Language in Education: Multilingualism in Indian Classrooms

All Things Policy

With 22 scheduled languages and 19,500 languages and/or dialects in India, multilingualism is a reality in all aspects of life. India's classrooms are not an exception; teachers navigate through a number of languages while teaching. The United Nations estimates that nearly 40% of the global population does not have access to education in a language they understand or speak (UNESCO, 2016). This has implications on how much and how well students can learn. There is widespread evidence about the effectiveness of mother tongue instruction in early years; students need strong foundational skills to be able to succeed. The National Education Policy's (NEP 2020) focus on using children's own language as a medium of instruction especially in early years is only likely to make education more accessible and inclusive. However, to teach classrooms that have multiple languages at play, teachers require pedagogical skills that help them facilitate learning in their classrooms. In this podcast episode, we attempt to explore the enablers, challenges and the teacher’s role in a multilingual education system.

Reading:

Multilingualism and multiliteracy (MultiLiLa) research project | British Council

References:

Multilingualism and multiliteracy (MultiLiLa) research project | British Council

More than 19,500 mother tongues spoken in India: Census | India News - The Indian Express

If you don't understand, how can you learn? - UNESCO Digital Library

ASER-2023-Main-Findings_Final-22.2.24-1.pdf (asercentre.org)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this episode belong solely to the individuals and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation(s) they are a part of or associated with.

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