Bilingualisation Modes and Identity Connections

1. A kétnyelvűsítés módjai és az identitás összefüggéseiConnections of modes of bilingualisation and identity Súvislosti medzi spôsobmi zdvojjazyčnenia a identitou Ildikó Vančo ITMS kód Projektu:26110230114 .

2. The growth of the European Union New geopolitical and social situation in the Central-Eastern region of Europe European Comission and the Council of Europe: plurilingualism as a goal Reforms of education are among the competences of new member states (i.e. how and in what proportion is the education of national, minority and modern foreign languages are handled) Question: the dominance of national languages and cultures and the protection of minority languages, identities and cultures and finding a balance

3. Politics – Educational policy In broader terms: Appearing close to the politics with the aims and objectives of making the interests of a particular group explicit (Kozma 2003). Language policy is created according to various ideologies by the group at power that defines the application of languages in a particular country (Puskás 2000). Educational policy is made up by decisions that change the situation of intellectual growth of a particular community

4. The issue of separation and integration The basics for the identity of a minority: • separation, • the identification of differing from the majority There is no alternative for the coexistence with the majority for the minorities and it is their interest for their survival Question: How and to what instant should a minority group separate themselves from the majority and what are the ways of finding the values connecting them with the majority?

5. Policies of minority education guide us towards integration and separation at the same time. There are no pure trends either for integration or for separation. Policies of minority education in the region: the trends do not aim either at integration or separation. Attitude of defence: the strategy of survival, intentions to catch up with the majority. Not realized yet: the precise definition of the aims and objectives of the policy of minority education including those of languages education

6. Politics at the level of minorities: The basics for educational policies is the intention of the definition and protection of the minority identity The historic concept of nation and identity based on it are important for the minorities, too Results: The trends for separation and integration enhanced by educational policies and their language-related aspects are often ad hoc and are subjects to daily political clashes. (e.g. the situation of higher education for the Hungarian majority in Slovakia) (Central-Eastern Europe: language is a defining component of identity As soon as the language disappears the culture of the minority using it will disappear, too)

7. Monoligualisation is the ultimate solution of ethnic identity borders for the majority Linguistic diversity: temporary difficulties that can be overcome by the monolingualisation of minorities The language and educational policies of the majority: the focus on the national language The objectives of education in terms of linguistics: monolingualisation in all cases The bilingualism of minorities: always a one-sided issue The dominant ethnic majority: The acquisition of the language of the majority by the minority is a natural requirement

8. The results of the acquisition of the dominant language at mother tongue’s level by the minority Control over language choice: • The prestige of the language of the minority is poor • Bilingualism as a source for danger: it leads to language-swap, it is not additive, but rather subtractive in terms of bilingualism • giving up a language equals to giving up a culture • negative attitude towards the acquisition of the language of the majority may appear

9. The control over the language may offer the majority the chance for transforming the identity and enhancing linguistic and ethnic assimilation. Policies of minority education in the regions inhabited by minorities in Eastern Europe are not issues for pedagogy or institution-management exclusively but they are tokens for protecting ethnic identities and the interests of minorities.

10. The educational model for bilingual or multilingual communities • Fundamental issue: the language of education • The outcome of education can be influenced depending upon the intention of creating monolingualism or bilingualism • The educational typology by Tove Skutnabb-Kangas (1983, 2000: Linguistic Genocide in Education - Or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights?) • Education is analysed from the point of view the language-related objectives of schools • If monolingualism is the outcome than the explicit or implicit objective the particular educational model has been reached.

11. National minority and migrant groups are catered for • The language impact enhanced by education is foreseen in a long term • The development of learners’ personalities • Negative and positive outcome are pinpointed baring the viewpoints of groups of linguistic majority or minority

12. Criteria • 1. The language of the program (one or two languages as media of education) • 2. The linguistic objectives of education (monolingualism or bilingualism) • 3. The dominance of the particular community in the society (the learner represents a minority or the majority)

13. Four basic situations • Monolingual education (1 language as a medium of education) – enhances monolingualisation • Bilingual education (2 languages as media of education) – enhances monolingualisation in long term, too • Monolingual education (1 language as a medium of education) – Creates the conditions for mastering 2 languages, i.e. leads to bilingualism • Bilingual education (2 languages as media of education) – 2 languages, i.e. supports bilingualism

14. Situation 1: Monolingual education(1 language as a medium of education) • Using one language in education will enhance monolingualism (3 programs) • Traditional program – learners speaking the language of the majority, the medium of education is the language of the majority, the outcome is monolingualism (Hungarian schools in Hungary, Slovak schools in Slovakia) • The limited perspectives of monolingualism • The world is seen on the basis of the only culture represented by the only language • No necessity of observing the world from another viewpoint • No question of identity for those involved in education. Hey take the identity of the majority for granted. • Skutnabb-Kangas: this type of education endangers the development of people’s ability to live together in piece.

15. Situation 1: Monolingual education(1 language as a medium of education) • Submersion program –heterogeneous community of learners, the medium of education is the language of the majority, the outcome is the development of the language of the majority • The language of the majority has no value • It does not turn up at school in official terms • Children coming from the national minority communities are exposed to the language of the majority whole day • There is a must to cope with the language of the majority: ”Sink or swim” • Slovak schools in Slovakia for kids of minorities • Result: minority identity starts weakening, the swap of languages may take place within a generation, it may lead to the change of national identity, too.

16. Situation 1: Monolingual education(1 language as a medium of education) • Segregation program – the medium of education is the language of the minority, the language of the majority would not be taught at all or if sow, with a limited frequency and efficiency. The outcome in monolingualism limited to the language of the minority • The isolation of future generation from the majority that has power • Bavaria – Turkish kids – Turkish school – Turkish curriculum – Turkish teachers from Turkey – minimal teaching of German • Educational policy in Ukraine after the country gained independence (Beregszászi–Csernicskó–Orosz 2001) • Identity is preserved but the minority as a community will disappear on long term

17. Situation 2: Bilingual education(2 languages as media of education) • Transitive program • Education starts in 2 languages then children are transferred to forms where education would take place in the language of the majority exclusively. • The outcome is monolingualism or strong dominance of majority leading to the weakening of the sense of minority identity and its disappearance • The languages of minorities carry the value of therapy • The language of the minority is present in order to support the acquisition of the language of the majority. • As soon as the language of the majority is taken up as the medium of education, no more mother tongue classes are offered. • Similar notions are observed at nursery schools for the majority in areas inhabited by Hungarians as minority (Slovakia)

18. Situation 3: Monolingual education(1 language as a medium of education) • Immersion program – one language as a medium of education at the beginning followed by 2 towards the end of the program The outcome is bilingualism at a high level • Children of the majority are exposed to education in the language of the minority that they do not know at the beginning • Teachers are bilingual • Teachers relate to children in their mother tongue • Children start using the second language when they feel competent • They are aware of the teachers’ help if needed – No one feels inconvenient The second language is new for everybody. Nobody would ever be compared with monolingual speakers • The second language is introduced in a gradual way • Canada – More than 100 000 children proved to be at mother tongue’s level either in English or in French – low level and high level of bilingualism in some learning areas The acquisition of the second language at a high level the way that does not make neither the mother tongue competence or identity any harm. They understand and value otherness, too. (Kim Potowski 2007: Language and Identity in a Dual Immersion School. Multilingual Matters)

19. Situation 3: Monolingual education(1 language as a medium of education) • Program intending to preserve the mother tongue • Children of the minority, the medium of education is the language of the minority, the language of the majority would be taught as a separate subject in an intensive way (Schools with Hungarian as a medium of education in Slovakia). • There is an opportunity for creating and preserving positive identity of the minority. • The outcome is bilingualism with the dominance of the mother tongue and differentiating levels of competences in the second language • Issue: minorities are expected to reach the level of mother tongue competence in the language of the majority • (Puskás Tünde: ”It was in Sweden that I realised that I can cope with Slovak.”) • Issue of second language education: The achievements of research in contemporary psychology, sociology, psycholinguistics and modern languages education are ignored • Canada – Manitoba: French speaking parents do not register their children to schools with French as a medium of education because they want them to master English.

20. Situation 4: Bilingual education(2 languages as media of education) • Utopian bilingual programs • Education in both languages takes place at the same time • Both groups of learners learn both languages together (in co-operation) • Group of the minority will master the language of the majority • Group of the majority will master the language of the minority • The last 5 decades in the Mura District of Slovenia • The outcomes are not convincing in terms of preserving the language and identity of the minority (Vörös 1996, Kolláth 2005).

21. The principle of achieving bilingualism • Provide languages with official support that are difficult to develop to a high level in the society where children live. • Should bilingualism not been achieved at a high level, the reason is that the teaching of the second language does not meet the criteria for high quality education.

22. References • Vörös Ottó 1996. A szlovéniai kétnyelvű oktatás és tankönyvei. In: Csernicskó István és Váradi Tamás szerk. Kisebbségi magyar iskolai nyelvhasználat, 79–84. Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó. • Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove 1990. Language, Literacy and Minorities. London: A Minorities Rights Group Report. • Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove 1997. Nyelv, oktatás és a kisebbségek. Budapest: Teleki László Alapítvány • Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove 2000: Linguistic Genocide in Education - Or Worldwide Diversity and Human Rights? • Kolláth Anna 2005. Kihívások és megoldások. Gondolatok a szlovéniai Muravidék kétnyelvű oktatásáról. In: Ring Eva szerk. Felzárkozás vagy bezárkózás? A többnyelvű oktatás előnyei, veszélyei a kisebbségi közösség életében, 75–96. Budapest: EOKIK. • Kozma Tamás 2003. Kisebbségi oktatás Közép-Európában. Minority Schooling in the CEE Countries. Oktatáskutató intézet, Budapest. • Puskás Tünde 2000. Nyelv, identitás és nyelvpolitika Európában. Fórum Társadalomtudományi Szemle, II.évfolyam, 2000/1. szám.  • www.uips.sk • Beregszászi Anikó−Csernicskó István−Orosz Ildikó 2001. Nyelv, oktatás, politika. PoliPrint, Ungvár • Csernicskó István 2012. Megtanulunk-e ukránul? A kárpátaljai magyarok és az ukrán nyelv. PoliPrint Kiadó. Ungvár. • Kim Potowski 2007: Language and Identity in a Dual Immersion School. Multilingual Matters

23. Köszönöm a figyelmüket!Ďakujem za vašu pozornosť!Thank you for your attention.