6AN OVERVIEW OF THE TEXTBOOKS OF BILINGUAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN MADRAS PRESIDENCY INDIA (1875-1900)
Asadullah Noor
Junior Teaching Assistant, Pashto Language and Literature Department
Uruzgan University Email: asadnoorkh@gmail.com
Hayatullah Saar
Junior Teaching Assistant, Pashto Language and Literature Department
Uruzgan University Email: hayatullah.sar2@gmail.com
Gul Ahmad Amirzai
Junior Teaching Assistant, English Language and Literature Department
Uruzgan University Email: gul.amirzai@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
This historical study examines bilingual English textbooks in Madras Presidency (18751900) and the approaches and models mentioned in these materials. Bilingual education is often considered only as a remedial measure to language teaching in India. While various organizations and outreach programs employ bilingual approaches to education as part of inclusive action, subtractive approach to ELT is prevalent in mainstream education in India. This study seeks to retrace the history of bilingual textbooks in colonial Madras. The persisting need for English in India continues to cause much cultural asymmetry in contemporary India. English medium Education made Indian learners' language and reality impractical for 'good' Education. This research derives from the idea that when teaching draws from the learner's own language and context, it is easier for learners to relate to Education. It empowers them to make use of English in a way that does not uproot their own language and knowledge systems. This research aims to provide the big picture of bilingual education in India by showing how English was learnt by colonial Indians in 19th century Madras Presidency. In this context, this research studies the historical reasons, models and approaches related to bilingual English language teaching (BELT) for Indians in colonial Madras. The documents which act as textbooks/ manual/ guidelines/ directives/ sanctions for bilingual English language teaching (BELT) in colonial Madras are the basis for this study. This study adopts a data-driven theoretical framework, with a qualitative, exploratory paradigm. This research uses archival data, reflexive method, and interpretive analysis as part of the analysis process. The findings of this study suggest that bilingual English language teaching (BELT) materials have a long history in language teaching in India which has gone unexplored. The bilingual textbooks presented in the study show that colonial bilingual English language teaching (BELT) is a broad field of experimentation and debate which is often subsumed under the tag of grammar-translation method.
Keywords: Bilingual, English, Teaching, History, Madras.
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Introduction
Mother tongue cannot be used accurately to identify the language which a person closely relates with. Instead, this study uses the term own language (which often is a person's first language or mother tongue) to pinpoint the language they own. Writing in the context of language rights and language planning (Cox, 2009). The term own language' has also been used to define students' preferences of dialects and language varieties in expressing themselves in the classroom (Schneider, 2011). The term bilingualism means the use of more than one language(Baker, 2011). Distinction between individual bilingualism and societal bilingualism to showcase how an individual might not be a bilingual while the community to which s/he belongs may be possessing more than one language. In addition to this distinction, Baker also explains how bilingualism can be out of choice or elective or by pressing situations/Circumstantial Depending on various sociolinguistic factors, an individual can be termed as a bilingual (Ghosh, 2006). Bilingual education is a broad term which encompasses education programs, teaching methods, models, approaches and techniques which often have varied goals. Bilingual education is instruction in two languages and the use of those two languages as mediums of instructions for any part, or all, of the school curriculum. Study of the history and culture associated with a student's mother tongue is considered an integral part of bilingual education (Arnot,2005). 21st century development, the importance of English was stabilized in post-independence India in the education policies drawn after 1947. But it can hardly be seen as a gradual, stable process. As both Phillipson (Skutnabb-Kangas & McCarty, 2010). In the Indian context, there is a lack of bilingual programs which use two languages as the medium of instruction (in teaching and textbook design) without sliding. Showcasing this lack has been pointed out in a research study by (Mahboob & Jain,2017).
Literature Review
Bilingual education has been considered as one of the potential research topics and researchers globally paid attention to the investigation of this topic in different contexts (Brisk, 2006; Abutalebi and Perani, 2015; Little, 2010).
Bilingual education is a complex and multifaceted field of study that has been the subject of extensive research over the past few decades. Here are some additional points to consider:
Types of bilingual education: There are many different types of bilingual education programs, including immersion programs, transitional
bilingual programs, dual language programs, and heritage
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language programs. Each of these programs has its own unique characteristics and goals.
Benefits of bilingual education: Research has shown that bilingual education can have numerous benefits for students, including improved academic achievement, better cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills, enhanced cultural awareness and appreciation, and increased opportunities for future employment.
Challenges of bilingual education: Implementing effective bilingual education programs can be challenging, particularly in contexts where there is limited funding or support. Some of the challenges include finding qualified bilingual teachers, developing appropriate curricula and assessments, and addressing the needs of diverse student populations.
Policy and advocacy: Bilingual education policies vary widely across different countries and regions, and there is ongoing debate about the most effective approaches. Advocates for bilingual education argue that it is a critical tool for promoting social justice and equity, while opponents may argue that it is unnecessary or costly.
Likewise, the book of Little (2010) entitled "The Linguistic and Educational Integration of Children and Adolescents from Immigrant Backgrounds". This book examines the linguistic and educational integration of immigrant children and adolescents in the United States. It covers topics such as language acquisition, bilingual education, and the social and cultural contexts of immigrant education. This book provides a comprehensive overview of emerging bilingualism and its implications for bilingual education program design and implementation. It covers a range of topics, including language development, cultural competence, teacher preparation, and family engagement. In addition, "Bilingual Education: From Compensatory to Quality Schooling" is a similar book written by (Brisk, 2006). This book provides an overview of the history and evolution of bilingual education in the United States. It covers topics such as the legal and political contexts of bilingual education, the development of effective bilingual programs, and the impact of bilingual education on student achievement.
In addition to the number of books stated above, research also conducted research studies about this particular research topic such as research by (Abutalebi and Perani, 2015). This research article provides a comprehensive review of the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, particularly with regard to cognitive control and executive function.
These are just a few examples of the many research studies and literary works on bilingual education. There is a wide range
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of literature available on this topic, depending on your specific interests and research needs.
Overall, bilingual education is a rich and complex field that encompasses a wide range of topics and issues. Whether you are interested in the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, the challenges of implementing bilingual education programs, or the policy debates surrounding this issue, there is a wealth of research and literature available to explore.
Methodology
The aim of this research is to describe the research design, data collection procedure, tools, and analytical models adopted as part of this research. This part will explain in detail the methodological underpinnings of this research. With this as the foundation, this part will also report an in-depth discussion about the research methods used to collect archival data. In the coming sections, the steps involved in building a research design for historical research of educational pasts will also be explained. This part is also a platform to showcase the circumlocutory manner of collecting archival evidence over a period of mentioned years, each time adding to the previous findings, altering assumptions and providing newer insights. This part is largely based on recollection, reflection, and notes written through the timeline of the study. For this purpose, the following sections will report, not only the details and techniques involved in historical research, but also pitfalls, dead-ends, and workaround devised as part of this research procedure. An elaborate description of the sample, and the reasons why such sample was chosen for this research will be reported. Additionally, the following sections will describe the data collection techniques used to obtain the archival data. This is an exploratory study which employs analysis of an interpretive analytic paradigm to report the data analysis. The following sub-sections will explain the research methodology and the research design paradigms employed in this study. The basic source of information which provides historical information are the archives. Archives are primary sources which can give an insight into a specific historical time period or phenomena a researcher seeks to understand. Archival research is the study of primary sources of information about the past. Archival study, across various disciplines, is sometimes perceived as research which is exclusively relegated to library and is done amidst dusty volumes of documents and tomes of library records. Critical Reflexive Approach (CRA) is a framework which requires the researcher to reflect critically on the historical processes of the past with the help of various primary sources. In line with the theoretical foundations of this
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research, reflexive method is used in this study to classify data types and interpret the data. In this study, data collection followed a phase-bound process which began after extensive research about the archives which are available at various archival sites, both online and print. Before proceeding for data collection, the researcher used data tools to collect information about the data. Annotated bibliographies of English teaching material and grammars are an important data tool for this study. These bibliographies helped in locating textbooks which are not listed on library catalogues, and also highlighted the context and authorial history of teaching material. Findings
Table 1. List of archival sites visited in Indian online libraries Location Archival Sites
Chennai Anna Library
The College of
Engineering
Connemara Library
Loyola College
Madras Christian
College Madras
University
Pachaiyappa's
College Queen
Mary's College
Women's Christian
College
Madras Legislative Assembly Library
Roja Mutthaiah Research Library
Madurai The American
CollegeLady
Doak College
Madura College
Madras District Records Office
Arasaradi Theological Seminary
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Table 2. List of collections consulted online visited in India and UK Collections consulted In India (2014-16) Collections consulted in the UK (2016-17)
Roja Muthaiah Research Library, Chennai
National Archives, Delhi Connemara library, Chennai Tamilnadu State Archives, Egmore, Chennai
Bodleian collections, Oxford
University,Oxford
Asia collections, Cambridge
University, Cambridge
Missionary archives, SOAS,
London
Asia and Africa collections, BritishLibrary, London
Table 3. Preliminary Teaching material
classification of archival documents collected.
Education policies and related debates
Missionary teaching materials Textbooks and other teaching material
Syllabi and related papers Examination papers and debates relatedto examinations
Government Pamphlet series (recommendations) on teaching
Histories of English language teaching inIndia Non-governmental Pamphlet series(recommendations) on teaching
Public Instruction Reports by the Govt ofMadras Presidency Textbook Committee reports
Changing times: a brief overview (1875-1900)
The period 1875-1900 was a period of innovation in bilingual English language teaching material. As the Report of Public Instruction in Madras Presidency (1877) suggests, there was a surge in the publication of bilingual textbooks in the years following the textbook revision committee's report. This increase in bilingual textbooks was also a result of various other factors. The broad period 1870-1900 has been singled out as a distinct phase in colonial Indian education in many historical accounts The reason this pre-independence phase stands out distinctly is due to two important changes that took place in the 19th century colonial society - the first is the introduction of new educational policies and their impact on English language teaching in the 1870s. The second crucial factor is the new 'nation' space in which educated Indians recognized English education as a tool which can both oppress and empower them. The increase in the number of educated Indians led to their direct participation in textbook making, policy
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building and education planning in colonial Madras Presidency. These factors, in addition to the textbook revision committee's reports led to the increase of BELT material after 1875. However, the decades after 1880s did not witness increase in the number of bilingual textbooks published by the government. After an initial upsurge, the government did not take to the preparation of BELT, which in turn gave rise to the production of bilingual and trilingual material published by local publishers.
English and Telugu Grammatical Vocabulary Series
This section analyses two bilingual grammatical vocabularies published by the CVES in the late 19th century in Madras for use in school level teaching. With the help of these books, this section will define the meaning and function of a grammatical vocabulary in the context of bilingual English language teaching in colonial India. By the time the CVES published these vocabularies, the British government had already taken control of colonial education. Educators involved at the higher echelons of the Department of Public Instruction were also involved in the establishment of textbook-making as a commercial enterprise in colonial India (Riddick,2006). narrates the backstory of textbook making in colonial India where pedagogic goals went hand in hand with pecuniary ambitions. A member of the textbook revision committee in Madras Presidency, Lethbridge was also active in negotiating a profitable deal with publishers at Macmillan for the publication of a new series of textbooks specially made for Indian schools (Condie, 2014). ). In addition, the 1870s saw a rise in the book publishing in Britain and a corresponding demand for making new textbooks in colonial India. It is however historically inaccurate to attribute the pedagogic reforms of late 19th century entirely to imperialist money-making intentions. The orientalist spirit of many British diplomats, various efforts of inter-racial collaboration, and innovations of colonial Indian literati also played an important role in English language teaching of late 19th century India, specifically Madras Presidency.
In this atmosphere of frantic book publishers from overseas vying for colonial Indian markets and newly educated Indian educationists and publishers making localized educational material, the CVES had published English and Telugu Vocabulary No. II & III (1881). There is no clear indication as to which grade these books may have been prepared for. On the basis of the complexity of words given in both the books, it can be ascertained that these vocabularies may have been prescribed for teaching English language to students of Grades V-VII (Lower secondary), studying in Mission Schools in the Telugu speaking areas of Madras Presidency. Vocabulary No. II is a 41-page bilingual vocabulary with accented words, syllable divisions and
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indications of word stress. This textbook provides short lists of words based on themes such as education, animals, agriculture, natural objects, trades & professions, tools, service, visiting, travelling, merchandize, law, government, military affairs, religious and extracts from the word of God. Each lesson has 2 sections: first section is a list of words, and the second section is a set of sentences based on the theme of the lesson. Compared to the bilingual English language teaching material published by the CVES in the 1860s, the degree of religious content is minimal. It also reflects the extent to which the change in Colonial Indian government's stance towards Christian Missions also impacted colonial English language teaching in a large way. Given below is an excerpt from the vocabulary (Condie, 2014).
Figure 1. Excerpt from English and Telugu Vocabulary, No. II, pp. 62
Ac'ccnt, ^a'ikj, Add,
Arithmetic, esoSX Attend,
Blot, sfc-^y -c^rtb. Blunder, s^ttSPA».
Haste, fi^tf. Id'iom, zr-dc&aoo. Ignorant, Ink-stand,
Go
Language, Lecture,
This bilingual grammatical vocabulary series is a simple manual which introduced five grammar concepts by way of examples. This school book does not provide grammatical definitions. Instead, it provides words belonging to a grammatical category in a sentence. The words which the learner is expected to notice (indicating a specific grammatical function) are italicized. It must be noted that this book is not a 'two-way' textbook, i.e., it does not attempt to teach the grammatical principles of English and Telugu in the same textbook. Like the Vocabulary No. II, the Grammatical Vocabulary also may have been used as supplementary material alongside the study of advanced monolingual grammars in government schools, as is the case with many of CVES's educational publications (Condie, 2014).
Figure 2 Excerpt from English and Telugu Vocabulary No.II, pp.63
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Bradshaw's Fifth Reader
John Bradshaw's textbook is a singular textbook for many reasons. Firstly, Bradshaw chose to prepare a Chrestomathy in the form of a schoolbook for use in Grade 10 (Form V). In addition, he adopted a bilingual approach relying heavily on translation from English to Tamil to teach English. Bradshaw's textbook is a 396-page prose and poetry reader, with selections from authors of British origin. The Fifth Reader has five sections in Prose with each section consisting of three selections, with 15 lessons in total. The Poetry section comprises 48 poems. The textbook has two parts - the first part comprises a Chrestomathy that is completely in English. The second part of the textbook has much material by way of both teacher support, home-reading and exercises for the learners. The Chrestomathy (nearly 53% of the textbook) is a compilation of selections of prose and poetry suitable for school level teaching. The second part (nearly 47%) is dedicated to explanations, detailed notes, lessons on poetry and exercises on translation(Allender, 2009).
Figure 3. Excerpt from The Fifth Reader (1888) pp. 370-71
370
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Trilingual English language teaching and the VNJ textbook series
With the decline of the CVES and other Christian educational societies, and the active participation of the British government in educational policy, and textbook making, there was a large quantity of English language teaching material published between 1850s and 1880s. The recommendations of the textbook revision committee for a new Imperial Series did not come to fruition - the suggestion for the new series was not implemented in a uniform fashion across India. Specifically, in Madras Presidency the government found it difficult to manage mass instruction. A common Imperial series of textbooks for all presidencies in India remained a recommendation. Instead, individual committees were constituted to ensure that textbooks with relevant content could be prepared separately for each of these presidencies. With the influx of local publishing houses, and the weakening of Missions in the area of textbook making, the government gradually ceded control of making educational material to local publishing houses.
Figure 4. Excerpt from T. Sreenivasavaradachari Lesson XX
HOOK TU K FIRST.
long
.tí «»»r<_
break.
ix - «» uvie is yours f
(1 " I kept it iu my book, but it has slipped clown. lv - I have ouiv one pencil, If I grive it to you, J
Lesson XX. short
(2j«-Les>i_tun sir t>.ani_
U - W ill you give me your slate pencil ? K - Where is yours? li -K
shall have no pencil to write'with, li - Where is that pencil ? lv - Here it is-
11 - Is that pencil long or short ? K - It is long. r<lo so?
Il - L>reak it into two, and give me one, Will you Yes, I will, Will you give it back to mo when you^go home? O.^/rS^^u«- -f
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R - Yes, I will give it to you when I go homo K - Take
it soon. Here comes our teacher.
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Figure 5. Excerpt from T. Sreenivasavaradachari, Lesson IV
, , . Lesson lv hat is this ? It is a slate-
ti ip d¡rót_jeOtí¡nsStínnj «na/J¿ ¿p.)
Where is the slate ? Jt is under the bench, Is this slate yours ? No. it is not mine.
Whose is it then ? Where is jTours ? Is this pencil 3'ours ? Is this chair mine ? Is this book Rama's ? Where is yours?
What is this ? It is an umbrella
Where is the umbrella P Is it yours? Whose is it then ?
It is Rama's. Here it is. Yes, it is mine. No, it is not yours. Yes, it is his. There, it is.
It is on the floor-No, it is not mine-It is Rajam's. «CK»"3 MS -iásaí
Conclusion
This Research has analyzed textbooks in the period 1875-1900 to mark various approaches of bilingual English language teaching as evidenced in Madras. In addition, the tendencies and conflict between a monolingual and bilingual approach in colonial English language pedagogy has also been showcased. The first decades in 19th century saw the emphasis on the development of Indian Universities. The decades following 1900 also saw gradual political unrest based on linguistic communalism. This analysis ceases at the crossroads of conflicting attitudes towards bilingual English language teaching in colonial Madras Presidency at the cusp of 19th century. Overall, bilingual education is a rich and complex field that encompasses a wide range of topics and issues. Whether you are interested in the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, the challenges of implementing bilingual education programs, or the policy debates surrounding this issue, there is a wealth of research and literature available to explore.
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ISSN: 2181-1385 ISI: 0,967 | Cite-Factor: 0,89 | SIS: 1,9 | ASI: 1,3 | SJIF: 5,771 | UIF: 6,1
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Ghosh, S. C. (2006). Bentinck, Macaulay and the introduction of English education in India. Journal of the History of Education Society, 17-24.
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Mahboob, A., & Jain, R. (2017). Bilingual education in India and Pakistan. In O. Garcia, A. M. Lin, & S. May, Bilingual anf Multilingual Education (pp. 233-246). Switzerland: Springer.
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Riddick, J. F. (2006). The History of British India: A Chronology. London: Praeger. Schneider, E. W. (2011). English Around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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