User:Amrtha S/sandbox

Language Policy and the Indian Education System
Many countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to protect and promote regional and ethnic languages whose viability is threatened. Language Policy is what a government does either through legislation, court decisions or policy to determine how languages are used, cultivate language skills needed to meet national priorities or to establish the rights of individuals or groups to use and maintain languages. The implementation of a language policy is closely connected with the kind of methodology followed in the institutions. The Policy decisions impact the teaching methodologies either directly or indirectly based on the recommendations made by the authority with regard to the classroom practices and conceptualising of language learning. “The deliberate choices made by governments or other authorities with regard to the relation between language and social life.” This attribute of the language policy is known as language-in-education policy. or in other words known as the ‘ ). Some of the language policies that exist, throw light on the issues related to the method of teaching language how certain policies govern these methodologies. An example to understand the workings of a language policy could be – the movement towards open support for Communicative Language Teaching in China came about because of a perception that the very low standards being achieved by learners of English resulted from the widespread use of traditional grammar-oriented methods . Language teaching calls for attention in language policy when there is a perception that poor outcomes in language learning are the result of problematic teaching practices and methods.

Language Policy in education and the role of English in India: From Library Language to Language of Empowerment
Throughout India there is an extraordinary belief, among almost all castes and classes, in both rural as well as urban areas, in the transformative power of the English Language. English is seen not just as a useful skill, but as a symbol of a better life, a pathway out of poverty and oppression. Aspiration of such a magnitude is a heavy burden for any language, and for those who have responsibility for teaching it, to bear the challenges of providing universal access to English language are significant and many are bound to feel frustrated at the speed of progress. But we cannot ignore the way that the English language has emerged as a powerful agent for change in India. The Indian Constitution identifies 22 recognised languages. English, formerly perceived as a library language and the language of higher education, is now in demand by every quarter as a means of progress and the key to a better life.

The three language formula
The Language Policy which emerged as a political consensus in the formative years of independence is also an illustration of democratic processes in the Asian context. The three language formula emerged as a policy or strategy after a quarter of a century of debate and deliberations from political and academic perspectives by educational advisory bodies and politicians representing national and regional interests. The Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE) devised the three-language formula in its 23rd meeting held in 1956, with a view of removing inequalities among the languages of India. 1.	Regional language/ mother tongue when the latter is different from the mother tongue 2.	Hindi or any other Indian language in Hindi speaking areas; and 3.	English CABE also deliberated in detail on the study of English as a compulsory subject as recommended by the education ministers’ conference held in 1957.