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From Mother Tongue to Other Tongues: English-medium Schooling in Karnataka

On International Mother Language Day, A Giridhar Rao emphasises Kannada learning. This will also make children learn English better.

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International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is celebrated on Feb. 21. As the UNESCO website reminds us, ​“Today, 40% of the world’s population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand. In some countries, this figure rises to over 90%.” It is in this context that this post looks at a news report on the recent Karnataka decision to expand ​“bilingual sections” in government schools.

In these bilingual sections, teaching happens in both English and Kannada, or English and Urdu. (In the other sections of these schools, the Language of Instruction (LoI) remains Kannada or Urdu.) Apart from these bilingual sections, Karnataka also has a thousand or so Karnataka Public Schools where the LoI is English. The report informs us that, in all, there are 2,686 such ​“bilingual schools” – a mere 5.7% of a total of 46,757 government schools (primary and secondary) across Karnataka. The news report says some 600 more proposals for bilingual sections are being evaluated.

Image Source: Suyash Dwivedi — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
https://​com​mons​.wiki​me​dia​.org

A major concern is the shortage of teachers ​“who can effectively teach [in] the English medium”. In these bilingual sections (in these 2,686 schools), there is a 35% shortage of teachers. And, overall, in the state, there is a 23% shortage of teachers; 53,860 more teachers are needed!

So the urgent task seems to be appointing qualified teachers in the state – not just teachers who can teach in English, but many more teachers in Kannada. Teacher shortage has serious consequences. For example, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER; PDF) paints this dismal picture of the reading abilities of Karnataka’s schoolchildren. Take a look at column two in this table (p. 142):

This is the situation of students in Grade V (in government schools) who can read a Grade II text. In 2012, it was 47.2%. That is, less than half could do the task. By 2018, it had barely increased – to 47.6%. Then the pandemic struck, and in 2022, only 29.2% of students in Grade V could read a Grade II text!

Between the same years, the situation of students in Grade III is even more dire (p. 142).

From 21.2% in 2012, it dropped to 19.4% in 2018. Then, post the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the learning loss was so severe that only 7.7% of Grade III students could read a Grade II text. This learning loss has been meticulously documented by Azim Premji University’s ​“Loss of Learning during the Pandemic” (2021; PDF) which finds that:

92% of children on an average have lost at least one specific language ability from the previous year across all classes. Illustratively, these specific abilities include describing a picture or their experiences orally; reading familiar words; reading with comprehension; and writing simple sentences based on a picture. (p. 28)


In the ASER survey, remember that the survey is testing reading in Kannada. Imagine what the results are likely to be for reading in English!

The most effective path seems to be: Other Tongues through the Mother Tongue!

UNESCO’s theme for IMLD 2024 is ​“Multilingual education: A pillar of intergenerational learning”. As the Concept Note (PDF) says multilingual education:

enhances learning when the language of instruction is the learner’s first language… Learning in one’s first language facilitates understanding and interaction, and further develops critical thinking. It strengthens self-confidence and self-esteem and stimulates active participation. In addition to boosting learning, multilingual education contributes to opening the doors to intergenerational learning, the preservation of culture and intangible heritage, and the revitalization of languages.


Crucially, the note also adds: ​“The use of learners’ own languages for literacy and learning provides a solid pillar for education, and for transfer of skills and knowledge to additional languages.” 

Decades of research has shown this, of course. A recent overview is the 2021 World Bank report, Loud and Clear: Effective Language of Instruction Policies for Learning (PDF). Here is an unambiguous excerpt:

[Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)] promotes higher learning outcomes in a subsequent L2. Students who become proficient first in their L1 have a greater ability to subsequently learn an L2.… in South Africa, Taylor and von Fintel (2016) considered more than 9,000 primary schools and 800,000 student records. They found that ​“MTB-MLE instruction in the early grades significantly improves English as measured in grades 4, 5, and 6.” (p. 16 – 17).

Labor Market Value Does Not Indicate the Best Way to Acquire Language Proficiency. Especially in low resource contexts, children who start school in an L1 learn an L2 more effectively than students who start school in the L2. (p. 26).

Principle 4: Continue L1 instruction after an L2 becomes the principal LoI. Some L1 instruction continues to improve L2 performance in important ways even after the L2 becomes the language of instruction. (p. 54).


Thus, strengthening Kannada and other mother tongue education in Karnataka would bring all those benefits listed. Further, it would also enable better learning of English. The most effective path seems to be: other tongues through the mother tongue!

References

About the Author

A Giridhar Rao is an MA in Education faculty member at Azim Premji University. He teaches courses on multilingualism in education. He is also active in the Esperanto movement, and is a member of the Akademio de Esperanto. He blogs in English on Bolii and in Esperanto at Lingvo kaj vivo.

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