The Peace Dividend of Valuing Non-Dominant Languages in Language-in-Education Policies in Myanmar

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32865/fire201953143

Keywords:

Myanmar, language-in-education policy, multilingual education, ethnolinguistic minority

Abstract

This article is a literature review and analysis of the links between social cohesion/peacebuilding and the use of Non-Dominant Languages (NDLs) in education with an application for Myanmar, a country rich in linguistic diversity, rife with political conflict, and in the midst educational reforms. Findings indicate that investment in multilingual education (MLE) has the potential to enhance learning and foster peacebuilding. This paper provides a description of an adapted

Author Biography

Mary Shepard Wong, Azusa Pacific University

Mary Shepard Wong is Professor at Azusa Pacific University (APU) in the department of Global Studies, Sociology and TESOL where she directs the field-based graduate TESOL program. She is two-time Fulbright scholar and has a Ph.D in International & Intercultural Education (USC), and Master degrees in Chinese (UCLA) and TESOL (APU). She has taught for over three decades in the U.S., China, Thailand, and Myanmar. She has conducted over 100 presentations and has publications with Routledge, Cambridge, and Multilingual Matters. Her research interests include teacher religious identity and English language teaching, and peacebuilding and education in Myanmar.

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Published

2019-12-20

How to Cite

Wong, M. S. (2019). The Peace Dividend of Valuing Non-Dominant Languages in Language-in-Education Policies in Myanmar. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 5(3). https://doi.org/10.32865/fire201953143

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 3 (2019): Special Issue: Policy and Practice in the Use of Non-Dominant Languages in Comparative Education

Section

Articles

License

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. FIRE ISSN: 2326-3873.