On July 12 & 13, British Council India, the University of Cambridge and the University of Reading hosted a two-day event on ‘The languages of education in multilingual India: exploring effects on reading and mathematics’ in New Delhi.
This dissemination event is a key part of the MultiLila project, led by the University of Cambridge, with co-investigators from the University of Reading, Jawaharlal Nehru University, English and Foreign Languages University (Hyderabad) and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Karnataka, in co-operation with the British Council and other key Indian partners, including the Language and Learning Foundation.
This is an ESRC and DfID-funded longitudinal project which aims to explore the development of multilingual children’s learning and cognitive abilities in a range of contexts. The three research sites are Delhi, Hyderabad and Bihar. Data collection is underway with approximately 1000 child participants (Standard IV) already in the database. Final research findings are expected to be reported in 2020.
Through this project, the research partners aim to provide objective and verifiable data on the effects that mediums of instruction (language use in the classroom) can have on children’s learning outcomes and learning skills. Secondly, the project is exploring whether or not there are significant differences in the learning attainment of children attending schools in more deprived areas of urban settings (Delhi and Hyderabad) or rural areas (Bihar), along any significant differences between girls and boys. Finally, the researchers are also investigating the role of teaching practices, methodologies and attitudes towards multilingual practices in the classroom. Data is being collected through a variety of tests completed by the learners, questionnaires completed by teachers and head teachers and classroom observations.
This project benefits from a unique partnership between UK and Indian institutions, which have shared interests in generating evidence that will enable better policy making, informed debates around language in education and help to improve teaching practices in the language-rich context of India.
Comments Alan Gemmell, OBE, director India, British Council, “Appropriate use of English in education systems has been part of our global charter. In the last 70 years it has been a privilege for us to have played a modest part in India's global progress by supporting aspirations of its young people who want the English language for accessing higher education, and for social, geographic and economic mobility.
English has one of the highest number of loan words from Indian languages and it is only natural that it has become one of India’s languages. It has also become an essential skill in the 21st century, an “operating system language” across the world.
This research project will provide further evidence for our belief in multi-lingualism and the role that mother tongues play in early years of education. Today, we work with states across India to support their economic growth and knowledge ambitions through teacher training and skills programmes for young people. English plays a key part in that work, but not at the cost of people's mother tongues and other tongues.”
Speaking at the event, Atishi Marlena, prominent Aam Admi Party member, said, “The medium of instruction and how well it is internalised by the student determines how well the child is able to learn. If the medium of instruction is understood well, there is no disconnect between the student and the syllabus, which ultimately leads to better performance at school. Learning a language properly leads to better school performance, better economic opportunities and social mobility. We commend the British Council on researching this crucial subject and eagerly await the research findings.”
More information about the project can be found on https://www.mam.mml.cam.ac.uk/.