Multilingual Education and India

World Book Day gives us a nice excuse to promote the production of books in the local languages. Particularly since this year there was a special emphasis on indigenous languages! In line with the theme of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-32), f or this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has chosen the theme  “Indigenous Languages”! According to their official statement , “Indigenous and local languages feature as part of the World Book Capital Network Charter, and the Charter recognizes a less rigid concept of ‘the book'; it also acknowledges all  forms of literature (including oral traditions).” The statement also mentions that, “ Of the almost 7,000 existing languages – many of which are fast disappearing – the majority are spoken by indigenous peoples who represent the greater part of the world's cultural diversity.” Therefore, they are stressing the importance of safeguarding these languages, the moth

It is always good when research affirms what we have already observed ourselves: it is beneficial for learners when multiple languages are used in the classroom, particularly if the teaching isn’t in the students’ home language. Macmillan Education India is a key stakeholder in the Indian education arena as they regularly produce resources in both print and digital form in addition to engaging in assessments and  teacher training. In February, they presented the results of a survey they did to understand the effects of multilingualism in the classroom. (See full report. ) Managing Director, Rajesh Pasari, writes in the foreword:  “ Through this study, we wanted to find out more about this linguistic phenomenon in relation to English classrooms. The study analysed the potential advantages and challenges of linguistic diversity which can impact the everyday lives of Indian learners in educational institutions. The report documents the multilingual reality and various teaching practices i

  Photo credit: https://asiapacificmle.net/conference/2023/   The Multilingual Education Conference in Thailand has always been a great place to meet with fellow-educationalists with a passion (or at least interest!) for Multilingual Education. Because of Covid it was a bit delayed, but I was glad to learn there will be one this year in October. I hope there will be many presentations from India. There are only a few weeks left to get abstracts submitted.  See the announcement copied below. _________________________________________________________________________________ The Asia Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group (MLE WG) is pleased to announce the 7th International Conference on Language and Education to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, this 4 - 6 October 2023, and the first Call for Abstracts . The seventh edition will address multilingual education for transformative education systems and resilient futures. UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, UNICEF East

Dear Reader, Congratulations on International Mother Language Day 2023 ! On this day we are thrilled to share with you that the MLE-Inda blog has been updated now with the most current information. You can find much more information on Multilingual Education on our pages dedicated to Multilingual Policies in India , MLE Projects , MLE related resources and books and our latest new page on the Historical Overview of MLE in India . You can also read the latest blog on MLE in Andhra Pradesh for the month of February, 2023.  Please note that this Blog and the  resources mentioned here are a work in progress. Therefore, we invite you to point out any inconsistencies and share any updated information, should you have it. We also accept suggestions if you have any for the blog.  We also request you to share our blog as a resource to anyone who is interested in the cause of Multilingual Education, mother tongue and language related issues. Please feel free to send us information on any cours

Andhra Pradesh has a long history of engaging with multilingual education among the tribal groups. It is good to note that the latest initiative not only focuses on material development, but also on the training of teachers. Hopefully this will make the program more sustainable than previous attempts . While reading up on this, I discovered an NGO that I was not aware of: It is good to note what NEG FIRE is engaged with! According to the recent report from the Times of India , ‘teacher training modules’ have been developed for tribal languages of Andhra Pradesh. The Tribal Cultural Research and Training Mission (TCRTM) held a two-day workshop for the same at Rushikonda. Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) has been implemented in 1,350 schools in the state according to this news report. The languages covered by this include the Koya, Savara, Adivasi Oria, Jatapu, Kuvi, and Konda Dora.  They plan to train 1,400 teachers who are already working in these schools.( TOI repo