English in Diverse World Contexts Unequal Englishes Ruanni Tupas

1. Key Concepts/Issues (listen to recorded lecture)

globalization

spread AND pluralization

of English

HIERARCHIZATION OF SOCIAL
RELATIONS
Englishes
HIERARCHIZATION OF SOCIAL
RELATIONS

Unequal Englishes

In your group: Identify & discuss two real life examples of enactments of Unequal Englishes.

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English in Diverse World Contexts Unequal Englishes Ruanni Tupas

2. African American Vernacular English

Watch this video on AAVE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSUMnOVlp1M

• How does Unequal Englishes play out in the context of AAVE speakers?
• How do you respond to the view that ‘correction does not work to teach
“Standard English”’? (from 19:55)
• What concrete strategies are provided to address Unequal Englishes?

3.
The following are classroom transcripts from multilingual settings. They are
taken from classrooms (in Botswana) where English is the medium of instruction
but it is not the main language of the pupils (Jo Arthur, 1992). Although the
samples are dated, the issues they generate remain central to issues in the teaching
and learning of English today. Question for the group: How is Unequal Englishes
embedded in the teaching and learning?

Teacher: How many parts are left here? (first pupil’s name)
Pupil 1: Seven parts.
Teacher: Answer fully. How many parts are there?
Pupil 1: There are seven parts.
Teacher: How many parts are left? Sit down my boy. You have tried. Yes
(Second pupil’s name)
Pupil 2: We left with seven parts.
Teacher: We are left with seven parts, Say that (Second pupil’s name)
Pupil 2: We are left with seven parts.
Teacher: Good boy, we are left with seven parts.

Teacher: In which continent is your country? In which continent is your

country? Give an answer.
Pupil 1: In Africa is my country.
Teacher: He says in Africa is my country. Who could frame the sentence?
In Africa is my country?
Pupil 2: Africa is my continent.
Teacher: My question was, in which continent is your country?
Pupil 2: Its continent is in Africa.
Teacher: It is in the continent of Africa. Everybody --
All It is in the continent of Africa.
pupils:

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English in Diverse World Contexts Unequal Englishes Ruanni Tupas

4. Englishes in Singapore
Below are sample (but not necessarily representative) interactions between
teachers and pupils in Singapore classrooms. Question for the group: How do
the teachers address the problem of Unequal Englishes?
A.
Teacher: What do rats eat?
Pupil 1: Eat XXX* (18.26 secs)
Teacher: They live in the drain then they like to?
Pupil 1: Eat rubbish
Teacher: Rubbish. Very good. Well done. So would you like to keep a rat
as a pet?
Pupil 1: No.
Mervis: I tell very funny thing. XXX then the XXX then a rat XXX then
my father saw. Then next day he cannot find. So he take a bread
hor, then put the peanut butter. The you know the sticker thing?
Teacher: Oh the trap
Mervis: Ah. Then hor, one the rat go hor then it come out it stick. Then
XXX (19 secs)
Teacher: Okay. Mervis is trying to tell us that his father went to the USA.
So maybe in the hotel is it? Or the apartment where his father
stay. Okay the father saw a rat. So his father wanted to catch the
rat. But the rat ran away. So what happen was his fatther set up
a trap okay to catch the rat. Okay and finally the rat was caught.
He used a bait B-A-I-T.
*XXX is inaudible speech or a pause

B.

Anna: Okay okay, now put aside your reading materials…Right.

Today’s topic is something I’m sure you’re very familiar
with. If I ask you if I ask you to close your eyes and stand
anywhere in the world, anywhere at all, how would you
identify a Singaporean?
Students: Inaudible chattering
Anna: So what is that you’re using?
Students: Singlish.
Anna: Singlish, right? It’s not going to be heard anywhere else.
How many of you consider yourselves experts?
Students: Experts. Most students raise their hands.
Anna: Expert. Number 1 expert, yes number 1 expert.
…….

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English in Diverse World Contexts Unequal Englishes Ruanni Tupas

Next three minutes is spent unpacking the meaning of

Singlish words and terms.
…….
Anna: Of course! Wow! You are sure experts yeah? Everything
had a precise English translation? Good job!
Student I thought it’s ‘obviously’?
1:
Anna: Okay, so some of you would love that if I say, “All Right,
Keep Calm and Speak Singlish.” But is that really the case?
Student: No!
Anna: How about this?
Teacher Anna flashes another meme on the board with the
text “All Right, Keep Calm and Speak English”.
Students: Boo!
Anna: How about a mix of two? Have you heard about that?
Students: Can la, can la!
Anna: Can la.
Students: Can la, can la!
Anna: What is can la?
Students: Okay la.
Anna: What is okay la.
Students: All right.
Anna: All right. Okay! Good! So let’s look at this one. I want you
to take out your discourse markers. Do you know discourse
markers?
…
At the end of the one-hour lesson
…
Anna: So! Can I just ask, raising your hands, after you read the
article, do you still, do you agree that we should speak
Standard English and nothing else?
Students: No!
Anna: No? So we can speak Singlish and English?
Students: Yes!
Students: And mother tongue too!
Anna: Mother Tongue too? When?
Anna: Thank you! At appropriate times. That’s the That’s the
conclusion. Okay? Thank you very much. Now this is what
you do, write down your homework first.