Multilingualism and Multiliteracy (MultiLila)

Multilingualism and Multiliteracy: Raising learning outcomes in challenging contexts in primary schools across India

Project Introduction

The Multilingualism and Multiliteracy (MultiLiLa) project is a four-year research study (2016 –2020).  The project aims to assess cognitive abilities known to underpin learning and thought processes of children educated in challenging contexts in India. It will explore the complex dynamics of social, economic and geographical contexts and how these affect the delivery of quality multilingual education in India. The research will focus on a range of factors affecting educational quality in India (e.g. availability of mother-tongue support in school), teaching practices and their effect on the development of critical thinking and problem solving abilities, and on structural and social factors.

Project Methods

Principal Investigator:  Professor Ianthi Maria Tsimpli

Co-Investigators (India):
National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Karnataka (Prof. Suvarna Alladi);
The English & Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad (Dr Lina Mukhopadhyay), and
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Prof. Minati Panda)
Co-Investigators (UK)
University of Cambridge (Dr Denes Szucs), and
University of Reading (Prof. Theodore Marinis and Prof. Jeanine Treffers-Daller)

Project Partners

Funding:  ESRC Research Grant No.:  ES/N010345/1

FINDINGS

The MultiLiLa project aims to identify whether or not children who learn through the medium of a language which is not the same as their home languages have different levels of learning outcomes than those children whose home and school languages are the same.  Data has been collected in Delhi, Patna and Hyderabad, from children in Standards IV and V.

A total of 2500 children were assessed on their literacy, numeracy and cognitive skills.  Classroom observations were also done in their schools to explore teaching practices and how languages are used during English and mathematics lessons.  The data tells us that:

  • The number of languages a child speaks at home and whether any of them are also used at school has an effect on the child’s school and cognitive skills.
  • Poverty, lack of rich print exposure at home, and migration do not necessarily create cognitive disadvantages.  Children living in slum areas in Delhi either did not differ or in some cases, outperformed, children living in non-slum areas.  The slum/non-slum distinction did not seem to lead to significant differences in most data from the Hyderabad children.  In Patna, there were no differences between children in non-remote rural areas and children in the town areas in Hindi literacy skills, but there were differences in non-verbal IQ with town children performing better.
  • Children from Hyderabad showed a strong positive relationship between aspects of cognitive skills and knowing and using many languages.
  • The teachers in all three sites used multiple languages as an informal strategy to support learning.  Language mixing is used more frequently than the official medium of instruction – both in English medium and regional-language medium schools.
  • The majority of lessons observed involved mainly teacher-centred practice which did not encourage children to demonstrate their understanding or skills in a meaningful way.

Project Final Reports

MULTILILA RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Using children's home language(s) in the classroom improves their learning and development of social value.
  • All schools in India have multilingual learners.  Teachers need training in how to use multilingual approaches to teach students concepts in different subject areas and to support them to learn new language(s).
  • Using everyday language to explain mathematics and other academic concepts can aid understanding and learning.
  • Children should be encouraged to communicate their understanding in their preferred or strongest language(s), so that any lack of proficiency in the stated medium of instruction does not impede learning of key concepts.
  • School systems need to recognise the resilience that children from disadvantaged contexts develop.  It is important to build classroom practices on the strengths of the urban and rural poor – including their specific cognitive (e.g. multilingual and applied mathematical knowledge) and metacognitive (awareness of this knowledge) skills.
  • Decisions around language use in the classroom cannot be separated from classroom practices that encourage and support learning for all – appropriate language use and effective teaching strategies are equally important.
  • Teachers can use storytelling techniques in multiple languages.  This uses learners' multilingual resources and develops a deeper level of conceptual engagement and social cognition.  This can support children to be proficient multilingual users for academic purposes, generating knowledge and enabling the application of ideas.