The Language you Learn in
Many years back, I spent a day observing the teacher handle a third grade classroom of a Marathi medium school in Mumbai. She would write something on the board in Marathi, explain it, switch to Hindi to explain it again and take questions in both Marathi and Hindi. Occasionally, I even recognized a few words of Kannada and Telugu.
I was intrigued by the babble of languages in that classroom, and when I asked the teacher about it, she told me that more than half the students were children of migrant workers from all parts of the country and didn’t know Marathi.
Why are they in a Marathi medium school when they don’t know Marathi, I asked. Her smile told me that there was a pecking order even in Government schools. The better off or better connected children went to English medium schools, the rest to Hindi medium schools, and the most marginalized (including children of migrant workers) could only get admission in the Marathi medium schools.
And that is the reality we cannot ignore when we debate what the medium of instruction should be, given the linguistic diversity of India.
A large part of India is constantly on the move, or potentially on the move. There are multiple languages that a child needs to contend with- mother tongue (the language mentioned in official documents), home language (the language most often spoken at home), local language (the language associated with the place of domicile). Additionally, there is Hindi which is a de factor ‘link language’ in the North and West, and English which has traditionally been the passport to a better life.
Which of these multiple languages should be the medium of instruction, assuming every student has the freedom to choose?
Given the fact that fluency in English is critically important both in accessing quality higher education, and in enabling more livelihood options, it is tempting to say that English should be the medium of instruction for all.
However, the answer is not so simple.
Concepts are best learnt in the language which the student is most familiar with. It could be the mother tongue or the local vernacular, but it is almost certainly the language that is spoken most at home.
[I know a family from North Karnataka which came to Mumbai as construction workers. Their ‘home language’ is neither Kannada nor Marathi; it is Hindi, which is the language that the children use when conversing among themselves, and which the parents picked up from their children.]
At an age when students are struggling with mastering basic literacy and numeracy, teaching concepts in an unfamiliar language is the best way to ensure the students develop a dislike towards learning and education.
It is this that the National Education Policy (NEP)is addressing when it says “wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother-tongue/local language”. NEP is not exclusionary as is popularly interpreted; it merely advises that students be taught in a language they are familiar with.
[Here, it is important to clarify that while the medium of instruction can be the language with which the student is familiar, technical terms are best taught in English. For instance, a student has never heard the word ‘गुरुत्वाकर्षण’, so instead of introducing a new word to the vocabulary, it is best to teach the word ‘gravity’.]
Once the basics of literacy and numeracy have been mastered, and the foundation for the other subjects is laid, the student is best equipped to learn English, if that has not already been the ‘home language’.
NEP, actually, does just that. It clearly states that “Students whose medium of instruction is the local/home language will begin to learn science and mathematics, bilingually in Grade 6 so that by the end of Grade 9 they can speak about science and other subjects both in their home language and English. In this regard, all efforts will be made in preparing high-quality bilingual textbooks and teaching-learning materials.”
The intent is clearly laid out. ALL students will necessarily be encouraged to be proficient in English, something which is not the case currently. And this certainly makes more sense than forcing a primary school student to learn a language that is completely alien to her. The challenge is certainly in the implementation, and that is where civil society’s main focus should be.
It is tempting to say, as many have, that to reduce inequity in the system, English should be the medium of instructions for everyone. What they do not realise is that the move will in fact, increase the inequities in the system. The teachers who have the ability to teach in English will not necessarily know the local language. They will, therefore, be unable to translate concepts into a language which the students can understand. This leads to students learning by rote, without understanding even the most basic concepts. While this may lead to marginal proficiency in English, you will only create a generation of students who have not learnt even the basics, thereby feeding back into the vicious cycle of inequity.
Two things, however, need to be clarified.
To introduce English in grade 6 is too late. It should be introduced as the second language from grade 1, so by the time the student comes to grade 6, there is enough familiarity with the language to make bilingual teaching successful.
Arabic numerals should be used while teaching Mathematics regardless of the medium of instruction. This practice has already been adopted by many State Boards and should be made compulsory in states where it hasn’t yet been done.
To summarise, given the linguistic diversity of the nation, and the fact that people are constantly on the move,
- vernacular schools are of limited relevance in communities where there is a significant (out of state) migrant population
- it is imperative to create a viable link language to ensure equitable access in light of urban migratory trends; English serves this purpose best
- most of the learning happens in the language with which the student is familiar, and that language should be the medium of instruction for building the foundation
The National Education Policy attempts to address some of these issues. It is imperative for civil society to ensure proper implementation. Also, it is critical that the position of English is not diluted, and every student be given full access to the language, as spelt out in the Policy.
