Multilingual Education and India

© Abhishek Scariya Visiting local NGOs sometimes reveals hidden gems. When I was at the Asha Kiran Society in Southern Odia last week, they talked about a study they did six years ago to compare children in their MLE classes with children who had only regular school inputs.  While studies of these may not be at the quality of a scientific  paper, they do help us by providing a peek into the positive impact Multilingual Education has. Here are some learnings from their  internal report.  The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions to global education, forcing primary school students to endure six to eight months without proper classes or structured educational inputs.  This provided Asha Kiran with an opportunity to do a unique study - to check for ‘retained learning’ - after 6 months of no formal educational inputs! In November 2022 the Asha Kiran Society in southern Odia conducted a small, quasi-experimental study to see whether the children who had gone through ...

I t is in the first years of education that the foundation is laid. It is therefore important to make well informed decisions on what languages should be used in Anganwadis (early learning centres) and pre-primary schools. Good that the last LEAD-India Community of Practice gave that attention! On 31st March, the LEAD India Community of Practice hosted an online session on Multilingual Education (MLE) and Early Childhood Education. The session brought together experienced experts: Dr. Shilaja Menon (Tata Trust),  Sunisha Ahuja (LLF- Language Learning Foundation), and Dr. Marcy Voss (Seidlitz Education). The speakers shared important ideas about how young  children learn best in a familiar language in their early years (primary and preprimary). Dr. Shailaja Menon spoke about how people’s mindset has changed over time as earlier, bi-lingualism was seen as a problem while learning. Today, it is seen more as a strength as learning in multiple languages helps children think better ...

For years we have said that basic training in multilingual education is needed in Hindi.  Last month this finally became a reality.  Though quite small scale,  a good step in the right direction to equip teachers,  trainers and NGO staff.   The recent Hindi MLE and Translanguaging Course, hosted by Nirmaan in partnership with SIL in Udaipur Rajasthan, provided an intensive, week-long professional development opportunity for educators to explore the intersections of multilingualism and classroom pedagogy. The workshop was structured to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical, "on-the-ground" teaching strategies. Participants consisted of direct MLE practitioners, implementors, teachers, researchers from across Indian states such as Assam, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Jharkhand, Maharashtra , SCERT officials from Rajasthan.  Participants began the week by grounding themselves in the fundamentals for Multilingual Education (MLE), exploring learning theori...

I’m glad to pass along an opportunity that will be of interest to many working in multilingual education: a  Hindi-medium Multilingual Education (MLE) Workshop  has been scheduled for  April 6–11, 2026 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. This workshop will be especially meaningful for those who are managing MLE projects, designing multilanguage teaching programs, teachers and all those who want to learn more about multilingual education. The format is a  four-day MLE workshop , followed by a  two-day training on Translanguaging pedagogy. 👉  Registration is now open.( Form link ) Please watch  Nirmaan’s page  for updates and further details. Please share the workshop banners widely within your networks. —Karsten,  On behalf of the  LEAD-India Steering Committee