Offering first-language-first education to immigrant children in developed countries has gained attention due to the unique challenges these students face.
Some suggest that providing instruction in their first language initially, as part of multilingual education (MLE) programs, could help ease their transition.
By recognizing and respecting their linguistic and cultural backgrounds, these programs aim to create a supportive learning environment where students feel more comfortable and confident.
While this approach may contribute to the preservation of heritage languages, implementing MLE programs present other potential benefits and challenges.
The focus was on ten tribal languages: Santali, Saora, Kui, Kuvi, Koya, Kishan, Oroam, Juang, Bonda, and Ho.
Allowing code-switching in schools with high English learner (EL) populations can increase the potential for enhanced English-learning and academic performance.
[4] Private and public schools in countries like the United States offer Mandarin Chinese and other global languages.
[5] The Socrates Schools in Montreal provide an example of multilingual education, with students taught in French, Greek and English.
Overall, these findings suggest that teacher education programs should offer better training on language skills and effective strategies for teaching multilingual students.
Some schools or educational systems may struggle to acquire sufficient resources to effectively establish and sustain these programs.
Assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of these programs is crucial, but accurately measuring language proficiency and content knowledge presents a challenging task.
Multilingual Education in India, The Case For English Edited by Dr MAhendra Kumar Mishra and Prof Anand Mahanand published by Viva Books, New Delhi 2016. id21 insights.
Available online at [1] Multilingual Education in India, The Case For English Edited by Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra and Prof Anand Mahanand published by Viva Books, New Delhi 2016.