Multilingual Education and India

Languages matter: global guidance on multilingual education (UNESCO) In 1953, UNESCO published "The use of vernacular languages in education," a historical report advocating for the use of mother tongues in education. It was an influential document in promoting multilingual education. Over the years several other publications followed and this year a fresh report came out: Languages matter: Global guidance on multilingual education . It is good to note that in this report India is mentioned several times with positive examples. Let's hope that also this time the report will help to move us all a bit closer to the desired situation where children can learn in a  language they are comfortable with before transitioning to a dominant language. As this was the 25th anniversary of the International Mother Language Day (21st February, 2025), UNESCO released a report, Languages matter: Global guidance on multilingual education which expresses the urgent need to include multili...

The international mother language day usually triggers the publishing of multiple articles on language. This year there were also several relevant publications related to multilingual education . We picked 5 for you that might be of particular interest. The following articles highlight recent developments, offering valuable insights into multilingual education's role in enhancing student learning, cultural identity, and social inclusion. By examining these articles, we can understand the impact of these changes and how they align with the goals of UNESCO’s multilingual education guidelines. The combination of policy developments, local movements, and scholarly perspectives makes this an important time for MLE advocates to continue pushing for greater linguistic inclusivity in education systems. 1. UNESCO's Global Guidance on Multilingual Education: A Valuable Resource A new UNESCO publication on multilingual education came out on International Mother Language day "Languag...

A joint conference between government, civil society and universities is always good for cross fertilisation. The   British Council focused the yearly School Education Conference this year on multilingual pedagogy and practice in school education. At these conferences a significant number of teachers attend: a good way to interact with the multilingual classroom realities! The School Education Conference 2025, held on February 4, 2025, in collaboration between the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the British Council, was a pivotal event focusing on "Enhancing Multilingual Pedagogy and Practice in the Classroom." The conference aligned with India's National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE), emphasizing the transformative role of multilingual education in fostering inclusive and effective learning environments. Conference Highlights: Theme: The central theme revolved around integrating multil...

Assessment of the progress that children make in learning can be a hot topic. For government officials it can be something they are held accountable to, for parents it can make them evaluate the school and even more important: for teachers it can help them know how well the children are doing. But little is known on how to do assessment in a multilingual classroom. This new publication with guidelines is therefore more than welcome, especially because it is based on real classroom experiences and founded in solid theoretical frameworks. It is a good start as I am sure much more will be learned over the coming years as the reality of multilingual classrooms is more embraced! The UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok and UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office have released the document "Guidance for the Classroom-Based Assessment of Multilingual Learners: Assessing Languages, Literacies, and Learning across the Curriculum."   This publication is designed to empower multilingu...