Multilingual Education Research Articles

Effects of Language Policies of Nigeria and South Africa on Linguistic Diversity and Classification of Indigenous Languages

This study investigated the effects of language policies implemented in Nigeria and South Africa on linguistic diversity and how these two nations categorized their indigenous languages. In this present study, qualitative research methodology was used, and a purposive sampling method was used to select Nigeria’s 2013 Language Policy from the National Policy of Education and South Africa’s 1996 Language in Education Policy. Thematic analysis was carried out using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) software which is a topic modeling methodology that assists in identifying basic themes within wide textual data. The latent level of analysis converged on the implicit ideas, suppositions, notions, and orientations that describe or point out the meaning of the data. The action of incorporating LDA software intensifies the efficiency and level of the qualitative research methodology used to critically examine the language policies of Nigeria and South Africa. The results revealed that the language policies in Nigeria and South Africa have a notable influence on linguistic diversity, supporting the principles of translanguaging and multilingualism. Also, the policies give priority to the inclusion of indigenous languages in education to improve unity and preserve cultural heritage. With a careful survey of language policies and their significance, the results give important and useful recommendations on the increase of inclusivity in language policies for the preservation and promotion of linguistic diversity in different cultural environments. Native languages should be given a notable preference in language policies so that there will be room for the use of translanguaging and multilingual pedagogies in the school systems. Keywords: Inclusive Education, Indigenous Languages, Language Policy, Linguistic Diversity, Multilingualism, Translanguaging

Multilingual Educators in Superdiverse Rural Schools: Placing Administrators and Teachers’ Cultural and Linguistic Wealth at the Center of Rural Education

Multilingual Educators in Superdiverse Rural Schools: Placing Administrators and Teachers’ Cultural and Linguistic Wealth at the Center of Rural Education

Introduction to the Special Topics Issue on Rural Multilingual Education

Introduction to the Special Topics Issue on Rural Multilingual Education

Current Scenario of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, launched in July 2020, aims to reform India’s education system, making it more flexible, inclusive, and aligned with global standards. Three years into its implementation, significant progress has been made, particularly in school and higher education. The 5+3+3+4 school structure is gradually being adopted, with an emphasis on multilingual education, experiential learning, and vocational training. In higher education, the introduction of multidisciplinary institutions and the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) has provided greater flexibility. Teacher training initiatives and technology integration through online education platforms have gained momentum, but challenges persist. These include the digital divide, insufficient infrastructure, funding constraints, and variability in state-level implementation. The success of NEP 2020 hinges on overcoming these obstacles and fostering coordinated efforts between central and state governments. While the policy has set the foundation for a transformative shift, sustained investment and robust implementation are necessary to realize its full potential in creating a future-ready, equitable education system in India. Keywords: School Education, Multilingual Education, Curriculum Overhaul, Vocational Education, ABC, Online and Digital Education.

Global Citizenship and Multilingual Education in the Glocal Era

Global Citizenship and Multilingual Education in the Glocal Era

Understanding EMI and CLIL: Literature review

Exploring educational contexts, this literature review examines the distinctions between English Medium Instruction (EMI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). While both instructional styles aim to enhance language proficiency alongside subject knowledge, they also exhibit distinct pedagogical approaches, objectives, and implementation strategies. The main emphasis of English-Medium Instruction is on delivering material, with a secondary focus on developing language skills. Content and Language Integrated Learning effectively combines subject and language goals, ensuring thorough integration of both aspects. This review meticulously analyses recent studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced differences and similarities between EMI and CLIL. Employing a systematic approach, various academic databases, such as Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, Google Scholar, and JSTOR were exhaustively searched using targeted search terms to identify pertinent research published from 2010 to 2024. The findings illuminate various aspects of each approach, offer valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers, and highlight the implications for teacher training and institutional support. It emphasizes the importance of a profound understanding of these instructional differences to make well-informed decisions tailored to specific educational settings and goals. Such knowledge is crucial for contributing to the evolving discourse on bilingual and multilingual education strategies and enhancing educational outcomes in diverse learning environments.

Students independent work in genetics in a multilingual education setting

Students independent work in genetics in a multilingual education setting

Survey on the Attitudes of School Community Members Regarding the Role of the Language(s) of Schooling in the Integration Process of Pupils with an Immigrant Background in Slovenia

In terms of integration policy, Slovenia is considered a country that promotes the integration of children with an immigrant background into schools as quickly as possible. However fast the integration process may be, languages always play a key role in the education of pupils with an immigrant background and teachers need to adapt to their different language needs and literacy levels. Furthermore, it is important that teachers use teaching methods that promote pupils’ linguistic development in their mother tongue as well. In this paper, we present the results of research on the role of languages of schooling in the success of all pupils in Slovenian primary education institutions, with a focus on those with an immigrant background. To achieve this goal, we conducted an anonymous survey (n = 78) among teachers and support staff and interviewed principals from nine Slovenian primary schools. The main aim of the survey and interviews was to investigate the status and understanding of the role of the languages of schooling in the context of the newly proposed cognitive-inclusive language didactics based on collaborative learning. The study found that while school staff recognise the importance of multilingual education and linguistic integration, there are significant gaps in training and support mechanisms for teachers. Although schools generally support the use of multiple languages, there is a lack of cross-language awareness and visible promotion of multilingualism in the school environment. The findings of the study suggest the need to introduce comprehensive, standardised training and support for teachers that focuses on improving cross-language awareness and inclusive educational practices, which can ultimately lead to better integration outcomes for immigrant pupils and enrichment of the educational environment for all members of the community.

The impact of multilingualism and socio-economic status on academic performance: evidence from the SCAMP and the national pupil databases

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of multilingualism and socioeconomic status on academic performance within the UK, utilising data from 3,213 pupils from the National Pupil Database who also took part in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). We employed multilevel modelling to analyse the relationship between language experience, socioeconomic status and Key-Stage 2 (KS2∼11 years) and Key-Stage 4 (KS4∼16 years) performance in English, Mathematics and Science. Findings reveal that multilingual learners initially face academic challenges at KS2, particularly in English and Science, but achieve comparable results with monolingual peers by KS4, overcoming early setbacks. Notably, simultaneous multilinguals not only catch up but excel beyond their monolingual counterparts by KS4, demonstrating the significant long-term academic benefits of early multilingual exposure and /or its associated cultural factors. Further analysis indicates that multilingual group membership mitigated the adverse effects of low socioeconomic status, with pupils from these backgrounds making substantial academic strides between KS2 and KS4 compared to monolingual peers. This challenges prevalent misconceptions about multilingualism in education. These findings underscore the need for educational policies that harness linguistic diversity to foster academic equity and success, emphasising the crucial role of language experience and socioeconomic factors in shaping educational outcomes.

Sharing and comparing languages – how teachers and pupils co-construct language comparison interactions

ABSTRACT By focusing on differences and similarities between languages, pupils can increase their learning of abstract principles, metalinguistic awareness and language learning strategies (Duarte, J., & Günther-Van der Meij, M. (2018). A holistic model for multilingualism in education. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 5(2), 24–43; Star, J. R., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2009). It pays to compare: An experimental study on computational estimation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 102(4), 408–426). However, research has demonstrated that the possible benefits of multilingual approaches, such as language comparison, might be limited due to the nature of the classroom interaction in which these approaches are implemented (Rabbidge, M. (2019). The effects of translanguaging on participation in EFL classrooms. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 16(4), 1305–1322). By using conversation analysis, the current study aimed to gain more insight into how teachers and pupils co-construct language comparison interactions in whole class conversations. Both the conversational structure and the teachers’ practices to stimulate pupils’ active contribution to the interactions were analysed, demonstrating a dominant conversational structure consisting of two key components. Dialogic and non-dialogic participation frameworks could be identified with the first providing pupils more opportunities to actively participate and contribute their own language comparisons than the latter. This study provides interactional evidence for the role of language comparison in making use of pupils’ diverse languages and has direct implications for teachers’ ways of shaping participation frameworks to stimulate home language use in the classroom.

ICT Enabled Education: An Analysis in View of the National Education Policy, 2020, India.

In the 21st century, the demand for the use of ICT in education has increased rapidly as it has improved the way to be effective. The Indian Cabinet approved the new National Education Act and the sustainable development goals of the 21st century on July 29, 2020, after 34 years. The policy recognizes the need for and importance of information and communication technology across education to support research and innovation and to improve multilingual teaching, assessment, educational planning and management. The policy focuses on the creation of digital libraries, the creation of a virtual learning center with lending in financial institutions, and the creation of the National Technical Education Forum (NETF) to ensure effective use of technology and transparency of school management. This article discusses various aspects of NEP 2020, namely, use of ICT in Education with special focus on Higher Education.

Ethical dilemmas of translanguaging pedagogy in L2 and basic literacy education for adults: social justice and ethics of care

ABSTRACT This paper explores the ethical challenges and possibilities of conducting responsible and transformative translanguaging pedagogy in adult education for second language learners with limited previous experience of schooling. We identify and explore ethical dilemmas in teachers’ interaction and multilingual teaching practices. The data was produced in a linguistic ethnography and action research project. It consists of classroom observations and interviews with teachers who teach in the programme Swedish for Immigrants (SFI). The teachers express and embody ambivalence in relation to the students’ use of their whole linguistic repertoires and the students are not always treated as competent to make informed decisions about their own use of linguistic repertoires. This touches on issues of citizenship and democracy and here the framework ethics of care offers context-specific ways of understanding and responding to the ethical challenges of multilingual teaching.

Linguistic Diversity in Southeast Asia and Its Impact on Multilingual Education

The Southeast Asian region exhibits a rich and diverse linguistic landscape due to its diversity. This paper aims to explore the linguistic diversity of Southeast Asia and its impact on multilingual education. By providing an overview of the main languages in Southeast Asian countries, this paper analyzes the challenges language differences pose to society, culture, and education systems. In terms of multilingual education, the paper studies various strategies adopted by Southeast Asian countries and evaluates the effectiveness of these strategies in preserving and promoting linguistic diversity. Finally, the paper presents several suggestions aimed at strengthening the multilingual education system in Southeast Asia to better address the challenges posed by linguistic diversity.

TEACHER MULTILINGUAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM: IMPLICATIONS FOR COURSE DEVELOPMENT

The CEFR and the Companion Volume to the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001, 2020), as the main language policy documents in Europe, intend to improve the standard of language teaching, learning and assessment. These documents among other things proclaim students’ diverse linguistic repertoire as an asset in the language classroom. In this light, the promotion of multilingual education initiatives and enhancing students’ plurilingualism is an educational requirement. Teachers, language teachers included, are seen as agents of change who can foster multilingual approaches in their language classrooms (Krulatz et al., 2022). Although previous studies have found that many language teachers hold favourable views on multilingualism, they face challenges when implementing multilingual approaches in the (foreign) language classroom. Teachers’ beliefs on multilingualism in (foreign) language teaching and learning and how these impact their teaching practices have not been investigated in the Ukrainian education context, which has always been multilingual. The purpose of the article is to share and discuss the results of a quantitative study designed to investigate Ukrainian teacher beliefs in learning English and whether these beliefs are reflected in teaching practices. Data were collected using an online questionnaire administered to 73 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from 12 Ukrainian universities. The research questions were ascertained using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The collected insights helped to identify areas that require a more careful consideration in the multilingual education in Ukraine. The outcomes reveal complex and uneven relationships between teacher multilingual beliefs and the implementation of multilingual practices in EFL classrooms in Ukraine, with discrepancies in their perceptions and practices. The main finding suggests that the majority of Ukrainian language teachers have a favorable perception of multilingualism, yet they lack the required expertise and confidence to effectively build on their students' linguistic resources in teaching English. In addition, there are some critical gaps in teacher understanding of fundamental concerns about multilingualism. Suggestions will be made for a scenario-based approach to a teacher professional development course.

Revolutionizing patient education with GPT-4o: A new approach to preventing surgical site infections in total hip arthroplasty.

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a common surgical procedure known for its generally positive outcomes, but it also comes with the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs), which can result in significant complications and higher healthcare costs. Effective patient education plays a vital role in reducing these risks, as well-informed patients are more likely to take preventive measures and identify early signs of complications. The advent of advanced language models like GPT-4o has opened new avenues for patient education, potentially revolutionizing the way information is delivered and understood. This research letter explores the utility of GPT-4o in enhancing patient education specifically related to SSIs following THA. The capabilities of GPT-4o include offering tailored educational materials, providing 24/7 availability, facilitating humanized interactive learning, and supporting multilingual education. These features significantly improve patient understanding, engagement, and adherence to preventive measures, enhancing the overall quality of healthcare services. However, challenges such as equitable access, language and cultural barriers, and data privacy must be addressed. Utilizing GPT-4o's advanced AI capabilities can revolutionize patient education, thereby decreasing the incidence of SSIs and enhancing postoperative recovery for THA patients.

THE USE OF ENGLISH MEDIUM INSTRUCTION IN MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOMS IN JAPANESE LANGUAGE TEACHING

Purpose. This article examines the use of English medium instruction (EMI) for teaching Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) by non-native speakers with a focus on multilingual classrooms. It also explores teachers’ positive and negative beliefs about using EMI in classroom settings for JFL instruction. Methods and procedure. 274 non-native Japanese language teachers from around the world (57 countries) voluntarily participated in a survey, answering a questionnaire on Google Forms and Jotform. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. The research instrument was piloted before the main study and was found to be effective and adequate to elicit the desired data. The research questions aimed to identify whether there were any relationships between the use of EMI and the multilingual classroom. Findings. The results showed a clear correlation between the extensive use of EMI and the multilingual character of JFL classrooms. Translanguaging turned out to be a common practice adopted by non-native Japanese teachers regardless of the primary language of instruction. The article concludes that EMI can be a valuable tool for JFL instruction in multilingual classrooms. Based on the investigation of the teachers’ beliefs, the results showed a changing positive attitude towards English employed in JFL classrooms. Implications for research and practice. The findings can be used to further investigate EMI in JFL instructional practices in multilingual classrooms, improve the quality of JFL instruction and facilitate the integration of multilingual education into foreign language teaching. Future research can explore the effectiveness of EMI in different JFL contexts and investigate the impact of EMI on students’ language learning outcomes.

Profiling the multifaceted identities among multilingual Tibetan college students learning Chinese and English in Xizang

ABSTRACT Language identity has a significant effect on language learning. However, the complex and multifaceted language identities of multilingual learners, especially those from ethnic minority groups such as Tibetan learners in China, remain underexplored. Using Q methodology, this study examined the construction of Chinese, English, and multilingual identities among 48 Tibetan students (25 English majors, 23 non-English majors) studying at a college in Xizang. Five distinct identity profiles emerged: two for the English majors and three for the non-English majors. The results revealed Tibetan students’ strong identification with Chinese and pragmatic views of English and multilingual competencies, especially in terms of career advancement. Further, some students from both groups constructed a general multilingual identity beyond any individual language, in contrast to some non-English majors, who had a more passive outlook toward English and multilingualism due to limited confidence and/or interest in language learning. The findings underscore the need for nuanced language education strategies tailored to diverse identity profiles. The implications of enhancing multilingual education in Xizang and other similar contexts are provided.

Racialised identities of multilingual teachers: stories, experiences and agentic action of Indonesian teachers in Australian schools

ABSTRACT In a context of increasing deficit discourses about multiculturalism and multilingualism, this study examined the racialised identities of multilingual Indonesian teachers in secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Informed by the Douglas Fir Group Framework (2016), the study unpacked teachers’ socio-cultural, and linguistic trajectories in schools to understand the ways in which they navigate, negotiate, and resist their racialised identities at micro, meso, and macro levels of activity. Through semi-structured interviews with six Indonesian teachers teaching Bahasa Indonesia in NSW schools, the study focused on three broad dimensions, namely: (i) teachers’ perceived racialised identities in connection with their students and colleagues in schools (micro); (ii) the perceived institutional practices that reproduce racialisation and marginalisation (meso); and (iii) the broader societal factors that contribute to ‘self’ and ‘other’ racialisation (macro). Thematic analysis of the interview data reveal that teachers identify systemic ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ that essentialise their racialised identities, Additionally, the racialisation of Indonesian language teachers in broader societal contexts is influenced by systemic factors, including language policies and institutional structures. Findings suggest that despite the pervasive forces which perpetuate monolithic thinking in schools, teachers engage in agentic action that seeks to resist and overcome their racialised identities.

:Language Issues in Comparative Education II: Policy and Practice in Multilingual Education Based on Non-dominant Languages

:<i>Language Issues in Comparative Education II: Policy and Practice in Multilingual Education Based on Non-dominant Languages</i>

Developing, validating, and piloting a MultiTeachViews questionnaire on L1 and translation use: Attitudes of Kazakhstani secondary school EFL teachers

This study developed, validated, and piloted a MultiTeachViews questionnaire to investigate secondary school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' attitudes towards multilingual teaching practices such as L1 and translation use. Initially, a literature review and focus group interview with six in-service EFL teachers were conducted to capture prevailing attitudes and inform content areas for the questionnaire. Items were then crafted, followed by the adoption of a 5-point Likert scale. Validation involved assessing internal and content validity through a structured checklist and expert evaluation. The pilot phase included think-aloud protocols with two teachers and a reliability test across a broader cohort of 100 teachers. Reliability testing yielded satisfactory Cronbach's Alpha coefficients (α > .70) for all scales, affirming the instrument's internal consistency. Consequently, the instrument is found to be a reliable and valid measure of EFL teachers' attitudes towards L1 and translation use in the classroom, with significant implications for Applied Linguistic and Second Language Acquisition research.•Developed, validated, and piloted a MultiTeachViews questionnaire for investigating attitudes.•Employed mixed methods in the development, validation, and piloting phases.•Found MultiTeachViews to be a reliable and valid measure of EFL teachers' attitudes towards multilingual teaching practices, such as L1 and translation use.