Classroom typology to to guide multilingual education teaching strategies
Having many languages in one classroom can be enriching but also challenging, especially because every classroom situation is different. A teaching typology can help bring clarity by identifying common language situations and linking them to suitable teaching strategies. This work is meant to start a conversation, and feedback from teachers, teacher trainers, and policymakers is warmly welcomed on how it can be improved.
In the Linkedin article “An MLE Typology that Fits the New Narrative,” we state that today’s classrooms can no longer be understood through a simple “one home language → one school language” model; instead, we must recognise that there are many contexts where students speak multiple different languages and where no single shared language exists between teacher and learners. A classroom typology can help to identify the relevant difference in classroom situations:
© 2026 Karsten van Riezen
This framework helps make sense of what we see in India’s recent Teaching Learning Practices Survey (TLPS 2025), discussed in the previous blog. The national survey of 1,050 Grade 1–2 classrooms across nine states shows that while 73% of teachers report knowing their students’ home languages, this also means that more than a quarter (27%) do not, pointing to classroom situations where teachers lack access to learners’ home languages. At the same time, only about 10% of teachers consistently use home languages to support comprehension and participation, suggesting that although linguistic diversity is widespread, it is rarely used as a teaching resource. Together, these findings point to frequent home–school language mismatch and classroom conditions similar to Typology IIIb and IV. By clearly describing these classroom types, the typology also makes it possible to think more carefully about which teaching strategies are suitable for which situations, rather than using one approach for all contexts:
© 2026 Karsten van Riezen
We are seeking feedback and inputs to further refine this work, and readers are encouraged to share their reflections or examples from their own contexts by responding to the LinkedIn post.
Regards,
Karsten, in collaboration with Upasana Lepcha
Resources:
Photo source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mle-typology-fits-new-narrative-karsten-van-riezen-4zm5c/?trackingId=DEhhR3xWToij1WJWoH9IDQ%3D%3D