Lamb, M and Coleman, H (2008) Literacy in English and the transformation of self and society in post-Suharto Indonesia. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11 (2). 189 - 205 . ISSN 1367-0050
Abstract
Among several hundred indigenous languages, Bahasa Indonesia gained pre-eminence as the national language of Indonesia during the country’s first 50 years of independence. The fall of Soeharto in 1998 and the subsequent devolution of power to the regions might have been expected to lead to a resurgence in use of local languages but instead it appears to be English which is filling the ecological spaces. Propagated by government, demanded by employers, broadcast by the media, imposed by schools and encouraged by parents, the language not surprisingly occupies an important space in the developing mindset of many young Indonesians, going far beyond its actual practical value in daily life. Drawing on two empirical studies in Sumatra, one a large-scale evaluation of educational provision, the other a case study of English learning at school, the paper shows how the degree of investment which young Indonesians make in the language is not solely a matter of personal agency but is constrained by inequalities in the distribution of cultural, social and economic capital. Unless radical curriculum changes are introduced, the spread of English may in the long-term only serve to deepen these inequalities.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2008, Taylor & Francis (Routledge). This is an author produced version of a paper published in the International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Identity, literacy, multilingualism, social inequality, Sociocultural context |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Education (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 15 Mar 2013 09:54 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 21:32 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2167/beb493.0 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis (Routledge) |
Identification Number: | 10.2167/beb493.0 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:75263 |