Presentation
Spanish as a Foreign Language in Hong Kong Universities: Understanding How and Why a Linguistic Variety Prevails in Teaching the Language.
Guest Lecturer, University of Toronto Mississauga
(2020)
Abstract
Teaching Spanish as a foreign language (SFL) has had a steady growth in Hong Kong since the decade of 1980 when the first university Spanish course was offered at the University of Hong Kong. Since then, the majority of full-time faculty in Hong Kong universities that offer Spanish programmes, have been from Spanish origin, and therefore the standard variety of Spanish from Spain has also been the predominant one in teaching SFL at the postsecondary level in the region.
Linguistic imperialism (Phillipson, 1992) as well as linguicism (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988) are theoretical concepts that can help to understand how and why a linguistic variety prevails in teaching SFL in Hong Kong at the university level. Linguistic imperialism is intertwined with structural powers in areas related to economy, politics, culture, education and media. Central countries like Spain, have structures and mechanisms that perpetuate inequalities amongst different language varieties (Pennycook, 1994; Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988). This phenomenon, linguicism, can be observed in language policies at the level of language teaching programs, where although the intention is to give relevance to all the linguistic varieties of a language, and their cultures, in practice, one variety of the language is privileged over the others.
In this work in process, I propose that in teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language in Hong Kong, there exists a Eurocentric linguistic hegemony which generates a linguistic ideology that positions the standard Spanish of Spain as the high prestige variety of the language, which also promotes the use of material and intangible resources of Spanish origin that directly impact the teaching and learning of the Spanish. In this session, I will present an overview of the theoretical framework of the study, a description of the context, and I will show some preliminary data.
References
Pennycook, A. (1994). The Cultural Politics of English as an International Language. London: Longman.
Phillipson, Robert. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1988) "Multilingualism and the education of minority children." Minority Education: From Shame to Struggle. 9-44.
Keywords
- ele,
- sinoele,
- sfl,
- linguistic imperalism,
- sociolinguistics
Disciplines
Publication Date
Winter 2020
Location
Mississauga, ON, Canada
Citation Information
María Eugenia De Luna Villalón. "Spanish as a Foreign Language in Hong Kong Universities: Understanding How and Why a Linguistic Variety Prevails in Teaching the Language." Guest Lecturer, University of Toronto Mississauga (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/maria_eugenia_de_luna/64/