The delivery of instruction in two languages is called

Multilingualism is good for us. Not only does speaking more than one language keep our brains healthy as we age, but it has multiple benefits for children too, such as giving them an academic advantage and improving their employment prospects once they leave school. Moreover, multilingualism gives us access to more than one culture and improves our understanding of our own cultures. 

But what does this mean for classroom teaching, especially in school contexts that equate English language proficiency with academic success? How can teachers harness the benefits of their students’ multilingualism, while simultaneously helping them to develop the academic language they need to succeed?

A team of Australia-based educational researchers has embraced this challenge by working with the British Council to produce a groundbreaking collection of multilingual classroom activities. These activities are aimed at teachers who work with English as a subject or use English as the medium of instruction in low-resource, multilingual classrooms. The team comprised researchers from the University of South Australia, Griffith and Macquarie Universities, all of whom have extensive experience of teaching in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts, including sub-Saharan Africa, northern Africa and southeast Asia. Two team members explain what lies behind the publication.

For many years, teachers of English have been told that using student’s home languages in English lessons should be avoided at all costs

A growing body of research literature shows that drawing on students’ home language and cultural backgrounds in classroom teaching validates their identities and provides a strong foundation for additional language learning. Yet the reality for many multilingual students, especially English language learners, has been that their home languages are left at the classroom door or regarded as an obstacle to the development of the language of schooling and learning in general. For many years, teachers of English have been told that using student’s home languages in English lessons should be avoided at all costs. 

Language as a resource 

Multilingual classrooms are a growing phenomenon around the world, as a result of rapid increases in global mobility and migration. Within these classrooms, students may have different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, may speak one language at home and another language at school, or be learning the language of instruction as an additional language. International agencies such as UNICEF, UNESCO and the European Commission contend that multilingual education can play a significant role in engaging diverse learners. As well as supporting academic success, classrooms that promote multilingualism can foster positive identities associated with their home cultures. This position is supported by Richard Ruiz’s notion of “language as a resource” (1984) which advocates for the use of students’ home languages as resources for learning and teaching. In practice, a language-as-resource perspective implies that teachers should use students’ home languages as a tool for thinking and communication while simultaneously learning and developing proficiency in the language of instruction. Nevertheless, English still overwhelmingly dominates lessons in many classrooms throughout the world where students read, write, listen and speak only in English. Despite considerable research pointing to the importance and benefits of incorporating multilingual pedagogies into classroom practice, there are few materials available to educators that explain how this can be done deliberately and systematically in lesson planning and lesson delivery.

Signs of change 

Happily, in recent years, publications, conferences and professional development materials have advanced thinking about the medium of instruction and ways to approach teaching that challenge the “national/official language-only” view.

Using multilingual approaches: Moving from theory to practice

A new British Council publication, Using multilingual approaches: Moving from theory to practice, reflects the growing body of research evidence showing that preventing learners from using their home languages in the English language classroom not only impedes learning and denies their linguistic human rights, but also loses valuable opportunities for teachers to draw on their students’ knowledge and experience as resources for teaching. This collection of activities was developed in response to the British Council’s conscious decision to promote multilingual approaches to teaching English internationally. The activities are designed to acknowledge learners’ home languages and cultures when teaching English as an additional or foreign language or using English as the medium of instruction in multilingual classrooms. The activities are grounded in research-based pedagogic principles, briefly outlined below.

Funds of knowledge in the language classroom

It has long been recognised that one of the key characteristics of high-quality teaching is the ability of teachers to engage students’ prior understandings and experiences and background knowledge. This prior knowledge is encoded in their home languages, and therefore it is vital that teachers facilitate the transfer of both concepts and skills from students’ home languages to English. 

This view of language is complemented by Luis Moll’s notion of ‘funds of knowledge (1992), which refers to the rich bodies of cultural knowledge that exist within students’ households and communities. Moll argues that when teachers tap into this type of knowledge by building relationships with their students and their wider social networks, they allow for meaningful learning opportunities. Teaching practices that tap into multilingual ways of reading, writing and speaking allow students to access the cultural resources that enhance the personal significance of their classroom work, as well as expanding access to knowledge through texts in more than one language.

Purposeful translanguaging

One of the most successful approaches to bilingual teaching and learning has been the purposeful and simultaneous use of two languages in the same classroom, a process that is referred to as translanguaging. The activities in this collection break new ground in being designed to enable teachers to constantly draw on and make use of students’ emergent bilingual skills. The activities are designed in a planned and purposeful way to encourage students draw on the most appropriate linguistic resources they have, allowing teachers to design intercultural and inclusive lessons that support English language learning but also draw on learners first languages and their community and family funds of knowledge. 

The activities were workshopped with and piloted by teachers in India, who applied them to their own classrooms and provided rich feedback and valuable ideas. This short film explains more about the process and rationale behind the resource.

Project leader, Associate Professor Kathleen Heugh sums up the social significance of the project in her observation that: “Forbidding a child to use his/her language is a violation of their rights, and deeply problematic for their future. We cannot afford to have students marginalized, feeling lost and falling out of the school system. Using students’ home languages, bringing in their own knowledge systems to the classroom should be the most important aspect of any school language policy”. 

Luis C. Moll, Cathy Amanti, Deborah Neff and Norma Gonzalez (1992) Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms, Theory Into Practice, 31:2, 132-141.

Richard Ruíz (1984) Orientations in Language Planning, NABE Journal, 8:2, 15-34.
 

There are more than 7,000 known living languages and most children grow up in an environment where more than one is spoken (Wisbey, 2017). However, studies show that almost 40 per cent of children do not have access to an education in a language they understand and this is negatively affecting their learning (UNESCO, 2016). Many countries still prioritize national or official languages (second language) as the medium of instruction, which are often not the languages children speak at home (Kosonen, 2017). The importance of language of instruction for a quality and equitable education is recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals. Thematic indicator 4.5.2 reports on the percentage of students in primary education whose first or home language is the language of instruction (UIS, 2018).

What we know

Children learn best when the first language of instruction is their mother tongue (Benson, 2004; Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Pinnock, 2009a, 2009b). Results of learning assessments show that when home and school languages differ there is a negative impact on test scores. (UNESCO, 2016). According to an analysis of SACMEQ III data in 2010, there is a positive correlation between speaking the language of instruction and pupil achievement, especially in reading (Trudell, 2016). Using the mother tongue in the classroom has been found to enhance classroom participation, decrease attrition, and increase the likelihood of family and community engagement in the child’s learning (Trudell, 2016). In order to enhance their learning, students also need access to inclusive and culturally relevant curriculum and learning materials in a language with which they are familiar (Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Mackenzie and Walker, n.d.; Pinnock, 2009b; UNESCO, 2016). 

Most research now concludes that learning achievement is enhanced when children are taught in their mother tongue for at least the first six years of primary school before the second language, the main language of instruction, is introduced (Ball, 2011; Benson, 2004; Pinnock, 2009a, 2009b; UNESCO, 2016). Bilingual and/or multilingual education has been found to increase a student’s self-confidence and self-esteem (UNESCO, 2016). In bilingual models, students continue to use both mother tongue and second language as languages of instruction for a range of academic subjects throughout primary and secondary schooling (Ball, 2011; Pinnock, 2009a). If the transition from mother tongue to second language is too rapid, the risk is that students will not attain full mastery of either language (Benson, 2004; Pinnock, 2009a). Mother tongue-based bilingual education – the use of the child’s mother tongue alongside a second language – is now the recommended strategy (UNESCO, 2016). 

Challenges

While many countries have a national language policy that supports the use of local languages, such policies are not always implemented in the classroom (Trudell, 2016). There may be a number of reasons for this misalignment: 

Perceived status of the mother-tongue language: In communities where many languages are spoken, there may be a disagreement about which language should be taught as the ‘majority language’. A minority language may have a lower status within the community, making acceptance of mother-tongue instruction more difficult as well as the reluctance of mother-tongue learners to use their language (Ball, 2011). 

Cost: There are widespread concerns about the high costs of local-language medium of instruction, but these are not always backed up by evidence (Trudell, 2016).  The rewards of schooling in local languages outweigh the costs, with gains in educational quality, lower attrition and drop out, and enhanced inclusion leading to savings from reduced school repetition and dropouts (Benson, 2004; Pinnock, 2009a, 2009b; Trudell, 2016, UNESCO, 2016). 

Lack of trained teachers: Local languages have been marginalized in many education systems, often resulting in a shortage of qualified teachers able to understand, speak and teach in a child’s mother tongue (Ball, 2011; Benson, 2004; Pinnock, 2009a). 

Unwritten and non-standardized languages: The level of written development of the local languages may raise issues as to their pedagogical suitability (Trudell, 2016). Language planning may be necessary in order to create or modify a language’s writing system, standardize spelling and usage, and, if necessary, expand the lexicon to include any missing vocabulary (Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Ball, 2011).

Inclusion and equity issues

Students are unable to receive support from their parents if they also do not understand the language of instruction. If a child’s parents lack familiarity with the language of instruction used in school this can further reinforce the gap between minority and majority language groups (UNESCO, 2016).

Children studying in an unfamiliar language face a double burden. Not only must they learn new academic concepts and skills, they must do so using words they do not understand (Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Pinnock, 2009b). There is strong evidence that use of the mother tongue in the initial years of schooling helps reach socially and educationally marginalised populations, improving their enrolment, attendance, and achievement (Pinnock, 2009b). Marginalization of indigenous communities in high-income countries is also visible in student assessments (UNESCO, 2016). 

Several studies show that offering instruction in the mother tongue has a positive impact on girls’ enrolment and transition rates, primarily because girls are less exposed than boys to languages outside the home and so face a tougher barrier when the mother tongue is not used in school (Benson, 2004, 2005).

Migration and displacement can affect education, requiring systems to accommodate those with migrant backgrounds who do not speak the language of instruction at home. A lack of knowledge of the language of instruction or the classroom language hinders the ability of refugee students to engage, learn, and communicate, and is a barrier to being included in national education systems, especially for older children and youth (UNESCO, 2018).

Policy and planning

Determining language policy: Comprehensive language planning requires an in-depth situational analysis of the sociolinguistic and educational context of the community. The analysis may include that a mapping exercise is needed to gather reliable and up-to-date information about which languages are spoken, read, and written; in which areas; at what proficiency level; and attitudes towards the language (USAID, 2015; Benson, 2016). Discussions would need to be held with a wide range of stakeholders, including education officials at all levels of the system, teachers, language specialists, nongovernmental organizations that support education, community representatives, parents, and school management associations (USAID, 2015; Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Pinnock, 2009a). 

Any language in education policy which is developed and implemented needs to be linked to the goals of the education system and support a country to reach its education goals in terms of learning outcomes, access and equity, and language proficiency (USAID, 2015; Ball, 2011). Monitoring and evaluation of the policy in terms of gains in learning outcomes is essential (USAID, 2015).

Teaching and learning materials: Availability of instructional materials in local languages also needs to be considered as part of the long-term planning process (USAID, 2015; Ball, 2011). Decentralised educational planning and budgeting can help countries develop their own local-language materials (Benson, 2004). Local communities can collaborate with government agencies and linguists to create mother-tongue materials (Ball, 2011; Benson, 2004; Pinnock, 2009b). Basing materials on standardised templates produced in the national or official language can be rapid and cost-effective, since it uses centralised technical expertise in curriculum development, illustrations, formatting, and other elements (Mackenzie and Walker, n.d.). Open educational materials and technology can help make instructional materials more widely available (UNESCO, 2016). 

Teacher preparation: Teacher training and recruitment should be aligned with the languages and instructional approach (USAID, 2015). This may include recruiting teachers who are fluent in the language of instruction (Ball, 2011), training teachers to teach specific subjects in a target language (USAID, 2015), and deploying teachers to schools where their language proficiency aligns with those of the pupils (Ball, 2011). Ideally, teachers should be trained to teach in two languages and use local language materials effectively. Some countries, such as Ecuador and Mali, have introduced specialized teacher-training programmes to deliver bilingual education (Maurer, 2010; UNESCO, 2016). 

The role of the community: Community members, who are fluent in the children’s mother tongue, may be recruited and trained as paraprofessional teachers in the short term if no trained teachers are available (Ball, 2011; Bühmann and Trudell, 2007; Mackenzie and Walker, n.d.; Pinnock, 2009a, 2009b; UNESCO, 2016). Hiring teachers from minority language communities can also help widen children’s horizons and raise their ambitions. 

Pre-school/out-of-school language preparation: It is often particularly difficult for children who are members of linguistic and ethnic minorities to gain access to high quality early childhood education that prepares them for primary school. Culturally appropriate school-readiness programmes provided to children as they make the transition into primary school can improve learning outcomes. Accelerated learning programmes in the local language delivered in non-formal settings can also help disadvantaged children catch up (UNESCO, 2016).