India’s first ever Language Mapping of Schools Survey!
The Language and Learning Foundation has conducted India's first-ever language mapping of schools survey in Chhattisgarh: Language Mapping of Schools in Chhattisgarh. The survey was carried out under the NIPUN Bharat initiative in collaboration with the Government of Chhattisgarh and UNICEF India. The report maps the different language situations that are present in each school with the aim to design an effective education strategy and policy.
Through this research almost 30,000 schools were surveyed. The focus was on the first grade and the information gathered was mainly through the teachers. The following conclusion was stated in the summary of the report:
The survey shows that in about 75% of the schools students are likely to face moderate to severe learning disadvantage due to the difference between their home language and the school language used as the medium of instruction. It also shows that about 95% of students at the time of entry to the primary schools speak a home language that is different from Hindi.
The report also describes different MLE approaches that could be utilised to help the language disadvantage faced by students. The report confirms how important it is to use the children's home languages in the classroom during the early years. I like this closing paragraph in the summary of the
report:
To ensure that students do not face a burden of incomprehension in the early years (foundational and preparatory stages, as defined by the NEP-2020), it is crucial that their familiar or first languages are used in the teaching learning process. This helps in children's holistic development. This approach of using children's home languages while also developing competencies in the regional language and English is called Multilingual Education (MLE).
Well done LLF!
Regards,
Karsten, co-written with Upasana Lepcha
Resources:
1. Language Mapping of schools in Chhattisgarh. A survey report.- https://bit.ly/3KMVMaY
3. Picture reference: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6972518992242442240?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop