NSI 11 : Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities
Launch Event:
Wednesday 14 May 2025
14:00 to 15:30 CET
Online
– more information coming soon
Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities
Multilingualism is simply a matter of fact in many nation-states. Multilingual societies require multilingual education if they are to provide accessible, quality and equitable education for all. Despite this need, the 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report indicated that up to 40% of learners across the globe lacked access to education in a language they could comprehend or articulate. The need for multilingual learning is supported by research across various disciplines, demonstrating the cognitive benefits of acquiring literacy in a first language before learning a second language and the value of respecting the knowledge systems, culture and identities of minoritised peoples. Nevertheless, providing effective multilingual education is far from straightforward. NSI 11: Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities addresses the major challenges and opportunities inherent in implementing multilingual education in ways that respect learners’ rights to education (UDHR §26; ICESCR, §13, 14; CRC § 28, 29), cultural expression (UDHR §27; ICESCR, §15) and livelihoods (UN 1948, UDHR §23; ICESCR, §6).
The guest editors, Angeline M. Barrett, Rachel Bowden, Anthony A. Essien, Prem Phyak and Barbara Trudell, have curated a selection of 23 articles from 46 contributors across four continents that explore the multifaceted challenges and opportunities of multilingual education in 21 diverse contexts the majority of which are characterised by histories of colonial oppression that involved marginalising and minoritising autochthonous languages. The authors analyse how the effects of these colonial pasts persist in contemporary classrooms around the world and how they affect the learning opportunities of millions. The authors examine the impact of language policies on learning outcomes, inclusion of minorities, cultural rights, sustainability, life chances and livelihoods. The authors highlight the benefits of mother-tongue-based instruction—particularly in combination with other languages—while addressing the complexities involved in the politics, policy and practice of implementing multilingual education. The articles in this issue address the challenges involved in language transition, such as those involved in the shift in the language of instruction from a learner’s first language to their second, and propose strategies to mitigate these challenges. Several case studies in this Special Issue illustrate successful ways of implementing multilingual education, emphasising the importance of culturally respectful pedagogy, translanguaging (or moving fluently between different languages) and appropriate paper-based or digital teaching materials.
The authors underline the need for pre- and in-service training for teachers to develop both the technical skills and normative orientations necessary for developing effective and inclusive curricula, pedagogies and assessments that support learning progress across all subjects and in all languages relevant to their students. Nevertheless, effective multilingual education cannot be achieved in the absence of sufficient resources. The authors advocate for policies and practices that recognise multilingualism as a lived reality in the Global South and North and also as an asset that must be promoted if equitable access to quality education is to be provided and to foster inclusion and social justice.
Overall, this collection of articles constitutes a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers and practitioners looking to fulfil the transformative potential of multilingual education. Part 1 explores the relationship between language practices in schools and the communities they serve, examining how multilingual education can create inclusive spaces. Part 2 focuses on first-language (or mother tongue)-based multilingual education programming in primary schools and emphasises literacy in children’s first languages as a crucial starting point for a gradual transition for their learning of—or in—a second language. Part 3 unpacks the theories and practices of language transition in basic education systems in which the main language of learning and teaching is not the learner’s first language and explores pedagogical innovations designed to support multilingual learners. Part 4 investigates multilingualism’s potential to enhance inclusion in higher education and teacher professional learning, thereby contributing to more equitable societies. Part 5 examines the links between multilingual education policy, planning and curriculum implementation, discussing the systemic nature of multilingual education. By addressing both the theoretical and practical challenges of multilingual education, this volume contributes to the growing body of literature on how to create more just and equitable education systems for all learners.