The access paradox.

dc.contributor.authorJanks, Hilary
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-21T12:10:33Z
dc.date.available2016-06-21T12:10:33Z
dc.date.issued2004
dc.description.abstractBecause English is a dominant world language, access to English provides students with ‘linguistic capital’. Bourdieu’s theory of the linguistic market (1991) has important consequences for the teaching of a powerful language such as English. English teachers, who take issues of language, power and identity seriously, confront the following irresolvable contradiction. If you provide more people with access to the dominant variety of the dominant language, you contribute to perpetuating and increasing its dominance. If, on the other hand, you deny students access, you perpetuate their marginalisation in a society that continues to recognise this language as a mark of distinction. You also deny them access to the extensive resources available in that language; resources which have developed as a consequence of the language's dominance. This contradiction is what Lodge (1997) calls the ‘access paradox’. This paper explores ways of working inside the contradiction by examining language in education policy in South Africa as well as classroom materials and classroom practices. It shows the importance of counterbalancing access with an understanding of linguistic hegemony, diversity as a productive resource, and the way in which ‘design’ can be enriched by linguistic and cultural hybridity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationThe access paradox. English in Australia, (139), 33-42.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0155-2147
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10539/20517
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.subjectLanguage and poweren_ZA
dc.subjectLanguage policy in education – South Africaen_ZA
dc.titleThe access paradox.en_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
Janks, H. (2004). The access.pdf
Size:
207.58 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Main article
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: