Reflections on Implementing Multilingualism: Insights from Teachers
On 29 November 2024, the research team met with teachers to reflect on their experiences implementing multilingualism in their classrooms. The discussion was rich with insights, highlighting successes, challenges, and innovative strategies to further support the project’s goals.
Some key observations:
Motivating Students to Use Their Home Languages:
Many students, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, have limited active use of their home languages and only receptive skills, making engagement challenging.
Teachers observed that modelling language use in Nepali encouraged students to mirror this in their ethnic languages, demonstrating the potential of teacher-led strategies.
Integrating Home Languages Beyond the Classroom:
Assignments like creating bilingual dictionaries, where students consulted family members, proved effective in connecting classroom learning to their home environment.
Project work involving students’ home languages, discussed the following day in class, fostered a sense of continuity and relevance.
Challenges of Language Diversity:
Students question the need to use their ethnic languages in English lessons, preferring to communicate in English, especially for mathematical terms.
Public displays of students’ home languages were proposed as a way to validate and celebrate linguistic diversity, potentially boosting their motivation.
Role of Translanguaging:
English-Nepali translanguaging is the most common practice, as there are few students fluent in their home languages.
Students who share the same native language tend to use it among themselves, but those unfamiliar with their home language show little interest in engaging.
This reflective session has provided us with valuable insights to refine our strategies and continue supporting inclusive multilingual education.
