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    Introduction CLA

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    Introduction CLA

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    1 Introduction Norman Fairclough This book is a contribution to current debate on the role and nature of ‘language awareness’ in language education. In recent years, language awareness has’ been widely advocated as an important part of language education. The chapters in this volume agree with this position, but they also share the view that language awareness programmes and materials have hitherto been insufficiently ‘critical’. That is, they have not given sufficient attention to important social aspects of language, especially aspects of the relationship between language and power, which ought to be highlighted in language education. ‘The term ‘language awareness’ has been used since the early 1980s to refer specifically to the advocacy by a group of language and applied linguists of a new language awareness element in the school curriculum, at the top end of primary school or in the early years of sccondary school (Hawkins 1984, NCLE 1985). I shall use the abbrevi for this language awareness movement. But the term alongside others such as ‘knowledge about language’ to designate {in a more general way conscious attention to properties of language and language use as an clement of language education, Arguments for language awareness in schools in this broader sense occurred before LA (Doughty et al. 1971 is a notable example), and can bbe found in recent reports on the teaching of English within the national curriculum (DES 1988, DES 1989). This book is concerned with language awareness in the more general sense, and not only in schools but also in other domains of education. ‘But in using the expression ‘language awareness’ in the title, and 2 CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS in referring to ‘critical language awareness’ (henceforth CLA) rather than, say, ‘critical knowledge of language’, we recognise the importance of LA during the past decade in advancing the general case for making knowledge about language a significant clement in language education, and doing so partly on the basis of social concerns which overlap to some extent with our own. Much of the discussion of existing work in language awareness in this book focuses upon LA, The book is in. part a critique of existing conceptions of language awareness, but its focus is upon the nature of alternative conceptions, and upon their practical implementation in various educational contexts. Contexts referred to include primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges of higher education. Contributors write both as theorists and as practitioners, with a Yariey of interests and professional concerns ~ including language in mukicultural education, teaching of English in primary asd dary schools, industrial language training and race awareness literacy and adult literacy, language and gender, English as 2 foreign language, and theoretical interests in critical approaches 10 language study. The distinction between theory and practice is not however a neat one, since some contributors engage in both. Nor does it simply correspond to the distinction between those working in higher education and those working in other educational spheres: some of the latter make theoretical contributions, and some of the former write primarily as practitioners. I think that the book as a whole achieves an unusually high level of integration between theory and practice, and my hope is that this will make it better able to strengthen critical strands of thinking in current debates about language education, CLA presupposes and builds upon what is variously called Y ‘critical language study’, ‘critical linguistics’, or ‘critical discourse analysis’ (see for example Fairclough 1989, Kress 1989, Mey 1985). Italso presupposes a critical conception of education and schooling, | shall spell out these presuppositions below, especially the former, which will be new to many readers. But [ think that it is vital first of all to situate both critical language study and CLA in becoming incteasingly persuasive now, changes affecting the role of language muse of contemporary social life. 1 shall also ‘nTRODUCTION develop the distinction between critical aid non-critical approaches to language awareness, and my comments above on the relevance of this book to current debates over language education. The other component of this introduction is a summary of the themes and issues raised by contributors. Language education in a climate of change It can hardly be news to anyone that we are living in a period of intense social change. But what is perhaps less obvious is how important language is within the changes that are taking place (Fairclough 1990a), In three ways. First, there are changes in the ‘ways in which power and social control are exercised. There has been a long-term tendency for power relations to’ be increasingly set up and maintained in the routine workings of particular social practices (eg. performing one’s job, or consulting a doctor), rather than by force. This shift from more explicit to more implicit exercise of power means that the common-sense routines of language practic classroom language, or the language of medical become important in sustaining and reproducing power relations. This has been linked to the salience of ideology in the functioning of power in modern societies (see Thompson 1984, Fairclough 1989). Second, a significant part of what is changing in contemporary society is precisely language practices — for example, changes in the nature and relative importance of language in various types of work, or changes in ways of talking as part of changes. in professional~client relationship. And third, language itself is more and more becoming a target for change, with the achievement of change in language practices being perceived as a significant clement in the imposition of change.t Itis changes of this sort that make critical approaches to language sudy of particular contemporary relevance, and make CLA an urgently needed element in language education. CLA is, I believe, coming to be a prerequisite for effective democratic citizenship, and should therefore be seen as an entitlement for citizens, especially children developing towards citizenship in the educational system. Let me give some examples to illustrate the second and third points above. A fundamental and pervasive example of changing Janguage practices as a significant dimension of social change is 4 CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS ‘what is happening to language in places of work. There has been a large-scale restructuring of employment which has led to a larger ice sector and a smaller manufacturing sector, and this in If has major implications for the linguistic demands of work = many more people are having to communicate with ‘clients’ or ‘publics’, for example. The quality of the communication is coming to be seen as part of the quality of the service. Even within manufacturing, there is a shift away from isolated work on 2 production line to team work, and workers are seen as needing ymmunicativ ne interesting development » and so forth ~ abilities which have previously been seen (in so far as they have been noticed) as general ‘life skills’ rather than vocational skills. And of course another new category of skills expected of workers is in communicating with and via computers (see Chapter 8). Another example of changing language practices which affects People both in their work and as ‘clients’ is change in the Ways in which professional-client interactions are structured, Examples are interactions between doctors and patients, between solicitors and their clients, between teachers and pupils, ot between shop assistants and customers. Practice is highly variable, but there does seem to be a tendency towards more informal and ‘more conversational language. Whereas clients were traditionally expected to adapt to the practices imposed by the pro! Professionals now seem to be adapting to practices familiar to clients. What this example suggests is that changing language Practices are closely tied in with changes in social relationships (between professionals and clients in this instance) and with changing social identities (in this case, both the social identities of professionals and the social identities of their clients). Notice that both the examples I have given illustrate what is, 1 think, an important contemporary tendency: for the informal, conversational language associated with face-to-face interaction and group interaction in more private spheres of life to shift interviews. There is a deep ambivalence about the contemporary ‘conversationalisation’ ‘of language, as we might call it, in its implications for power: rrooucrion on the one hand, it goes alo with a genuine opening up and democratisation of profe domains, a shift in power . But on the other hand, ides a strategy for exercising power in ways, and many professionals are now ch strategies (see Fairclough 1990b). Other areas of democra of language practices are perhaps ambivalent, including greater apparent acceptance of Ianguages and non-standard varieties of English in various ional contexts, suggested above that language itself is becoming a target for change, and change in language practices is coming to be smentation of more general social ic institutional links are being set ing language their ‘effectiven language practices. And 5 personnel are being employed to do this work — , coming to be seen as one aspect of the expertise of management ts. This more interventionist orientation to language is in how language is pervasively conceptualised in terms of skills or techniques (such as interviewing and counselling) which are designed (and can be have suggested elsewhere that a striking feature of contemporary new emphasis upon language education, anticipated changes in the demands of work (see Barnes 1988, Fairclough 1990a). Again, training in, for example, interview techniques which underscores the values of informality and client research, design and training. Notice! technologisation affects not only language, but also non-verbal comminnication in the case of the former and visual images in the CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS case of the latter, and is often cast iti psy | rather than linguistic terms. What is often at issue is the language element in a wider process of technologisation, ‘These then are some of the ways in which language is involved in contemporary processes of change. One consequence is that language practices are widely problematised: people commonly have problems knowing how to act as professionals, clients, parents, children, managers, employees, colleagues; and part of the problem is not being quite sure how to talk, write, or interpret what others say or write. And interaction between women and men, or between members of different cultures, often aggravates these problems. A rather different sore of problematisation is the unease that people commonly feel about the way language works in politics or the media or advertising. But we all have a relationship to language practices which mixes in various Proportions problematisation with naturalisation: even new prac- tices tend t6 take on the common sense, natural and background Properties which the ground rules of social life need to have to a high degree if people are to function. It is this tendency to naturalisation that makes technologising interventions to shape language practices so potentially insidious. In this context, itis not surprising, I think, thar critical approaches to language study have been attracting more interest from linguists and language educators. A criti the social circumstances we are power relations are implicitly in language, and if language practices are indeed coming to be consciously controlled and inculeated, then a linguistics which contents itself with describing language practices without trying to explain them, and relate them to the social and power relations which underlie them, seems to be missing an important point. And a language education focused upon training in language skills, i component, would seem to be failing inits responsi People cannot be effective citizens in a democratic society if their education cuts them off from critical consciousness of key elements within their physical or social environment, If we are committed to education establishing resources for citizenship, critical awareness of the language practices of one’s speech community is an entitlement. intaoouerion 7 Critical language study A critical view of education and schooling, and a critical approach to language study, are as I suggested earlier presuppositions of CLA. I assume that the development of a ctitical awareness of the world, and of the poss for changing it, ought to be y the main objective of all edu including language education, a perspective which is eloquently summed up by Freire: Whether it be a raindrop (a raindrop that was about to fall bur! froze, giving birth to a beautiful icicle), be it @ bird that sings a bus that runs a violent person on che street, be it a sentence i @ newspaper, a political speech, a lover's rejection, be it anything, we must adopt a critical view, that ofthe person who questions, who / doubts, who investigates, and who want to illuminate the very life we live. (Freire 1985; see also Clark et al. 1988: 32-3) But the notion of a critical approach to language will be less familiar, and needs more explanation. Critical language study (CLS henceforth) is not a branch of language study, but an orientation towards language (and maybe -% in embryo a new theory of language) with implications for ui various branches. It highlights how language conventions and language practices are invested with power relations and ideological Processes which people are often unaware of, It criticises main- stream language study for taking conventions and practices at face value, as objects to be described, in a way which obscures thei and ideological investment. CLS is not new, and L t one important contribution dates from sixty years ago (Voloshinov 1973, written in the late 1920s), but it has become latively well known only in the past decade or so |. 1979, Pécheux 1982, Mey 1985, Fairclough 1989). Important ‘influences have been social theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Foucault and Jurgen Habermas, whose work has been relatively Janguage-centred, and theories of discourse which have come to be closely linked with developments in thinking about ideology and the social subject (For It 1981, Pécheux 1982, Henriques et al. 1984). There are various groups and approaches, not which identify themselves as ‘critical’. The most important one in Britain has been the ‘critical linguistics’ group (Fowler et al. 1979, Kress & Hodge 1979). The account of CLS below is a personal one, a CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS though I think most of it would attract fairly general agreement. I shall try to characterise CLS as concisely as possi five theot ‘consult some of the material referred to in the last paragraph. (1) Language use - ‘discourse’ ~ shapes and is shaped by society tionship. From now on I use the ‘discourse’ rather than ‘language use’? (2) Discourse helps to constitute fand change) knowledge and its objects, ‘social relations, and social identity This spells out the effects of dis tp three major functions of language: its ideational function, its function in representing and signifying the world and our experience; its relational function, in constituting and changi relations; its identical function, in constituting and changi identities. Halliday (1978) collapses the second and thi ‘onal function. In any discourse, these three functions ay incously being served ~ and in any discourse, lations and social identities are simultaneously being constituted or reconstituted, (3) Discourse is shaped by relations of power, and iavested with ieologies is spells out the effects of society upon discourse, One effect the way in which particular languages and language varieties are valued or devalued according to the power of their users the notion of a ‘standard’ variety legitimising and naturalising particular valuations. It is also helpful to think of these effects as shaping conventions for particular discourse types, such as medical interview genre, which achieve a certain social stability, wRoDUCTION 9 |, assumptions knowledge, relations between doctors and patients, the social identities of doctors and patients. (4) The shaping of discourse sa stake in power stuggles ich powerful soc groups dominate a society or a particular insti Practices and conventio oppositional ones, valuations of languages and varieties, or different festments. For example, there terviews ate conducted these including ways favoured by those in an oppositional (or rernative') position within medicine, where the interview less tightly controlled by the doctor, and ideological as about medical knowledge, and doctor-patient relations and social identities, ae different. (6) CLS sets out to show how society and discourse shape each other In accepting dominant conventions and practices at face value, as to be described, mainstream language study can be seen to the naturalisation effect referred to al for developing the consciousness of particularly those people who 1 LnrTum vamoUAUC ANAnENEYS axe dominated ina linguistic way. Of course, linguistic domination fends to co-occus with other forms of domination. Consdnance mre erecondition for the development of new practices ant Conventions which can contribute to social emancipation — ne Nhat one might call emancipatory discourse practices (sce Clan tal, 1988, and Chapter 13 by Janks & Ivanie) The shaping of discourse by society and of society by discourse analysing specific instances of discourse in a way these processes — for doing ‘critical discourse a Every discoursal instance has three dimension. Figure 1.1: A three-dimensional view of discourse analysis The relationship beoween social action and text is mediated by sre action: that is, the nature of the interaction, ow exe ‘sre Produced and interpreted, depends upon the social acne rrooucrion in which they are embedded; and the nature of the text, is formal and stylistic properties, on the one hand depends toon and constitutes ‘traces’ of its process of production, and on'he a Wactbretation of the interaction processes, and their relationship to the text; and explanation of how the interaction process eelatcy fo the social action. Although attention to formal aspects of the Tanguage of texts (within ‘description’ isan important clement of this framework, so too is the emphasis on the need to “frame” the ert and its formal features within the other dimensions of analysis, ho the interpretation phase of analysis, the aim is to specify hat conventions are being drawn upon, and how. The repertoire of aailable conventions includes various genres (interview, pivettising, lecture) and various discourse types (medical, scientific, Tegal oth dominant and oppositional/alternative are standard, normative ways of using and ing these resources, but they can also be used and combined in creative, innovative ways, and interpretational a i Pinpoint how conventions are used. For example, in the alternative ‘ype of medical interview I referred to above, one finds a mixture cof conversation, counselling, and a more traditional sont of ‘meclical interview ~ being alternative or oppositional is manifested fiscoursally in an innovative combination of conventions, which breaks down traditional boundaries between types of dhasomet Practice. In the explanation phase of the analysis, one aim is to explain Such properties of the interaction by referring to its social = by placing the interaction within the matrix of the social it is a part of. For example, where the social action is conventional and takes place within relatively stable and welledefined toe relations and practices, one might expect discourse conventions ed in ively normative way (as in a traditional is when relations and practices are in flux, ethaps oppositional or in some cof the discourse in constituting or helping to reconstitae tk 12 GRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS of the five propositions above. And the ideological and political invesimen ideo! Language awareness: critical and non-critical approaches Within non-critical approaches to language awareness, I would include the previous work I referred to at the beginning of the language awareness movement or LA (Hawkins }, a8 well as the Kingman and Cox Reports (DES } and Doughty et al. 1971. In the comparison 1 refer primarily to LA, and then m < 2 a a 5 ‘onceptions of language awareness work; the relationship envisaged. between language awareness and other elements of language education, a resource for tackling social problems mnguage. But the arguments are cast in very iwkins (1984), this dimension of the rationale nal failure (which I discuss iraooucriON 13, their assumptions about what language awareness can do for such problems. Within LA, schools seem to be credited with a substantial capacity for contributing to social harmony and integration, and smoothing the working social and sociolinguistic orders, Language awareness is portrayed as making up for and helping to overcome social problems (e.g. making Bive it case of CLA, the argument is that schools dedicat ly pedagogy (Freire 1985, Giroux 1983) ought to provide learners with understanding of problems which cannot be resolved just in the schools; and with the resources for engaging if they so wi in the long-term, multifaceted struggles in various social dor {including education) which are necessary to resolve them. suggest below, in discussing the treatment of standard 5 that the LA position can in fact have unforescen detrimental social consequences, ‘There are a number of other elements in referred above to social aspects of educa refers in this connection to evidence that sho get ‘verbal learning 1). Language awareness tools of verbal learning’ the need to improve study ge work, especially the explosion of concepts and secondary school subjects’ (Hawkins 1984: roach to language from the including a lack of coordinati parts of the language curriculum, Ther 23) reference to the particular linguistic demands arising from rapid social change, where ‘many more events require interpretation’, ‘especially interpreta signals, Although CLA hij awareness of nonetr CRITICAL LANGUAGE AWARENESS

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