The political economy of (foreign) language

The political economy of (foreign) language

Aziz
Munich, Germany

Most people when asked to name the international language of
business and trade would quickly answer English.

And recent surveys show that English is frequently nominated
as the most useful and sought-after foreign language in most non-
English speaking countries in the world.

In line with this international demand, the University of
Indonesia (UI) and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), two
prominent higher education institutions, have introduced a
program to make English the medium of instruction in most
teaching activities.

This is a great initiative, albeit arguably 30 years too late.
As part of this program UI and ITB signed a cooperation agreement
with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, a
neighbor that has already gone a long way to making English an
important language.

It is worth noting that such a program, directly campaigned
for by former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, did not go through
unchallenged. There was anxiety at the time that the Chinese
language, spoken by most Singaporeans, would slowly vanish or
become marginalized and there was strong resistance to this
campaign.

However, Singapore, India, Malaysia and Hong Kong have
maintained English as an important medium of instruction and
everybody can see where they have ended up. Indonesia, which
discarded Dutch soon after the revolution, unsurprisingly has
been left behind.

Realizing the importance of English, Indonesian parents who
can afford it eagerly send their children to international
schools, "plus schools" or even to schools abroad to ensure their
children grasp the universal language that is increasingly
critical in finding a job.

Teaching English has become a lucrative business. The ETS
(English Testing Service) has generated millions of dollars in
revenue from the world's most-popular standardized language test,
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), which has hundreds
of thousands of participants every year.

Meanwhile, European students from non-English speaking
countries usually speak two languages, theirs and English. It is
not unusual for them to speak three or even more languages,
usually including German, French, Spanish or Italian. Some speak
even more if they come from Eastern Europe.

In America, there are rising numbers of multilingual Hispanic
and Asian Americans, who speak English fluently along with their
mother tongue.

But mastering English is not an end in itself. It is just the
first step for Indonesians to become fluent in many languages.

Hispanics, Afro-Americans and Asians used to be labeled
minorities in America, however, their increase in numbers along
with an increase in identity politics has meant that their
languages could become more important in the future.

The same applies when dealing with the European Union. English
is important tool in penetrating this common market but the
member countries have not abandoned their native languages.
This means that a student or businessman in Sweden is encouraged
to learn Italian if they wish to establish a connection with an
Italian partner.

Finally, for a complete picture, language must also be
considered in its political context. Currently there are about
7.3 million foreigners resident in Germany, 70 percent of them
from Turkey.

With a new immigration law in place, those seeking permanent
residence in Germany are required to take courses in the German
language and in law, culture and history.

This measure, the Germans believe will help the integration of
foreign residents into German culture.

The writer is a post-graduate student in sustainable resource
management at Munich Technical University. He can be reached at
aziz9672@yahoo.com