International Mother Language Day

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Establish partnerships with national and international organizations to provide technical expertise and resources that support the implementation and scaling of MLE programmes.  These collaborations can help ensure the sharing of best practices, facilitate capacity development, and strengthen the overall effectiveness and sustainability of MLE initiatives . Actions to further enhance partnerships include to:  • Promote multi-stakeholder cooperation channels with stakeholders from national, regional, and local levels. • Create knowledge exchange platforms to facilitate knowledge exchange and resource sharing between international and national organizations.  • Collaborate with universities and academic institutions on local research and educational materials development.  • Engage digital technology developers to create accessible learning solutions for all learners.  • Partner with international organizations, NGOs, and intergovernme...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Develop partnerships with local communities including Indigenous Peoples, to ensure culturally-relevant MLE programmes that enhance learning and promote diversity.  Practical steps to involve local communities include to:  • Actively involve Indigenous Peoples and local communities in MLE programme design , respecting their right to free, prior, and informed consent, and ensuring the curriculum reflects local values and traditions. See example in Box 40. • Formalise agreements with communities to define roles, responsibilities, and participation in MLE, including shared governance for decision-making.  • Implement capacity-building initiatives that promote two-way learning, where local and Indigenous community members enrich educators’ understanding of culturally relevant teaching practices, knowledge, and skills, while educators support the development of leadership, pedagogical, and curriculum design skills within the community.  • Collab...

 PRACTICAL ACTION : Strengthen relationships with parents, caregivers and communities to promote MLE and address potential concerns about its impact on learners’ development.  Key actions include to:  • Support outreach and engagement through community meetings, workshops, and informational sessions . Collaborating with headteachers, local NGOs, and respected community leaders can facilitate discussions on MLE.  • Develop structured communication channels with parents to keep them informed about MLE developments and gather their feedback, ensuring two-way communication and clarifying how MLE supports children’s learning and cultural identity.  • Encourage parental and caregiver participation in school activities , such as open houses, cultural celebrations, and language workshops, where they can observe MLE in action.  • Facilitate peer networks among parents to build a supportive community for MLE , including the formation of parent groups or workshops fo...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Integrate robust M&E systems within MLE programmes to better understand their impact on learning outcomes, attendance, retention and the broader educational experience for diverse language groups.  Practical actions include to:  • Disaggregate data by learners’ first or home language and correlate this with their school attendance and learning outcomes. Additionally consider the intersection of other factors such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, disability and geographic location to gain a deeper understanding of how these variables influence educational access and outcomes.  • Develop and review language-learning outcome indicators to track the relationship between learners’ language and their performance on foundational SDG 4 indicators (4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.6.3, and 4.5.2), using these for mid- and end-term national and regional reviews. The post-2030 framework should further deepen data on languages and education.  • Engage Indigeno...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Conduct a thorough situational analysis of the socio-linguistic and educational context to identify challenges and opportunities and use the data to ensure effective policy implementation and optimal resource allocation for MLE programmes.  Key practical actions include to:  • Conduct socio-linguistic research to assess learners’ language proficiency, spoken fluency, and literacy levels, while also evaluating attitudes toward mother tongues and other languages.  • Promote the collection of intersectional data which not only identifies languages spoken but also gender, age, socioeconomic status, disability, migration status, geographic location and other factors that can affect access to education, learning and opportunities.  • Address foundational questions for programme development to ensure a solid foundation for policy decisions, resource allocation, and stakeholder collaboration, and a sustainable framework for the MLE programme, includ...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Adopt inclusive teaching and learning strategies that accommodate and celebrate the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of all learners.  Practical steps to adopt inclusive learning methodologies include to:  • Promote culturally-responsive teaching strategies that respect and incorporate learners’ linguistic backgrounds , allowing them to engage their full linguistic repertoires for all subjects.  • Incorporate cultural contexts into lesson design , using content that makes learning meaningful and applicable to real-life experiences.   • Design programmes to meet the unique experiences and perspectives of migrant and refugee learners , including lessons tailored to different age groups and goals—such as adapting to the workplace for older learners

 PRACTICAL ACTION : Create culturally-responsive and inclusive learning spaces that promote social interaction and socio-emotional well-being, while acknowledging and respecting diverse learning styles, communication methods, and languages, thereby reducing anxiety and fostering a welcoming educational environment for all learners.  Practical steps include to foster social interaction and socio-emotional well-being include to:  • Create a culturally-responsive learning environment at acknowledges and respects the diverse communication styles, social norms, and values unique to each linguistic and cultural group within the school.  • Encourage inclusive participation by considering learners’ cultural comfort zones , incorporating group work, public speaking, and collaborative activities that boost confidence and foster a sense of belonging for all learners.  • Establish partnerships with local organizations and centres including museums, libraries, and communit...

 PRACTICAL ACTION : Create inclusive and welcoming educational spaces that enhance language development, cultural exchange, and the socio-emotional well-being of all learners.  Practical steps include to:  • Ensure multilingual signage across the learning environment , including classroom signs, labels, directions and informational displays. This exposes learners to different languages, fosters cultural appreciation, and promotes an inclusive environment. . • Designate language zones or spaces where learners can speak various languages freely , without fear of making mistakes. These areas encourage language practice, boost confidence, and support natural language acquisition.  • Organize flexible and inclusive seating arrangements that encourage collaboration and peer interaction , particularly between learners from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This setup facilitates inclusive learning and nurtures cross-cultural communication.

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Support teachers to implement pedagogical approaches in multilingual settings that foster a supportive, engaging, and culturally-responsive learning environment.  Key strategies to enhance pedagogical approaches include to:  • Deliver differentiated instruction, designing lessons that address varying levels of language proficiency among learners and ensure all learners can engage with the content. This may include scaffolding techniques such as visual aids, simplified language, or pre-teaching key vocabulary.  • Promote collaborative learning to support language development . Arrange mixed-language proficiency groups that encourage language exchange and mutual support, making content understandable and relevant for all learners.  • Implement collaborative teaching where teachers with similar or different linguistic backgrounds work together to enhance the development of language skills among learners.  • Integrate experiential learni...

 PRACTICAL ACTION : Strengthen teacher training to ensure quality, effective MLE, equipping both pre- and in-service educators with the skills to teach in both the mother tongue and official language(s). Ensure school directors and local education officials are aware of and, ideally, involved in the training to understand MLE, support teachers, and address potential questions from community members.  Key components of pre-service MLE teacher training include to support future educators to:  • Understand orthography and spelling conventions , as some trainees may have little or no experience reading and writing their own mother tongues.  • Present lessons using MLE materials and teaching techniques , with opportunities for constructive feedback.  • Expand access educational materials , such as flashcards, posters, big books, small books and games, to enhance the learning experience and draw on local culture.  • Apply assessment strategies that allow for t...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Recruit teachers based on their ability to effectively communicate with their learners. By employing teachers who are fluent in both the mother tongue and the official language, MLE can be strengthened while fostering inclusivity and cultural representation in the classroom. Considerations on teacher recruitment and deployment include to:  • Recruit multilingual teachers who are able to speak, read and write both the learners’ mother tongue and the official school language.  • Ensure a diverse educator mix, deploying teachers who represent the linguistic diversity of their communities and surrounding areas.  • Expand innovative teacher training pathways that provide entry points for aspiring teachers from Indigenous and local communities. See an example in Box 30. • Align teacher deployment with language fluency, ensuring that teachers are placed in schools where their language skills match the needs of the learners.

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Align assessment strategies with the principles of MLE to ensure that learners’ linguistic abilities are recognized as strengths and that assessments accurately reflect learners’ content knowledge, rather than just language proficiency.  Assessment strategies for MLE include to:  • Assess in home language : Provide learners with opportunities to be assessed in their home language or mother tongue, especially in the early stages of schooling. This ensures that assessments reflect content understanding rather than proficiency in the official school language. Consideration should also be given to the classroom language used for teaching.  • Emphasize formative assessment : Use a greater proportion of formative assessments (as opposed to summative assessments) to focus on understanding rather than mere knowledge retention. This approach promotes inclusive teaching practices and supports ongoing student development.  • Integrate diverse assessme...

 PRACTICAL ACTION : Develop reading, learning materials, and textbooks in learners’ languages, usually mother tongue or L1, to strengthen their literacy, reading and writing skills. Ensure materials are culturally relevant and contextually appropriate.  Key actions for developing MLE teaching and learning materials include to:  • Engage community members to develop culturally relevant, engaging materials that are clear, age-appropriate, engaging and resonate with local culture , including the use of illustrations that reflect local community traditions and knowledge and directly relate to the text.  • Seek community consensus on the subject specific vocabulary needed to teach subjects like mathematics and science in learners’ L1, ensuring terms are both linguistically accurate and culturally meaningful. • Expand access to digital resources to reduce printing costs, while enhancing the availability of materials that can be easily updated and shared.  • Integra...

Effective MLE curriculum design requires carefully crafted teaching materials and assessments that promote literacy and subject-area competencies, with assessments being supportive rather than summative and aligned with MLE goals. Integrating MLE into the curriculum  PRACTICAL ACTION : Integrate MLE into the curriculum with an emphasis on mother tongue education from the earliest grades. This approach builds foundational literacy and language skills while fostering respect for learners’ heritage languages and cultural backgrounds.  Key considerations include to:  • Encourage teachers and caregivers to use learners’ home languages exclusively in early childhood and pre-primary programmes.  • Introduce language skills systematically , listening before speaking, speaking before reading, reading before writing.  • Introduce learners systematically to additional languages , only after they have mastered the corresponding skills in their mother tongue, using similar ...

  PRACTICAL ACTION : Communicate the benefits of an MLE approach and raise awareness about the social and educational value of all languages in the country to foster local ownership and community engagement. Key strategies to raise awareness and mobilize stakeholders include to:  • Develop a multi-level communication strategy to foster broad support for MLE: At Community level : Dialogue with educators, parents, local leaders, and influential community members to promote local languages and MLE programmes. Actions could include hosting community events, informational workshops, or participatory discussions.  At District/provincial level : Engage education officials and media outlets to advocate for MLE implementation. Actions could include collaborating with district officials to share MLE information through regional platforms, encouraging local media to highlight MLE successes, and fostering regional advocacy for policy support.  Ar National level : Communicate wit...

PRACTICAL ACTION : Ensure that MLE is embedded in national education policy, ensuring sustainable and transformational change. Key steps to strengthen MLE policies and ensure they meet the linguistic and educational needs of diverse communities include to:  • Affirm MLE as a national policy priority , recognizing its role in improving educational quality, equity and inclusion and broader societal benefits.  • Conduct research on language use and educational needs , collecting accurate, context specific data language usage patterns, specific educational needs, and the relevance and effectiveness of current MLE initiatives to inform policy adjustments and improvements.  • Embed MLE and language development within lifelong learning policies , offering first language instruction beyond primary school into secondary, tertiary and adult education and as part of non-formal education initiatives.  • Integrate MLE into teacher recruitment and training , including policies r...

PRACTICAL ACTION : Formalize political commitments by embedding mechanisms for language rights in national education and legal frameworks, ensuring learners’ rights to receive instruction in languages that align with their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.  Actions promoted by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues (2017) include to:  • Respect language rights as fundamental human rights by ensuring that all persons have the right to receive education and other services in the language that they understand best. Ensure education policies protect this right, using local languages as a LOI wherever possible.  • Utilize the proportionality principle, guaranteeing equitable support for multiple languages by balancing resources and educational opportunities . • Promote tolerance, linguistic diversity, and mutual respect by fostering an education environment that values linguistic diversity and encourages understanding across cultures, including in curri...

 Our world is home to over 7000 languages - 80% of which originate in Africa, Asia and the Pacific. With increased migration, classrooms with learners who speak different home languages are increasingly the norm.

  Learning in a language that a student doesn’t speak fluently presents significant challenges. Yet, over a quarter of a billion learners lack education in the language they understand best . Multilingual education is a critical tool in addressing the global learning crisis .

 A strong education system is key to shaping active citizenship and developing a creative, skilled workforce . School language policies that fail to accommodate the linguistic needs of children, adolescents, and youth hinder national development and economic growth.

  Although there are initial costs for developing linguistically appropriate teaching materials and training educators, MLE is a wise long-term investment that improves educational outcomes and fosters a more inclusive society, benefiting both the economy and social cohesion.

E-books and digital learning tools are revolutionizing access to MLE, offering new opportunities for Indigenous, ethnic minority, migrant, and refugee learners . The digital age holds the potential to advance MLE, making it more accessible and effective .

  Multilingual education is not only crucial for young learners but also offer significant benefits for adults, equipping them with essential skills to access higher education and secure better employment opportunities, fostering lifelong learning.

  Up to 1,500 languages may disappear at the century’s end , erasing valuable cultural, historical, and environmental knowledge. Indigenous and marginalized language groups are leading efforts to revive and preserve their languages through education.

By embracing linguistic and cultural diversity , multilingual education fosters social inclusion, equity, and inclusion, driving progress toward sustainable development. It empowers individuals, strengthens communities, and promotes peaceful coexistence, ensuring that no one is left behind as we work toward a more peaceful, just and resilient world .

  The most successful multilingual education initiatives are those developed through partnerships between governments, NGOs, linguistic experts, local teachers, community advocates, parents, and other stakeholders. Collaboration ensures that solutions are culturally relevant, sustainable, and responsive to learners’ needs.

Recommended Action : Develop partnerships with local, national and international organizations to secure technical expertise, resources, and access to good practice to support the implementation, scaling, and sustainability of MLE programmes, while facilitating capacity development and strengthening overall effectiveness.

Recommended Action : Strengthen relationships with and ensure the meaningful engagement of parents, caregivers, and local communities, including Indigenous Peoples, to ensure culturally-relevant MLE programmes that enhance learning, and address potential concerns about learners’ development.

Recommended Action : Integrate robust monitoring and evaluation systems within MLE programmes to assess their impact on learning, attendance, retention, and the overall educational experience for diverse language groups.

 Recommended action : Create inclusive and culturally responsive educational spaces that promote language development, cultural exchange, social interaction, and the socio-emotional well-being of all learners, while respecting diverse learning styles and communication methods.

Recommended Action ; Strengthen training for both pre- and in-service educators to effectively teach in multilingual settings, ensuring school leaders support the implementation of culturally responsive, engaging pedagogical approaches.

Recommended Actions : Recruit teachers fluent in both the mother tongue and official language of instruction to enhance MLE, foster cultural and linguistic diversity and representation in the classroom.

Recommended Action : Develop culturally-responsive and contextually appropriate learning materials in learners’ languages, typically their mother tongue or L1, and align assessment strategies with MLE principles to .