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Presented at

Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education: Focus onLanguages of the Wider World

19th 20th February 2010Brunei Lecture Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies,

University of London

Multilingualism

and Identity:an Empirical Investigation onBangladeshi Secondary Pupils in

Tower Hamlets.- Dr Abul Kalam Azad

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London Borough of TowerHamlets

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London Borough of TowerHamlets

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Demographics of Bangladeshi population inthe UK

283,063 (2001 Census UK) , 0.5% of the UK'spopulation338,300 (2006 England & Wales)0.6% of Englandtotal populationEstimated (in 2010) 500,000 0.8% of the UK's

population

London 170,500

Birmingham 23,200

Oldham 11,000

Luton 8,300

Bradford 5,70054% of the Bangladeshi population lived in the

Greater London area.65,553 Bangladeshi residents or 22.8% of

the UK Bangladeshi population live in Tower

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birminghamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birminghamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldhamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradfordhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldhamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birminghamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

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MethodologyQuestionnaire-interviewwith 32 students aged 12-18 in two independentMuslim secondary schoolsfor boys in Tower Hamlets,

East London.Interview with 5 parents;Interview with two senior

teachers in two schools.

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Decline pattern of Bengali GCSE

Between 2000 and 2009 nationalentries for Bengali at GCSE fell from2,124 to 1,407 (-37%)Between 2000 and 2009 national

entries for Arabic at GCSE fell from 1318to 3130 (+137%)(JCQ final exam entry data; 2009 data isprovisional. Final data will be available

in May 2010 on CILT website).In School A, entries for Arabic GCSE hasgone up and It has gone down forBengali.

In School B, Bengali is not taught at all

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Helps

inte

ract

w

ithothers

Understan

d

andpr

actis

e

relig

ion

Socialise

with

div

erse

peop

le

Broadensminds

Intellectual

pride

Worldcitizenship

Understand

ing

otherculture

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Identities No in School A

= 23 boys

No in School B

= 9 boys

Total

= 32

1 British Muslim 13 4 17= 53%

2 British Bangladeshi 1 n 1= 3%

3 Muslim 3 1 4= 13%

4 Bangladeshi Muslim 1 n 1=3%

5 Bangladeshi British 1 n 1=3%

6 British n 1 1=3%

British Bangladeshi Muslim 1 3 4=13%

Muslim British 2 n 2=6% British Muslim Bangladeshi 1 n 1=3

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91% (N=29)

geo-faithidentity

87%(N=28)British

Identity

13% (N=4) Global

Muslim Identity

England is the preferredcountry to live for 3 of

them

is the

favourite

country to91%

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Why do they wantto live in

UK/England?

I was suitedto the

lifestyle here

Haveexperience

d no

racism

Morefreedo

m

Better

provisions

It is my

homeland

Assimilate

d to thesociety

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2 respondents wish to

live in the city of Medinain Saudi where ProphetMuhammad migrated,

lived and buriedOne samplewished to

liveanywherewith socialpeace and

cohesion

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They have related their identitieswith space, race and faith

which have sprung from socio-psychological phenomena ofprerequisite, pressure and

passion.Their cultural and multilingualbackgrounds can be an

acceptable explanatorycomponents of such

multidimensional entities.

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Finally:

the (multilingual) youngpeople were flexible andadaptable in response to

their environment as theynegotiated identities which

were complex andsophisticated (Creese et al,2008: 18)

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Thank you !!

kalamahsan2005@yahoo.co.

mailto:kalamahsan2005@yahoo.co.ukmailto:kalamahsan2005@yahoo.co.uk