote teaching contexts. It should be noted however that writing achievements were somewhat lower and no assessment of oral communication was conducted (Plan Ceibal, 2017Plan Ceibal (2017) Adaptive assessment of English language in the Uruguayan educational system – 2017. Executive summary. Montevideo, Uruguay: British Council., p. 10). Overall, this evidence indicates good levels of achievement in both strands of provision.

Measuring equity in primary foreign language provision in Uruguay

From the moment of an announcement in 2006 that low cost laptops would be provided for every primary school child and their teachers, together with high speed fibre optic connections in all primary schools, claims for a digital revolution in Uruguay became a reality. The opportunity to include English as a foreign language via a system of remote teachers and blended learning offered another step towards equity when the programme was launched in 2012. To some extent, the much-heralded “democratisation of education” including “access to English as a foreign language in the primary education sector” (Brovetto, 2011Brovetto, C. A. (2011) Alcances y limitaciones del uso de tecnologías para la enseñanza de inglés en educación primaria [Scope and limitations of the use of technologies for the teaching of English in primary education]. In L. Behares (Ed.), El V encuentro internacional de investigadores en políticas lingüísticas [Fifth International meeting of researchers in language policy] (pp. 37–41). Montevideo, Uruguay: Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo., p. 38) has been achieved through initiatives which appear to have captured the imagination of much of the population and inspired many additional innovations. In addition to the impact on families of having a laptop computer regularly brought home from school by their children, opportunities for the wider community to receive introductory lessons have been provided at local centres around the country. Reportedly, access to new technologies has facilitated new learning opportunities for “members of lower income communities”, including the possibility now for grandparents to communicate with their grandchildren online (Cyranek, 2011Cyranek, G. (Ed.) (2011) Plan Ceibal in Uruguay. Montevideo, Uruguay: UNESCO. Retrieved from: http://​www​.anep​.edu​.uy​/anep​-old​/phocadownload​/Publicaciones​/Plan​_Ceibal​/plan%20ceibal%20in%20uruguay​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 159).

In fulfilling the aim of overcoming the so-called ‘digital divide’ Uruguay has sought to address issues of modernity through the provision of digital technologies and opportunities to learn English as a part of primary education. Notably, the administration has engaged in a steady programme of implementation, setting realistic targets which are regularly reviewed to ensure effective implementation. [ p. 19 ]Concerns for satisfactory provision in remote rural areas continue to be a challenge, as is serious deprivation in some socio-economically disadvantaged regions. The priority of ‘directing resources to students with the greatest needs’ (OECD, 2008OECD (2008) Policy brief. Ten steps to equity in education. Paris: OECD.) is a central focus, but the multiple historical factors which have contributed to disadvantage are likely to take time to fully overcome.

In an acknowledgement of the importance of achieving equity, Miguel Brechner (Plan Ceibal president), in a report documenting the achievements of Plan Ceibal, claimed, “[w]e have built equity in access to devices and internet, as well as access to platforms that improve learning such as the digital library, the study of English, mathematics, robotics and programming” (Brechner, 2017Brechner, M. (2017) Prologue. In Plan Ceibal (Eds.), 10 años Plan Ceibal: Hicimos historia haciendo future (10 years of Plan Ceibal: We made history by making the future) (p. 10). Montevideo: Plan Ceibal., p. 10). In similar vein, Rovengo (2019Rovegno, S. (2019) From classroom teacher to English teacher. In G. Stanley (Ed.), Innovations in education. Remote teaching (pp. 58–60). London: British Council., p. 119) documents “access to English language instruction to students in primary state schools” which was previously only available for those who could afford private education. She reports that, “Ceibal en Inglés reaches schools in underprivileged areas across the country [where the teaching team] adjust the lesson plans and teaching to suit the particular needs of students”. In like fashion, there has been a strong commitment to meet individual special educational needs (SEN), with the adoption of an inclusion policy where special needs are catered for in the mainstream classroom. Data indicates that some 85 per cent of remote teachers report having at least one SEN child in the classes they teach.

It is clear from the above evidence that achievements in Uruguay have substantially addressed their aim of overcoming the perceived digital divide, with attempts to complete universal provision of EFL at primary level now close to success. However, reflecting on Rizvi & Lingard’s (2010)Rizvi, R., & Lingard, B. (2010) Globalizing education policy. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. concerns for addressing historical injustices and the distinction drawn by the UNESCO (2018)UNESCO (2018) Handbook on measuring equity in education. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved from: http://​uis​.unesco​.org​/sites​/default​/files​/documents​/handbook​-measuring​-equity​-education​-2018​-en​.pdf> (20 November 2019). between equality and equity, it seems that the focus in Uruguay, so far, has been rather more on equality than equity. This focus will need to be sharpened through further redistributive policies as they move towards meeting the 2030 SDG goals (UNESCO, 2016UNESCO (2016) Global education monitoring report 2016 (GEM). Education for people and planet. Retrieved from: https://​en​.unesco​.org​/gem​-report​/report​/2016​/education​-people​-and​-planet​-creating​-sustainable​-futures​-all> (20 November 2019).).

Background of primary education provision in India

According to Annamalai (2005)Annamalai, E. (2005) Nation-building in a globalized world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation, language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 20–37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. education in precolonial times was made available by local rulers or wealthy and powerful people in different regions of India. Education was provided according to the perceived needs of particular groups of people following the hierarchical structure of society. The medium of instruction depended on the caste, with the Brahmins taught through Sanskrit, Pali used for [ p. 20 ]Buddhist monks and the local language for people “engaged in farming, trade and artisan work” (Annamalai, 2005Annamalai, E. (2005) Nation-building in a globalized world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation, language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 20–37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. , p. 20).

During the various colonial periods education policy was more centralised, with the aim of educating colonial subjects, equipping them to assist in the process of colonial government. With the period of the British Raj (1858–1947) a new elite was established, educated in English permeated with European knowledge and values. Beyond this elite, it was intended that most of the population should have access to education in their local languages, funded by the government. However, according to Annamalai (2006)Annamalai, E. (2006) India: Language situation. In K. Brown (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language & linguistics (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 610–613). Oxford: Elsevier. this policy was poorly supported and limited in its application.

Following independence, the colonial structures formed a template for a national system of education comprising an elite private schooling system conducted through the medium of English, together with a national system conducted in the regional language. Kumar (2016)Kumar, K. (2016) Education, conflict and peace. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private. reports that since the 1960s there has been substantial expansion in the provision of elementary education, paralleled by the growth of private schools, which has led to “the better-off sections of the urban society” choosing to send their children to private schools. As a result, government schools are more often populated by the children of economically disadvantaged families.

Government policy in India officially states that free primary education is a basic right for all children. This policy was formally established by the introduction of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) (2009RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019).). However, the process of achieving effective implementation continues to be a challenge in many regions of the country. The scale of migration throughout India has rapidly increased during the 21st century, with features of both family seasonal and inter-state migration, resulting in a major impact on children’s school attendance (Chandrasekhar & Bhattacharya, 2018Chandrasekhar, S., & Bhattacharya, L. (2018) Understanding the scope of the challenge and moving towards a coherent policy framework for education for seasonal migrants at the state level in India (Background paper for Global Education Monitoring Report 2019). Retrieved from: https://​unesdoc​.unesco​.org​/ark:​/48223​/pf0000266057> (20 November 2019).). A range of solutions are now proposed at national level. These include: flexible admission, seasonal hostels, transport support, mobile education volunteers and improved coordination of education records for individual children. The RTE act also aimed to create opportunities for first generation learners to enter school and complete a minimum of eight years of schooling. However, a recent report (RTE, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 21) notes that the “half-hearted execution of these provisions under SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan/ Education for All) has meant that India has not been able to deliver quality education to these children”. Although the official enrolment rate at primary schools was recorded in 2015 as reaching almost 100 percent (RTE, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 11), dropout rates at primary level in 2016–17 were recorded as 6.35 percent, with the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes recording the highest dropout rate (officially designated groups of historically disadvantaged peoples). [ p. 21 ]Alongside these, children from Muslim communities were most likely to dropout at the transition point from primary to upper -primary level.

Following the principles of inclusion intended by the RTE Act, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act (RPWD) (2016) was brought in to ensure the inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schooling through the adaptation of school buildings to provide access and enable full participation in education. Little real progress has been made in this however. For example, only 22.22 percent of schools have suitably adapted toilets and some 62.09 percent have provided a ramp (RTE, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 22).

A number of factors have contributed to the considerable dropout rates including, general under-funding for the implementation of the RTE, lack of funding provision to support teacher education, teacher appointments and poor washing / toilet facilities at many schools. According to the RTE, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019). Report this underfunding can be related to “a growing thrust by the Government to privatize school education” (p. 20) with proposals for voucher schemes and suchlike, in line with concepts often found in countries with neo-liberal policy agendas.

On a more positive note, some recent measures are being taken by State governments to alleviate the prejudice surrounding girls’ education in traditionally patriarchal communities. For example, in Rajasthan projects to encourage reading development, interest in science and maths among girls, together with opportunities for learning self-defence have contributed to the empowerment of girls (RTE, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 31).

A brief historical perspective on language and language planning in India

Canagarajah (2009Canagarajah, S. (2009) The plurilingual tradition and the English language in South Asia. In L. Lim & E. L. Low (Eds.), Multilingual, globalising Asia. Implications for policy and education. AILA Review, 22, 5–22., p. 5) notes the existence of a plurilingual tradition in South Asia since precolonial times, describing plurilingualism as “natural to the ecology of South Asia”. In similar vein, a national focus group on the teaching of Indian languages commented that “multilingualism is constitutive of the Indian identity” (NCERT, 2006NCERT (2006) National focus group on the teaching of Indian languages. Position paper. New Delhi, India: National Council of Educational Research and Training., p. 20), with a 1971 Census recording “a total of 1,652 languages belonging to five different language families”. Despite this extensive multilingualism, leaders of the newly-independent republic proposed that Hindi should be designated as the national language (Annamalai, 2005Annamalai, E. (2005) Nation-building in a globalized world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation, language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 20–37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. ), a viewpoint strongly challenged by the southern states of India where Hindi was not widely spoken.

Following many debates at local, regional and national level, agreement was finally reached by the Kothari Commission (1964–66), recommending a Three-Language Formula (TLF) for the purposes of education., whereby each State identified an official State language (which generally became the medium of instruction in schools). Hindi and English were also to be taught in schools, with varying curriculum time and points of entry for each language according [ p. 22 ]to individual State policy. National guidelines have continued to emphasise the importance of maintaining local languages alongside the TLF requirements, as reflected in guidance on expected learning outcomes at the elementary stage suggesting that, “English is learnt best if it is learnt along with and not at the cost of other languages.” (NCERT, 2014NCERT (2014) Learning indicators and learning outcomes at the elementary stage. New Delhi, India: National Council of Educational Research and Training., p. 39).

Current languages provision in Indian primary schools

Officially, all government-funded primary schools in India are expected to teach the curriculum in the state / regional language, with English taught as a separate subject area. However, despite this national guidance, parental pressure for the provision of a more intensive model of English has escalated during the 21st century. Increasingly, the demand for provision of English Medium Instruction (EMI), is coming from the poor to lower middle class groupings, hoping to gain the same economic advantages that the more privileged sectors of Indian society have acquired through access to high-end EMI private schooling (Kumar, 2016Kumar, K. (2016) Education, conflict and peace. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private.). In this section I report on two recent studies, illustrative of the challenges currently faced by primary schools where the demand for EMI is substantial.

Firstly, a study by Nair (2015)Nair, P. S. K. (2015) Does medium of instruction affect learning outcomes? Evidence using young lives longitudinal data from Andhra Pradesh, India. PERI ESP Working Paper Series, 68, 7–35. Retrieved from: https://​www​.younglives​.org​.uk​/content​/does​-medium​-instruction​-affect​-learning​-outcomes> (20 November 2019). reports on primary schooling outcomes in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh drawing on data collected as part of the Young Lives longitudinal study (2000–2015Young Lives Study (2000–2015) Oxford: University of Oxford, Department of International Development. Retrieved from: http://​www​.younglives​.org​.uk> (20 November 2019).). Drawing on data sets of primary school learners in EMI and Teluga medium schooling (the State language) Nair compares learning outcomes in school Maths tests, for these two cohorts, adjusting for the socio-economic and community effects in evaluating the significance of the MOI. Findings revealed that students attending Teluga medium schools were generally disadvantaged by attending schools with fewer infrastructure facilities and further disadvantaged by their lower nutritional levels in comparison with students attending EMI schools. When the data was controlled for such factors however, students attending Teluga medium schools achieved more highly than those attending EMI schools.

A further study conducted in the neighbouring southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu revealed many difficulties experienced by government-run Tamil medium schools (the State language) in providing quality English lessons as a part of the curriculum (Enever, 2018Enever, J. (2018) Policy and politics in global primary English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.). Data collected across a variety of primary schools in the urban region of the capital (Chennai) and surrounding semi-rural districts revealed a range of English language expertise in schools with the majority of teachers operating at approximately an A2 level according to the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001Council of Europe (2001) Common European Framework for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.). With notable exceptions, teachers in many schools relied heavily on the text book, adopting a pedagogy described by Bhattacharya (2013Bhattacharya, U. (2013) Mediating inequalities: Exploring English-medium instruction in a suburban Indian village school. Current Issues in Language Planning, 14(1), 164–184. , p. 166) as “transmitting scholastic English”, implying an emphasis on reading and writing [ p. 23 ]with little or no authentic interaction. Elsewhere, in African school contexts Chick (1996)Chick, J. K. (1996) Safe-talk: Collusion in apartheid education. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Society and the language classroom (pp. 21–39). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. has recorded similar evidence, describing the procedure as a pedagogy of ‘safetalk’ whereby the teacher reads aloud a section from the book, then asks questions which allow only routine responses, thus limiting the potential for mistakes and for any element of creativity or authentic interaction.

Interviews with school principals and with the co-director of Education for Tamil Nadu revealed the extent to which the demand for EMI has recently escalated. Increasingly, parental aspiration for the perceived benefits of EMI has resulted in even relatively poor rural families choosing to send their children to low-fee privately-run EMI schools. Given this dramatic increase in demand, the State has taken the radical decision of encouraging primary schools to become EMI schools, in the hope that this will help stem the tide in the growth of private (for profit) schooling. It was expected that by 2018 50 percent of all government and government-aided schools in Tamil Nadu would become EMI schools (personal communication, 21 February, 2015). These statistics reflect a quite astonishing increase, given national figures of approximately 10 percent reported in 1999 (NCERT, 1999NCERT (1999) Sixth all India education survey. Main report. New Delhi, India: National Council of Educational Research and Training., Chapter 11, in Annamalai 2005Annamalai, E. (2005) Nation-building in a globalized world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation, language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 20–37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. , p. 25). However, it is important also to acknowledge that the officially reported national figures do not take account of unrecognized schools, so it is likely that already by 1999 the actual proportion of private schools was somewhat higher.

In support of the policy initiative encouraging the growth of government EMI schools in Tamil Nadu the Ministry of Education is providing in-service courses for the 60,000 primary teachers over a ten-year period. The challenge is substantial for teachers, moving away from a pedagogical approach which Annamalai (2005Annamalai, E. (2005) Nation-building in a globalized world: Language choice and education in India. In A. M. Y. Lin & P. W. Martin (Eds.), Decolonisation, globalisation, language-in-education policy and practice (pp. 20–37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. , p. 27) describes as “bookish with minimal communicative potential” where children are expected to learn to imitate, rather than to interpret texts. Slowly, as the professional development courses begin to have impact, local primary schools may have access to a pool of well-qualified English teachers.

Evaluating equity in primary languages provision in India

The legacy of a colonial past has had a severe impact on perceptions for the value of English in India today. Global forces have combined with neoliberal tendencies in the 21st century to allow a market-oriented education system to emerge, with English perceived as essential cultural capital for future economic advantage. The result is one of double disadvantage, whereby those attending elite EMI schools learn to place little value on the culture embedded in their regional languages and those attending government funded schools have limited access to English so may never attain a level of fluency sufficient to enter the so-called global market place. Also in the mix, are those children attending [ p. 24 ]low-cost private EMI schools, operating purely for profit and offering very limited access to English. Thus, as Kumar (2016Kumar, K. (2016) Education, conflict and peace. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private., p. 68) argues, “the division of children into two streams, both of which have their own peculiar disadvantages, means a deep imbalance and chronic conflict”.

The introduction of the Right to Education Act in 2009 aimed to overcome many of the disadvantages experienced by children from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition to making schooling for all young people aged 6–14 years compulsory and free the Act also required all fee-paying schools to allocate 25 percent of school places to children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Inevitably, given the complexity of monitoring the effectiveness of implementation, some schools have sought out ways to work around or avoid the requirements. The enactment of the RTE continues to have limited impact with less than 10 percent full compliance recorded in 2017/8 (RTE forum, 2018RTE Forum (2018) Status of implementation of the right of children to free and compulsory education act, 2009 (2017–18). Report. Retrieved from: http://​www​.careindia​.org​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2018​/12​/Status%20report18​.pdf> (20 November 2019).). Basic facilities such as toilets, drinking water and washing facilities were recorded as available in only 53 percent of schools.

Government provision of education in India is substantially under-funded, amounting to less than 3 percent of GDP in 2017. This is compounded by a lack of utilisation of allocated funding, substantial neglect of teacher education and relatively poor learner outcomes, lending support to government arguments for the promotion of privatisation of schooling. Given the current situation, it is difficult to see how a position of equity will be achieved in Indian primary education in the foreseeable future, despite India’s claimed commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN, 2015a).

Kindergarten provision in Shanghai

Until recently, kindergarten provision in China has not been a priority, with no statutory requirement for publicly-funded provision of any type of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) provision. The rapid growth of migration to the cities has further escalated demand resulting in headlines proclaiming a critical shortage in the availability of both kindergartens and qualified kindergarten teachers. Privately-run kindergartens, both for profit and for charitable purposes, have expanded particularly in the rural western regions of China. In efforts to improve provision the government has set a target of ensuring that all Chinese children have access to a minimum of one year’s publicly-funded ECEC provision by 2020 (Hu, Zhou, Li, & Roberts, 2014Hu, B., Zhou, Y., Li, K., & Roberts, S. K. (2014) Examining program quality disparities between urban and rural kindergartens in China: Evidence from Zhejiang. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 28(4), 461–483. ). Recent government reports suggest that 50 percent public provision, or low-cost private provision of three-year kindergartens will be achieved by 2020 with plans for 100 percent by 2035 (Zou Shuo, China Daily, 2019Zou, Shuo (2019) New policies ease access to kindergartens. China Daily 2 January 2019.).[ p.25 ]

The Shanghai region has fully acknowledged this priority, no doubt partly precipitated by the presence of many migrant workers from across China who are now contributing to the region’s success as a global financial hub. With substantial budgetary commitment the region now has 72 percent publicly-funded ECEC provision with the highest national enrolment rates of 98 percent (accounting for both public and private ECEC provision) (Center on international education benchmarking, 2019Center on International Education Benchmarking (2019) Shanghai, China: Supporting equity. Retrieved from: http://​ncee​.org​/what​-we​-do​/center​-on​-international​-education​-benchmarking​/top​-performing​-countries​/shanghai​-china​/shanghai​-china​-education​-for​-all/> (20 November 2019).).

China operates a restrictive residency system for the allocation of entitlement to schooling, requiring children to undertake education in the region where their family is registered. For the children of migrant workers in cities such as Shanghai this restriction has proved unworkable, given parental expectation for families to stay together and have access to free or low-cost education facilities. The Shanghai government has now taken the initiative to permit the children of migrant workers to attend publicly-funded ECEC provision (Center on international education benchmarking, 2019Center on International Education Benchmarking (2019) Shanghai, China: Supporting equity. Retrieved from: http://​ncee​.org​/what​-we​-do​/center​-on​-international​-education​-benchmarking​/top​-performing​-countries​/shanghai​-china​/shanghai​-china​-education​-for​-all/> (20 November 2019).). According to Minxuan Zhang (president of Shanghai Normal University) migrant children in Shanghai are now likely to be fully entitled to participate in publicly-funded education by 2024 (Tucker, 2014Tucker, M. S. (Ed.) (2014) Chinese lessons: Shanghai’s rise to the top of the PISA league tables. Washington, DC: NCEE. Retrieved from: http://​natctr​.wpengine​.com​/wp​-content​/uploads​/2013​/10​/ChineseLessonsWeb​.pdf> (20 November 2019)., p. 7).

A brief historical perspective on language and language planning in China

From the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 the government has engaged in a series of initiatives to establish Mandarin Chinese (known as Putonghua in Chinese) as the national language. This has included various attempts at script and spelling reforms in an effort to improve literacy rates, together with a policy requirement that Putonghua should be the medium of instruction in all schools (Spolsky, 2014Spolsky, B. (2014) Language management in the People’s Republic of China. Language, 90(4), 165–179. ).

Close ties with Russia from the late 1940s led to Russian being the most widely taught foreign language. However, a breakdown in political relationships between the PRC and Russia led to a decline in the popularity of Russian and a rise in the promotion of English as a prestigious foreign language (Feng, 2009Feng, A. (2009) English in China. Convergence and divergence in policy and practice. In L. Lim & E-L. Low (Eds.), Multilingual, globalising Asia. Implications for policy and education. AILA Review, 22, 85–103.). English became the dominant foreign language taught in schools from the late 1970s, with a number of other foreign languages being taught, including Russian (Spolsky, 2014Spolsky, B. (2014) Language management in the People’s Republic of China. Language, 90(4), 165–179. ). The rise in the popularity of English reached new heights when it was introduced in year 3 of primary schools (age 9 years) in 2001. The initial programme focused on the urban centres of the coastal region and key political centres of power. From this starting point the programme was to be rolled out to more rural areas over time (Wang, 2009Wang, Q. (2009) Primary English in China: Policy, curriculum and implementation. In M. Nikolov (Ed.), The age factor and early language learning (pp. 277–310). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ). However, this has proved challenging, given the extreme shortage of qualified teachers in some regions, resulting in many poorer communities still having no provision for English at primary level today.[ p.26 ]

In addition to foreign languages, the role of regional and minority languages has gained in recognition, with the 2001 Language Law listing “appropriate occasions” when this might be permitted (Spolsky, 2014Spolsky, B. (2014) Language management in the People’s Republic of China. Language, 90(4), 165–179. , p. 168). Zhou (2012Zhou, M. (2012) Introduction. The contact between Putonghua (Modern Standard Chinese) and minority languages in China. International Journal of the Sociolinguistics of Language, 215, 1–17., p. 5) identifies typical occasions in which regional or minority languages might be used as in, “markets, hospitals and government offices”, with Putonghua being used more in public domains than private. Most recently however, the forces of migration to the cities has led to the more limited use of some regional and minority languages. In Shanghai and elsewhere the rising middle class have expressed concerns about this potential loss of cultural heritage and identity, represented in local news headlines proclaiming a “dialect crisis” with tags such as “saving Chinese dialects” (Gao, 2015Gao, X. (2015) The ideological framing of ‘dialect’: An analysis of mainland China’s state media coverage of ‘dialect crisis’ (2002–2012). Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36, 468–482. , p. 471). These issues are discussed in the following sections, drawing on evidence of language practices across a range of Shanghai kindergartens.

Current languages provision in Shanghai kindergartens

With a population in excess of 26 million and a total of 1,591 kindergartens registered in the Shanghai region in 2017 (Shanghai Statistical Yearbook, 2018Shanghai Statistical Yearbook (2018) Education. China: China Statistical Press.), evidence presented in this section can only be considered as a partial view of present realities. This section reports on classroom observations, field notes and interviews conducted across a range of kindergartens in the Shanghai region in 2016. Access to kindergartens was arranged through the personal connections of an academic with expertise in the field. Inevitably, it is likely that access was facilitated for those kindergartens considered to be of a good standard.

Language policy in Shanghai requires English to be introduced as a subject from Grade 1 of primary school. Kindergartens are expected to use Putonghua as the medium of instruction. However, although a required curriculum for all kindergartens exists, a 20 percent allowance is available for kindergartens to introduce a local curriculum. Increasingly in Shanghai, kindergartens have taken this as an opportunity to introduce English, generally with a 20–30 minute lesson each week. According to Yu and Ruan (2012)Yu, Z., & Ruan, J. (2012) Early childhood education in China. In J. Ruan & C. B. Leung (Eds.), Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China (pp. 51–65). Dordrecht: Springer. this trend has grown substantially since the early 21st century. Some kindergartens also find it important to include opportunities for the maintenance of regional varieties. For example, in one kindergarten an activity conducted in Shanghainese was observed; while in another a weekly lesson was conducted in a mix of Putonghua and Jinshan district dialect. Interviews with school principals revealed a variety of responses to the question of whether it was appropriate to introduce regional varieties in the curriculum. Two samples are included here to illustrate responses to official policy (pseudonyms are used for all kindergartens to preserve anonymity).[ p.27 ]

Lotus kindergarten principal: “If a child uses Shanghainese in school, the teacher replies in Putonghua and the child quickly learns that they should stick to the school language – Putonghua”.

Rose kindergarten principal: “Children’s home languages include Putonghua, Shanghainese, Jingshan, Changdong, Jiansu and Cantonese. In school we teach Putonghua, Shanghainese, Jingshan and English”.

Further questioning revealed the extent of teachers’ awareness of home languages with teachers at the Lotus kindergarten declaring no knowledge of home languages. In contrast, the following languages were listed elsewhere:

In the observed kindergartens English was taught by a specialist English teacher, with high level fluency and a generally communicative pedagogical approach. Lessons were taught to half-classes of approximately 15 children, with good pacing and a developmentally appropriate variety of activities, including songs, games and TPR activities. Observations were conducted in one low-fee private kindergarten which revealed something of the contrasting pedagogical approach. A distinction between an individualised approach and a collective approach to learning was particularly evident in observations of successive language lessons conducted in English and in Putonghua with a group of 15 boys aged 5 years. Firstly, the native English-speaking teacher (a UK qualified primary teacher) conducted a quick-fire question and answer session in English, inviting individual children to respond to questions about activities they enjoyed at home with their families. This was followed by some more general questions about favourite sports and other activities, with opportunities for anyone to contribute if they felt confident. This 15-minute session was immediately recognisable as a type of informal conversation activity which might be observed in many UK primary schools at the start of the school day, following a weekend perhaps. Children were seated informally on the floor, with no particular seating organisation. The sense of attention to individual contributions was much in evidence throughout the session.

Following this, the native Putonghua-speaking teacher took over (a Chinese qualified primary teacher). This 15-minute session was to be conducted more formally than the previous, with the teacher beginning by instructing children to sit on chairs, forming a semi-circle. Individual cards were then handed out, each bearing a Chinese character representing opposites such as height (tall/short); [ p. 28 ]age (old/young); emotional state (happy/sad). Children were invited to read out their characters then change places to sit next to their opposite character. This was followed by a series of further readings of the characters (in order of opposites) and culminating in the creation of a group poem along the lines of: ‘I am tall and he is small and we are friends’, continuing around the group. In this activity, the strong emphasis on the collective sense of group identity was clearly in evidence.

Morley and Glazzard (2013)Morley, G., & Glazzard, J. (2013), Kindergartens in China: A report into private and state provision in Beijing. Early Years Educator (EYE), 13(12), 38–44. conducting observations in Beijing kindergartens comment more generally on a tendency towards a whole class, didactic approach to learning, with only limited evidence of play and exploration in a context which facilitated active learning. They conclude that there was a need for professional development opportunities focusing on “extending children’s development through play-based learning” (p. 43). This was confirmed by data collected in the author’s study in Shanghai kindergartens, indicating that pedagogical approaches generally followed a similar pattern of whole group, teacher led tasks, of a type more likely to be observed with slightly older children in the formal setting of primary schools in many European countries.

Evaluating equity in primary languages provision in Shanghai kindergartens

Three central issues regarding equity have emerged in the literature related to kindergartens in Shanghai; firstly, insufficient supply of low-cost, high quality kindergartens has resulted in queues and long waiting lists, which place an additional burden on those parents at the lower end of the pay scale. For example, the China Daily newspaper reports that parents find themselves spending up to one third of their monthly salaries on kindergarten fees (Zou Shuo, 2 January, 2019Zou, Shuo (2019) New policies ease access to kindergartens. China Daily 2 January 2019.). Further concerns relate to the limited supply of fully qualified kindergarten English teachers. According to Yu and Ruan (2012Yu, Z., & Ruan, J. (2012) Early childhood education in China. In J. Ruan & C. B. Leung (Eds.), Perspectives on teaching and learning English literacy in China (pp. 51–65). Dordrecht: Springer. , p. 63) there is a severe lack of teachers qualified to teach English to kindergarten children. A survey conducted some time ago by Cui and Yuan (2006)Cui, X., & Yuan, A. (2006) 对目前国内幼儿园双语教育中存在偏差的分析及对策的研究 [The analysis of current issues in bilingual education in kindergartens and solutions]. 外语艺术教育研究 [Journal of Foreign Language Education], 1, 64–67. found that only 20 percent of kindergarten English teachers were qualified kindergarten teachers. While no doubt the ratio has improved considerably since then, a severe shortage still exists, with the posts being filled either by English teachers trained to teach older children or by generalist kindergarten teachers with no specific preparation for teaching foreign languages.

Related to the above, some authors have expressed concern about the limited amount of free play opportunities in Chinese kindergartens. While this undoubtedly reflects a European cultural perspective on ECEC, these concerns may also be relevant to the introduction of both English and regional / minority languages. A study conducted in kindergartens in England (Sylva et al. 2004Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2004) The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project. Sure Start. Nottingham: DfES Publications., p. 6) offered the findings that, “Freely chosen play activities often provided the best [ p. 29 ]opportunities for adults to extend children’s thinking. It may be that extending child-initiated play, coupled with the provision of teacher-initiated group work, are the most effective vehicles for learning.” Some combination of language play and teacher-initiated group work might provide a developmentally appropriate introduction to language learning, placing an emphasis on creativity in meaning making as a solid foundation for the more formal context of school language learning.