Language education policy in a globalised world: Is language education a global issue? Tarja Nikula, Taina Saarinen, Sari Pöyhönen Centre for Applied Language Studies Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS) University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Language education policies in a globalised world?  (Language) education policy traditionally a national concern, but ‘globalization’ appears increasingly as a motivation for developing language education policies  The connections between ‘globalization’ and national language education policies remain, however, largely unexplored and unproblematized.  Aim of this paper: To discuss meanings of ‘globalization’ in language education policy To discuss the roles of ‘local’, ‘national’ and ‘global in language education policy To explore research possibilities in the area of language education policy and globalization

Implications of ‘globalization’ for language education policy  Globalization from below vs. above From below: which actions have an effect on national policies? A multitude of micro practices! From above: if there is global planning, who’s doing the planning? A multitude of macro actors! (Baldauf 2008)  Economic vs. cultural globalization Economic g.: linguistic ideology of economy: a common language reduces the costs of multilingualism Cultural g.: need for a lingua franca, making other cultures transparent

Parliament, Ministry of Education, other ministries, Examination boards, State provincial offices, Local and Regional Authorities, Trade unions, Media, Publishing companies… United Nations, European Union, Council of Europe, World Bank, OECD, World Trade Organization, APEC … Municipalities, Educational institutes, NGOs, Work places… Multitude of actors involved GLOBAL NATIONAL LOCAL INDIVIDUAL Teachers, Parents, Pupils, Employers…

National reactions to “global”  Case Norway (Languages open doors 2007) Languages skills as self-evident asset or resource in a globalized world Foreign languages (primarily English?) a tool for understanding other cultures => ideologies of economy primarily  Case Finland: (Koulutuspoliittinen selonteko 2006) “Demands set by international division of labour and competitive environment in an open world economy” Adaptation to this changing environment on one hand, strengthening the individuals’ cultural identity in a diverse environment on the other G. in education: G. as an actor which causes changes and the (educational) system has to adapt in order to facilitate the economy

Tensions between global, national and local  Case CLIL in Finland Globalization as a motivating force for CLIL from two directions  from above: strong political support for CLIL in the EU  from below: parental aspirations, CLIL as ‘a key to internationalization’ Great deal of ambivalence in relation to CLIL  CLIL promoting multilingualism vs. CLIL posing a threat to national languages The mixture of global and local concerns affects language education policies  the role of CLIL not consolidated in the educational scene

Individual perspectives on global, national and local  Case Finland: immigrants and language education Globalisation as a factor in individual language education policy questions Societal concerns and personal reasons  Explicit policies and implicit practises and beliefs  Parents’ different views on mother tongue teaching, Finnish as a second language teaching and Finnish as a mother tongue teaching Integration (assimilation) into Finnish society vs. multicultural and multilingual identity Contradicting interests? Responsibilities of the society and individuals?

Tensions in global – national – local - individual Policy tensions Value tensions Actor tensions global individual local national

Is language education a global issue? YES … BUT … national local individual tensions shape it!

CONCLUDING QUESTIONS How global can national policymaking be? How are local and individual concerns taken into account? How is it possible to deal with contradicting views of society, community and individuals (who actually are the society and community)? Who is looking after the decision makers (on any level)?

References Baldauf, R. Jr Beyond the Micro and Macro to the Global: Who does it? Paper Presented at Sociolinguistics Symposium 17, LPP&M Workshop, Amsterdam, 5 April Burbules, N. & C. A. Torres (eds.) Globalization and education. Critical perspectives. London: Routledge. Koulutuspoliittinen selonteko Valtioneuvoston koulutuspoliittinen selonteko eduskunnalle. Opetusministeriö. Languages open doors A Strategy for Promoting Foreign Languages in Primary and Secondary Education, and Training Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. Spolsky, B Language Policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Key topics in sociolinguistics)