Language issues in elementary education in India, Bhutan and Finland

1. Place of language in elementary
school curriculum
Dr. Satish Kumar, Asst. Prof. in Education, School of Education, LPU
satishnurpur.gamil.com +91-7589110552

2. • Meaning:
• Language is a system of symbols with an agreed
upon meaning that is used by a group of people.
• Language is a means of communication ideas or
feelings by the use of conventionalised sounds
and signs, thus, being the spoken and written
language.
• Language is the ability to acquire and use
complex systems of communication, particularly
the human ability to do so and a language is any
specific example of such a system.
• The scientific study of language is called
linguistics.

3. • Owens:
“Language is socially shared code or conventional
system for representing concepts with arbitrary symbols
and the rules governing the combinations of those and
the rules governing the combinations of those
symbols.”
• B. Bloch:
“A language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by
means of which a social group co-operates.”
• Edward Sapir:
“Language is a purely human and non-instinctive
method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires
by means of voluntarily produced symbols.”

4. Nature of Language
• Language is systematic
• Language is system of symbols
• Language is meaningful
• Language is arbitrary
• Language is conventional
• Language is creative
• Language is unique
• Language is dynamic
• Rooted in culture

5. Objectives & Importance of Language
• 1) Developing personality:
• Language aids in developing and grooming one’s
personality as a whole. Since learning a language
is part of our knowledge, it becomes one of the
key factors in competitiveness.
• 2) Way of communication:
• Language has become a major tool of
communication between countries, cultural
groups, various companies and organisations,
communities and friends.

6. Objectives & Importance of Language
• 3) Cognitive development:
Language use contributes to a pre-requisite for cognitive
development. Language is the medium for reflecting on
learning, for improving it, for becoming (more or less)
autonomous as learners.
• 4) Different ways to use:
Language develops mainly through its purposeful use
(domains to be broadened) Learning (often) involves
talking, writing, shaping and moving (normally in reaction
to perceptions) Learning often occurs through speaking or
writing as much as through shaping and moving.

7. Objectives & Importance of Language
• 5) Easy social contact:
• It makes social contact easy. Society, as we have
seen, is a web of social relationships which imply
development of social contacts and only language
helping us to do the same.
• 6) Culture carrier:
• Language helps or hinders the spread of culture.
Ideas require language.

8. Objectives & Importance of Language
• 7) Development of civilizations :
• Through language people make progress in the
society and human development can be spread
across the world.
• 8) Medium of growth:
• Language is not merely the medium of instruction
at all levels of education; it is the medium of
growth.

9. Objectives & Importance of Language
• It provides capacity for preservation and
communication of intellectual life.
• At higher level, language provides the medium of
fresh and free thinking and research.
• In education it communicates knowledge and in
general life it is the instrument to pick up
information.
• We need language to learn, to retain and to recall
our knowledge. It is the primary need of the child.

10. Function of a language in curriculum
• 1. Social function
• 2. Develops four skills LSRW( listening, speaking,
reading, writing)
• 3. Cultural function
• 4. Verbal interaction
• 5. The expressive function
• 6. Communicative approach : helps in understanding
phonemes ( pronunciation), morphemes ( spellings )
and grammar.
• 7. Aesthetic aspect: in the form of literature and other
written records for the posterity ( future generation).

11. Function of a language
• Actually, Geoffery Leech( 1974 ). Mentioned
that language has five functions. They are:
• Informational
• Expressive
• Directive
• Aesthetic
• Phatic

13. • Mother Tongue Meaning
• The meaning of mother tongue can often be referred
to as your first language or native language. It is the
language that you most commonly speak.
• The mother tongue meaning for a child involves
more than just language and includes the child’s
personal, social and cultural identity.
• Mother tongue in education refers to when a school
or educational institution integrates the language a
child is most familiar with (their mother tongue) into
the classroom lesson along with the school’s lesson
(such as English). This is normally the language that
the child speaks at home with their family.

14. • Research indicates that having a strong mother tongue foundation
leads to a much better understanding of the curriculum as well as a
more positive attitude towards school, so it’s vital that children
maintain their first language when they begin schooling in a
different language.
• The importance of mother tongue was studied by Professor Jim
Cummins from the University of Toronto in Canada. He explored
why is it so important that parents speak their own mother tongue
to their children.
• His research uncovers the link between a child’s development and
their mother tongue. He found that children who develop skills in
two or even three languages, grow up to have a deeper
understanding of how to form sentences and expressions, making
the use of language as a whole a lot easier.

15. Role of mother tongue in child development
• It’s also well known that a strong mother tongue foundation
equips children with the skills they need to learn additional
languages, allowing them to transfer their understanding of
the structure of language to several new languages. The
intuitive understanding of grammar that develops when
children learn their first language can easily be passed on to
other languages.
• With multilingualism becoming an increasingly sought-after
attribute within the workplace, this advantage cannot be
overstated; globalisation and increased co-operation between
nations mean that, in many organisations, it has become a
requirement to have language skills in addition to being a
specialist within a particular field.

16. Advantages of mother tongue in education
• Mother tongue makes it easier for children to pick up and
learn other languages
• Mother tongue develops a child’s personal, social and
cultural identity
• Using mother tongue helps a child develop their critical
thinking and literacy skills
• Research shows that children learning in mother tongue
adopt a better understanding of the curriculum
• Skills learnt in mother tongue do not have to be re-taught
when the child transfers to a second language

17. Advantages of mother tongue in education
• Children learning in mother tongue enjoy school
more and learn faster due to feeling comfortable
in their environment
• Self-esteem is higher for children learning in
mother tongue
• Parent child interaction increases as the parent can
assist with homework
• Studies show that children that capitalise on
learning through multilingualism enjoy a higher
socioeconomic status earn higher earnings

18. Role of mother tongue in child development
• 1. To Give Command of Language
• The first and foremost aim of teaching mother-tongue is
to help our pupils to say simply and clearly what they
want to say, and write simply and clearly what they want
to write. In other words, mother-tongue teaches them to
express themselves clearly and simply.
• 2. Acquisition of Knowledge.
• Another important aim of teaching mother tongue is to
teach the pupils to read for information and for pleasure.
Mastery of the mother-tongue will cultivate in him the
habit of reading for the acquisition of knowledge.

19. Role of mother tongue in child development
• 3. To bring about mental and emotional development.
• One of the important aims of teaching mother-tongue is to
give our pupils a medium through which they can express
themselves, not only for purpose of day-to-day life. They will
be able to express their feelings, thought and experiences.
This expression may be oral and written.
• 4. To Develop Creative Faculties.
• Developing creative faculties of the pupils is one of the most
significant aims of teaching mother tongue. The pupil has in
his mother-tongue a medium through which he can give
expression, in different directions, to his creative urge.

20. Role of mother tongue in child development
• 5. To give training in logical thought and expression.
• Another important aim is to give pupils training in logical
thought and its expression. This aim is in fact the aim of
all education; but mother-tongue is the m

21. language skills

22. Four skills of language
• Reading, writing, speaking and listening – the
four foundational skills of language learning.
• The skills work in pairs. When you’re reading
or listening, you’re consuming a language.
• However, when you’re writing or speaking,
you’re producing a language.
• Once you’ve mastered these skills, you can
safely say that you’re fluent in that language.

23. Why are the four skills useful?
• In-order to become a well-rounded communicator one
needs to be proficient in each of the four language
skills.
• These four skills give learners opportunities to create
contexts in which to use the language for exchange of
real information, evidence of their own ability (proof of
learning) and, most important, confidence.
• Listening and reading are the receptive skills because
learners do not need to produce language, they receive
and understand it. These skills are sometimes known as
passive skills.
• The productive skills are speaking and writing because
learners are applying these skills in a need to produce
language. They are also known as active skills.

24. Listening
• Listening is a receptive language skill which learners usually find
the most difficult. This often is because they feel under
unnecessary pressure to understand every word.
• The listener has to get oriented to the listening portion and be all
ears. The listener is also required to be attentive.
• Anticipation is a skill to be nurtured in Listening. In everyday life,
the situation, the speaker, and visual clues all help us to decode
oral messages.
• In due course of listening, be in a lookout for the sign post words.
• Thirdly one should be able to concentrate on understanding the
message thoroughly.

25. Listening
• Listening Skills could be enhanced by focusing on making the
students listen to the sounds of that particular language. This
would help them with the right pronunciation of words.
• To equip students with training in listening, one can think about
comprehending speeches of people of different backgrounds and
regions.
• This intensive listening will ultimately help a student to understand
more on the accents to be used and the exact pronunciation of
words.

26. Role of Listening
• To listen , repeat and memorize
• Enable students to do pattern drills, repeat dialogues and imitating
pronunciation patterns.
• It involves understanding a speaker’s accent and pronunciation.
• Enables learners to interact in spoken communication.
• Students with good listening comprehension skills are better able
to participate effectively in class
• According to Nation and Newton “listening is the way of learning
a language”.

27. Types of Listening
Listening and Repeating
• To listen , repeat and memorize
• Enable students to do pattern drills, repeat dialogues and
imitating pronunciation patterns.
Listening and Answering Comprehension Questions.
• With increasing speed and accuracy of recall.
• Can increase students’ stock of vocab units and grammar
constructions.

28. Types of Listening
Task Listening
• Listening and using model.
• Follow directions, complete tasks, solve problem
Interactive Listening
• Develop aural/oral skills in interactive academic
communication.
• Presentation and discussion activities

29. Techniques of developing Listening skills
• Daily listening activities
• The Storytelling Game
• Watch films that model conversation skills.
• Use technology.
• Reinforce active listening.
• Offer group presentations and assignments
• Ask open-ended questions.

30. Speaking skills
• Language is a tool for communication. We communicate
with others, to express our ideas, and to know others’
ideas as well.
• We must take into account that the level of language
input (listening) must be higher than the level of
language production.
• In primary schools elocution and recitation are main
sources to master the sounds, rhythms, and intonation of
the English language through simple reproduction.

31. Speaking skills
• The manifestations of the language in games and pair
work activities are encouraging source to learn to speak
the language.
• This assists the learners to begin to manipulate the
language by presenting them with a certain amount of
choice, albeit within a fairly controlled situation.
• This skill could be improved by understanding linguistic
attributes such as voice quality, volume and tone, voice
modulation, articulation, pronunciation etc. This could
also be further enhanced with the help of debates and
discussions.

32. Types of Speaking skills
• There are three kinds of speaking
• Interactive, ( discussion, dialogue)
• Partially interactive ( Lecture )
• Non-interactive (Sermons and Speeches)

33. Importance of Speaking skills
• Most obvious skill
• Most interactive skill
• Develops understanding through communication
• Develops inter-personal skills (team working)
• One-to-one sessions (personal tutor, doctor, employer
etc.)
• Class group discussions

34. Techniques of developing Speaking skills
• Take every opportunity to speak
• Ask questions
• Use Academic Skills resources (presentation space)
• Observe native speakers
• Repetitive/oral practices
• Ask for clarification
• Communicative teaching
• Content of speaking should be practical and useable in
real life.
• Address both interactive fluency and accuracy.

35. Reading skills
• Reading is the receptive skill in the written mode.
• It can develop independently of listening and speaking
skills
• Reading can help build vocabulary that helps listening
comprehension.
• It helps to develop language intuition in the corrected
form. Then the brain imitates them, producing similar
sentences to express the desired meaning.
• Using skimming or scanning technique to read quickly is
highly effective.

36. Reading skills
• SKIMMING is a method of rapidly moving the eyes over
text with the purpose of getting only the main ideas and a
general overview of the content.

37. Reading skills
A.Skimming is useful in three different situations.
 Pre-reading--Skimming is more thorough than simple
previewing and can give a more accurate picture of text to be
read later.
 Reviewing--Skimming is useful for reviewing text already read.
 Reading--Skimming is most often used for quickly reading
material that, for any number of reasons, does not need more
detailed attention.

38. Reading skills
A.Steps in skimming an article
 Read the title--it is the shortest possible summary of the content.
 Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph.
 Read the first paragraph completely.
 If there are subheadings, read each one, looking for relationships among
them.
 Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph.
a.The main idea of most paragraphs appears in the first
sentence.
b.If the author's pattern is to begin with a question or
anecdote, you may find the last sentence more valuable.

39. • SCANNING covers a great deal of material in order to locate a specific fact or piece of
information.
A. Scanning is very useful for finding a specific name, date, statistic, or fact without reading the
entire article.
B. Steps in scanning an article.
 Keep in mind at all times what it is you are searching for. If you hold the image of the
word or idea clearly in mind, it is likely to appear more clearly than the surrounding
words.
 Anticipate in what form the information is likely to appear-- numbers, proper nouns,
etc.
 Analyze the organization of the content before starting to scan.
a. If material is familiar or fairly brief, you may be able to scan the entire article in a
single search.

40. Reading skills
a.If the material is lengthy or difficult, a preliminary
skimming may be necessary to determine which part of the
article to scan.
 Let your eyes run rapidly over several lines of print at a time.
 When you find the sentence that has the information you seek,
read the entire sentence.
A.In scanning, you must be willing to skip over large sections of text
without reading or understanding them.

41. Reading skills
• While reading underlining of key words is a must.
• Reading Skills help the students grasp the content and
draw conclusions. The students should also make it a
point to familiarize themselves with the new words by
making reading a habit be it reading newspapers, articles,
books, magazines etc

42. Importance of Reading skills
• Informs writing and writing style
• Develops knowledge of language structure
• Develops vocabulary (specific vocab. for subject)
• Essential for research and internet uses
• Most dominant source of knowledge
• Serves as prerequisite of writing a language

43. Techniques for improving Reading skills
• For beginners reading text should be simple in terms of
grammar and vocabulary.
• The text should be relevant to the context, real life and
background knowledge of reader.
• Use reading strategies prediction, Guessing from the
context, skimming and scanning.
• Silent Reading vs. Reading Aloud
• Reading aloud improve pronunciation and silent reading
focus comprehension.
• Practice problem solving skills
• Incorporate more senses

44. Writing skills
• Writing is the productive skill in the written mode.
• It, too, is more complicated , seems to be the hardest of
the skills.
• It involves not just a graphic representation of speech,
but the development and presentation of thoughts in a
structured way.
• Good writing conveys a meaningful message .
• Free writing Vs process writing
• Free for collecting ideas and process for polishing writing
piece.

45. Importance of Writing skills
• Coursework, Exams, Lectures, Tutorials
• Group work
• Presentations
• Main method of assessment
• Strict methods and conventions in academic writing
• Various formats/styles/functions depending on subject
area
• Essential skill for exams
• Expressive functions

46. Techniques for improving Writing skills
• Copying text word for word framing
• Writing what you dictate
• Imitation
• Filling in blanks in sentences or paragraphs
• Taking a paragraph and transforming certain language,
for example changing all verbs and time references to
past tense
• Summarizing a story text, video, or listening clip.

47. languages in elementary
curriculum in India,
Bhutan and Finland

48. Bhutan
• Languages are national resources. Learning different
languages enables children to engage meaningfully with
people of other cultures and languages, and this in turn
enhances their understanding of their own language.
• Children understand that language is a system for
communication of meanings deeply embedded in a culture.
It provides opportunities to children and adults to engage in
real life situations and connect with the wider world. Most
importantly language develops the critical thinking and
reasoning of an individual and as a result enables them to
be lifelong learners.
• National Education Framework 2009

49. • One of the major objectives of language
teaching is to equip learners with the ability to
become literate, and read and write with
understanding.
• Our effort is to sustain and enhance the
degree of multilingualism and the
metalinguistic awareness that children have.

50. Key objectives of school curriculum
• Towards the ideal of enabling all children and
young people in Bhutan to achieve the
maximum benefit from their learning
experience, the school curriculum will seek to
develop and promote among learners the
following:
• Language abilities (listening, speaking, reading
and writing) and communication skills needed
for social living and further learning;

51. • Mathematical abilities to develop a logical
mind and enable learners to perform
mathematical operations and their application
in everyday life;
• Scientific temper characterised by spirit of
enquiry, courage to question, objectivity,
divergent and independent thinking, and
knowledge of scientific methods of enquiry
and its use in solving problems;

52. Stages of education and subjects of study

53. Stages of education and subjects of study

54. India

55. • India has,now, 23 constitutionally recognized
official languages. And there are several
hundreds of language varieties in India. Hindi is
the most spoken language in India, while
English, too, has a very strong hold in this
country.
• Census of India of 2001 says that India has
122 major languages and 1599 other languages.

56. 39%
8.30%
7.80%
7.45%
6.30%
5.18%
3.69% 3.21%
4.48%
Major Languages in India , and the % of People who
use each language
Hindi
Bengali
Telugu
Telugu
Tamil
Urdu
Gujarathi
Kannada
Malayalam

57. • In1952, Muthaliyar Commission,
recommended Three Language
Formula which stated that mother
tongue should be taught at primary
stage and English and Hindi should
be introduced later.

58. • In 1966, Kothari Commission put
forth a revised or modified Three
Language Formula which stated that
along with Mother tongue English and
Hindi should be taught at non-Hindi
states while instead of Hindi, any other
modern South Indian language should
be taught at Hindi speaking states.

59. Most of the
Hindi Speaking
statesis, now,
following Hindi,
English and
Sanskrit
formula
Some non-Hindi
speaking states
like Tamil Nadu
a two language
formula i.e.
Mother tongue
and English
Thestateslike
Orissa, West
Bengal, and
Maharashtra still
follows the real
threelanguage
formula i.e. Hindi
+ English+a
modern south
Indian language
ThePresent Status of Three
Language Formula

60.  It offers multi lingual capacity
 It facilitates learning of national
language
 It facilitates learning of
International Language
 It promotes national integration
 Learning of mother tongue
helps in cultural preservation
 Learning of English provides
global identity
 Learning of Hindi widens
opportunities
 Learning of mother tongue
facilitates expression of ideas
Merits and Demerits of Three
Language Formula
 It often creates administrative
confusion
 The south Indian people feel
that Hindi is imposed on them.
 It often becomes a burden for
children tolearn three
languages together before
mastering the mother tongue.
Merits Merits

61. Finland

62. Population of Finland
54, 58, 123, (2014 Apr. 22)
First language:
• 89 % Finnish
• 5,4 % Swedish
• 1.2 % Russian
• 4.1% Other

63. The Constitution of Finland
• Section 17 – Right to one's language and culture
The national languages of Finland are Finnish and
Swedish. The right of everyone to use his or her own
language, either Finnish or Swedish, before courts of
law and other authorities, and to receive official
documents in that language, shall be guaranteed by an
Act.
The public authorities shall provide for the cultural and
societal needs of the Finnish-speaking and Swedish-
speaking populations of the country on an equal
basis…

64. Basic Education Act
• Section 11 Content of education
The basic education syllabus shall contain the
following core subjects:
Mother tongue and literature, the second
national language, foreign languages,
environmental studies, health education, religious
education or ethics, history, social studies,
mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology,
geography, physical education, music, art, crafts,
and home economics.

65. Languages in Basic Education (2014)
Grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
A1/NN
comp.
8 h/w 8 h/w
A2
volen.
12 h/w
B1 6h/w
B2 4h/w

66. • Besides their mother tongue, all pupils have to
choose one language for at least 7 grades
(”A1/NN”) and one at least for 3 grades (”B1”).
• One of these languages has to be the second
national language (Swedish or Finnish) and the
other a foreign language (typically English).
• In addition the school can offer different foreign
languages on a voluntary bases (“A2”/”B2”)
typically: German, French, Spanish, Russian.