Multilingual Education and India

It is not often that a webinar about MLE attracts a large group of participants, but if you have a relevant topic and good speakers  it can be done! The recent webinar on multilingual pedagogies dealt with a reality that we often face in Indian classrooms that multiple languages are spoken by the learners. The webinar speakers had a good mix of theory and practice. No wonder it attracted a broad audience! A Webinar: ‘Multilingual pedagogies for all: Language-inclusive teaching and learning’ was hosted by The Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group, UNESCO Bangkok and UNICEF East Asia and Pacific on the 9th of July 2024. The presentations were aimed at discussing practical solutions for preparing teachers to lead multilingual classrooms through best practice models in various countries such as India, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. The speakers were Kathleen Heugh from the University of South Australia, Sangsok Son from SIL Intl, Dhir Jhingran of the Language and

It was good to attend the conference on “Language Education in Multilingual Contexts”  at the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad. Such a large amount of abstracts that were sent in that they had to set a limit on the number of attendees and presenters. This shows that multilingual education is presently a hot topic. Good!  “Translanguaging” was the buzzword of the conference. Prof Ajit Mohanty commented that it seems like a ghost: Everybody talks about it but nobody has seen it. Fortunately,  Dr Sangsok Son used a helpful metaphor that made the concept more concrete: the mixing of languages in the classroom is like spinning a top. Overall it was good that after several years there was an India-based language conference again! (see overview ) The English and Foreign Languages University of Hyderabad (EFLU) Department of Materials Development, Testing, and Evaluation organised a two-day, International Conference on Language Education in Multilingual Contexts on 26th

Good to see that the Rajasthan government is taking concrete steps to bring the local languages into the classroom. It is particularly encouraging to note that this initiative is not only focusing on the language, but also including the culture and folklore. Still, the initiative is not fully in line with the National Education Policy and the common pedagogical consensus that the local language should be the language of instruction as the medium of instruction will remain Hindi. Nevertheless it is clearly a step in the right direction! According to news reports, the Rajasthan State Council of Educational Research and Training (RSCERT) has identified 18 dialects that will be integrated into classroom teaching for classes I to V in state schools in the 2024-25 academic year. The main aim is to reduce the gap between the home and school environments for students.( Education Times / Times of India ) Before this initiative a language mapping survey by RSCERT showed that 20% of teachers wer

Always good to see classroom level research done in India, particularly when it focuses on the language issue. The focus of this research is on the influence of multilingualism on reading performance. It is a small study but good to note that it shows how  teaching in a familiar language has positive effects, and also that children who do not speak the majority language need extra support. TESOL Quarterly (Wiley online library) recently published a research  article titled the “Effects of Mother Tongue Education and Multilingualism on Reading Skills in the Regional Language and English in India.” The research  examined how mother tongue education and multilingualism  influences the reading skills and reading comprehension of 1272 Indian primary school children from low income homes. The study took place across three sites in India, namely Delhi, Hyderabad, and Patna. The main aim of the study was to assess if there was a relation between mother tongue education/multilingualism, and li

There is far too little research done on the impact of the choice of medium of instruction that is South Asia based. It is therefore worth noting a recent study done in Nepal on that issue. Data was collected from local government executives, head teachers, teachers and parents, Ministry officials etc. The study is affirming some of the things that the experts have been preaching (e.g. using the local languages increases engagement and learning), but also pointing at an important gap: There is a need for creating more clarity for teachers on how to use multiple languages in the classroom! A recent study was undertaken by UNICEF Nepal, CEHRD ( Center for Education and Human Resource Development ), UNESCO and the British Council in 2023. The full report  of this study called ‘Understanding the Impact of Languages and Language Policies on Children’s Learning Outcomes in Nepal’   was released by the British Council in December 2023. The study was aimed at understanding how languages used i