Event Highlights: Launch NSI 11 - Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities

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Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities

ARABIC FRENCH PORTUGUESE SPANISH POSTER

On 14 May 2025, NORRAG hosted the online launch of its eleventh NORRAG Special Issue (NSI11), titled Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities. The event was chaired by Moira V. Faul, NORRAG’s Executive Director, and opened with an introduction by one of the guest editors, Prem Phyak (Teachers College, Columbia University), who laid out the central purpose of this NSI: to explore the transformative possibilities that multilingualism brings to pedagogy and curriculum, and to critically assess the role of language in decolonising education. 

Phyak introduced two contrasting models of multilingual education—monoglossic and transglossic—and emphasised how contributors to NSI 11 engaged with these models in diverse contexts. The key, he noted, is recognising which multilingual model works best under which local conditions. 

The event featured presentations from five contributing authors representing varied geographic and educational settings: 

• Basile Ndoubalo (ProQEB-Enfants du Monde, Chad) shared findings from his work titled “Rendons la Place aux Langues et Cultures Africaines à l’École [Let’s Make Way for African Languages and Culture at School],” advocating for the integration of African languages and cultures into school curricula. He presented evidence showing that multilingual education in Chad led to a 40% higher exam success rate compared to monolingual models. 

• Aparna Dixit (Independent Researcher, India) presented on multilingual pedagogy for Adivasi (a collective terms for Indigenous peoples, meaning earliest dwellers or inhabitants) children, arguing that “reculturing” educators rather than learners—that is, deeply shifting educators’ beliefs in students’ capacities—can significantly improve learners’ skills and engagement. 

• Eliakimu Sane (University of Dodoma, Tanzania) discussed how, despite an English-only policy in Tanzanian secondary schools, informal multilingual teaching practices are emerging organically among teachers. These practices foster better student engagement by bridging linguistic disconnection between schools and the communities they serve. 

• Fr. Cornelius Wambi Gulere (Hellenic College/Holy Cross, USA) focused on Uganda and the integration of indigenous language training in higher education. He underscored that multilingual education enables epistemic access, strengthens cultural identity, fosters inclusivity, and contributes to the broader project of decolonising education. 

• Fernigil L. Colicol (Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Philippines) addressed grassroots advocacy for the implementation of the Mother-Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) policy. He emphasised the importance of continued civil society pressure to ensure effective implementation and institutional accountability. 

Following the presentations, a virtual roundtable and Q&A session featured contributions from additional guest editors Angeline M. Barrett and Anthony A. Essien. Discussion topics included the low rates of transition from primary to secondary education, often due to unsupportive language transitions, and the need for epistemic justice in curriculum design. Panelists argued for the right of learners to access knowledge in their mother tongues, enabling deeper understanding and educational inclusion. 

The event concluded with reflections from guest editor Barbara Trudell (SIL Global, USA), who reminded participants of the need to continuously ask: “What is happening? And then, what is really happening?“ in language policy and classroom practice. 

This NORRAG Special Issue, drawing on research and practice from 21 contexts across four continents, offers a robust exploration of the role of language in transforming education systems. The NSI 11 publication and the recording of the event are available online with captioning in multiple languages. 

Programme

• Opening
  • Moira V. Faul, NORRAG, Switzerland
• Editors’ presentation
  • Prem Phyak, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA
• Authors’ presentations
  1. Rendons la Place aux Langues et Cultures Africaines à l’École –  Basile Ndoubalo, ProQEB-Enfants du Monde, Chad
  2. Navigating Multilingual Pedagogies in Primary Education for Adivasi Children in India
     – Aparna Dixit, Independent Researcher, India
  3. Multilingual Practices in Tanzanian Secondary School Classrooms – Eliakimu Sane, University of Dodoma, Tanzania
  4. Promoting Linguistic Diversity in Ugandan Higher Education: Integrating Indigenous Language Training – Cornelius Wambi Gulere, Hellenic College/Holy Cross, USA
  5. Mother-Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) Policy and Its Implementation in the Philippines: Challenges, Advocacies, and Prospects – Fernigil L. Colicol, Mindanao State University Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Philippines
• Conclusion
  • Barbara Trudell, SIL Global, USA
• Closing remarks
  • Moira V. Faul, NORRAG, Switzerland

Interpretation in Arabic, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Russian will be provided.

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