Multilingualism in classrooms will increase learning outcomes

Over 30% of children enrolled in primary schools in India face a moderate to severe learning disadvantage because they are taught through a language they do not speak or understand when they first join school.

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These include children belonging to Adivasi communities in remote habitations; children in interstate border areas; children of migrant labours, including seasonal migrants; children who speak languages that are considered 'dialects' of the standard language used at school but are different (for example Bagheli, Wagdi, Bundeli-speaking children who study through Hindi), and of course, those children who study in English-medium schools without an environment of support for the language at home.

Learning in schools happens using language, whether it is children talking, listening, thinking, collaborating with other children, reading, or writing. Research shows that learning through a familiar language that children understand well promotes self-esteem and confidence that is so crucial for early learning, supports the learning of additional languages, makes classrooms more active and learner-centered, results in better comprehension and learning in all subjects, and promotes creativity, expression, higher order thinking, and reasoning.

Sense of familiarity

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for the Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) 2023 emphasise the use of children's first language or the most familiar language in the initial learning phase. Students can be exposed to second and third language sequentially over time. The NEP also promotes natural exposure to multiple languages for children from an early age since children can acquire oral languages easily.