“Language acquisition is not a step-by-step process of generalization, association, and abstraction, going from linguistic data to the grammar, and that the subtlety of our understanding transcends by far what is presented in experience.”- ― Noam Chomsky, On Language
Although revered and rebuked in equal measure, Chomsky’s theories cannot be ignored. Setting the
base to our talk, we were pleased to have with us Dr. George. C. Vilanilam, Professor of Neurosurgery,
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum. Dr. Vilanilam has an MS
in general surgery, and a FRCS in Neurosurgery. He has an MBA in hospital management and Diploma in
Medical Law and Ethics. He is also associated with the Madhavan Nayar Center for Comprehensive
Epilepsy Care.
The talk that happened at VMFT, K.M. Bashir Memorial Building, Thiruvananthapuram, on 24th August,
was divided into 3 parts; a presentation on language and brain development by Dr. Vilanilam, followed
by a presentation on education models by Dr. Bashir, and a riveting Q&A session. Dr. Vilanilam delved
into the science behind language absorption and how the brain aids this process. He further states that
the perspective to language is varying and has many facets. His talk focused on the neurobiology and
medical professional’s perspective of language. As per Dr. Vilanilam’s research, there are 7164 languages worldwide, with Papau New Guinea having 840 languages and India being 4 th in place with 453 languages and dialects.
He went on to explain the concept of language, the neuroscience behind it, facets of language,
assessment of metrics, and the future perspectives. He further breaks down the milestones that a child
goes through from the time of birth till about 5 years of age, when the child is able to communicate
comprehensively. Language development is a lifelong learning, and evolves as we grow.
The capacity of the brain to absorb the various languages, decode written, verbal, non-verbal, spatial,
mathematical, symbolic, and cultural cues in multiple languages is simply outstanding. Dr. Vilanilam
further discussed the evolution of language, starting from phonetics, phonology, then morphology,
phrases & sentences, and the last stage of pragmatics. He narrated the story of Phineas Gage, one of the most famous cases in the history of neuroscience, illustrating the connection between brain injury and changes in personality and behavior. Gage had an accident where an iron rod, pierced through his left cheek, passed behind his left eye, and exited through the top of his skull. Due to the damage to his
frontal lobe, his personality changed completely from a gentle, hardworking man to a rough, irritable,
aggressive, and impatient man, displaying a lack of restraint. His case remains a landmark in
understanding the relationship between brain anatomy and behavior.
Dr. Vilanilam also covered the concept of dysfunctional languages and how speech therapists work with
patients. He explains how teachers can do basic tests in the school to identify the aspects of speech and understand a student’s capabilities. The brain plasticity or brain rewiring comes into force when one is learning new skills or a person is rehabilitating from disease or accident. Children are more adaptable to this concept. A young child is able to absorb and learn languages or instruments better than an adult, due to this capacity. Language is in a continuous state of flux with new ways of expressions being
formulated, adapted and disseminated at all times. Dr. Vilanilam concluded his presentation by
discussing new-age language formats such as texting, emoticons, AI chatbots, and online translators.
Dr. Sajitha Bashir, former education practice manager and global advisor for education in the World
Bank, took the discussion further and explained the crux of bilingual education.
As of now trans-disciplinary exchange of language is not happening much in Kerala, but VMFT is hoping
to change the narrative. Dr. Bashir then went on to explain the irony of how infants are actually geniuses
who are able to grasp different languages from the time they are born, but they lose this capability to a
large extent and struggle with a structured education system. She then explained some models of
bilingual education and how the Kerala model can overcome their challenges by adopting a more holistic
approach.
Dr. Bashir explained that babies listen to different languages and are able to distinguish between the
languages that they are exposed to. Babies at the age of 20 months can accurately process languages
distinctly, and aren’t confused even if they are growing bilingual. For e.g. Parents in India from one
state, settled in another state, tend to teach their kids all the languages that they are exposed to. So a
Malayali staying in Delhi, will be able to expose their child to Hindi, Malayalam, and English in school. So
now the question is, why do we struggle to teach children literacy in two languages when babies come
with this ability, already? The home environment also matters when it comes to language absorption, the written word is difficult to grasp, and reading is not a natural habit. A child has to understand that a visual symbol has a sound or group of sounds. So does this mean we can use two languages as a medium of instruction and can children learn them effectively and also thrive academically?
Dr. Bashir then discusses the origin of the bilingual education program. One of the biggest movements
of bilingual education was in Canada in the 1960s. The motivation for this bilingual education started in
Quebec where English speakers in the province wanted their children to speak French adequately, plus
English to equip them for higher education. This is called the Immersion Program, where children are
taught in one language for a certain period of time and another language for another period. It is
structured and compartmentalized, so that students grasp both languages well. It was a positive learning experience, and hence it was adopted in all parts of Canada and also applied to other languages such as Ukrainian and Punjabi as well. It was found that there were no negative effects on either language and bilingual children were doing well academically in all subjects. This is essentially called Additive Bilingualism, where both languages are valued and contribute to the overall development of the child.
Another country which adopts this method is the United States. They have 3 main models, Transitional
Bilingual Program, Development Bilingual Program, and Two-way Bilingual programs. Dr. Bashir also
showed how bilingual education has been implemented in other parts of the world such as South Africa,
Latin America, African, Francophone, Francophone Arab countries, and Vietnam who have their own
challenges and complicated political history which impacts their educational system.
Another method that is widely used in Kerala and other states in India is Translanguaging. This is when
educators explain English concepts in Malayalam or the local language. This method, although not
wrong, is not structured and thereby leads to confusion.
The main purpose of this insightful session was to give the attendees who were mainly educators,
mentors and teachers some food for thought and make them think deeper about the following
questions: What are Kerala’s or India’s instructional goals in language? Are teacher preparation programs aligned with these goals? Let’s hope the wheel is set in motion and brings about long-lasting changes in the education system that is long overdue.