The present paper discusses the disadvantages of the attitude of foreignness towards foreign languages at various levels of Indian Education in the age of globalization.
Author
Shruti Jain, Associate Professor, Global Languages Centre, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
Some fleeting moments: The Rabindranath Tagore-Straße in Berlin, the Max Mueller Marg in Delhi – Basmati Rice and Mango Lassi in German supermarkets, Kinder joy eggs and Ritter Sport in Indian departmental stores – Indian restaurants in almost every German city, the Black Forest pastry in every Indian bakery – German cars on Indian roads, Indian craftwork in German malls – German companies in India, Indian students, doctors and IT specialists in Germany, Shah Rukh Khan in Germany, Walter Kaufmann in the All India Radio – Indology in Germany, German studies in India – these and many more are only a few glimpses of spatial interlinkages between an Indian and a so called “foreign” culture today.
It is quite evident today, that the distinction between the Global and the Local is a fuzzy one. The term “foreign” language is therefore a misnomer, as it fails to reflect the interconnectedness of the world’s peoples, their languages, and their cultures. It thrives on an adversarial understanding of cultures and leads to their hierarchization.
Added to this are the challenges posed by the uncritical use of digital media information that leads learners to depend on untested perceptions. Drawing attention upon a recent controversy over the inclusion of German as a Foreign language in the Indian school curriculum as opposed to the existing Three Language Formula, the present paper discusses the disadvantages of the attitude of foreignness towards foreign languages at various levels of Indian Education in the Age of Globalization.
Published in: Language in India
To read the full article, please click here.
