Thomas Kral: "Confronting English at a women’s college in the Indian periphery: ...."

Presentation 4: 5/12/23
"Confronting English at a women’s college in the Indian periphery: Stories of agency, (dis)empowerment and decolonisation"
There is near academic consensus that English in India retains its colonial status as the language of the elite and thus “advantages some but disadvantages most” (Mohanty, 2017, p. 261). However, several scholars paradoxically position English as a decolonising language, chosen to be studied for its potential to disrupt entrenched class, caste and gender hierarchies, providing a viable pathway to socioeconomic mobility for the most marginalised members of Indian society (Vaish, 2005). In this presentation, I explore the role English plays in empowering and disempowering young women from outside the English-speaking elite, as they confront gender and social class barriers in navigating their higher studies and their lives beyond. The study is based at an English-medium women’s college in a middle-sized city in South India, where many students are the first in their families to attend higher education and to have access to English. Through the lenses of participant narratives and interactive interviews, and the capability approach theoretical framework, I explore how English can enable and constrain students’ development of key capabilities which promote their agency. I further examine the potential for pedagogical capabilities which aim to decolonise language learning spaces, thereby enabling English to empower a wider cohort of students.
Thomas Kral, PhD researcher, ESJ programme. Education Consultant and Teacher Educator