Contextualizing reading instruction with oral language interventions in India and Bangladesh

• In Event: Adapting instruction to context: Global case studies on how language and culture shape the teaching of reading

Proposal

In both India and Bangladesh, many children are expected to acquire literacy in a language that is not their own., In India, many states have Hindi as the medium of instruction, but the children often speak a dialect or another local language at home. The country also boasts over 400 minority languages. India’s neighbor Bangladesh, meanwhile, is often perceived as a ‘monolingual’ country, where the overwhelming majority of the people speak Bangla as their mother tongue. However, this perceived homogeneity belies the diverse forms of speech across social classes and geographical regions. Hence, many children in Bangladesh do not have access to education in a language familiar to them. Lack of attention to language diversity in both India and Bangladesh poses massive challenges to literacy outcomes and continued learning.

Little research to date exists on minority languages in India and Bangladesh, exacerbating the poor academic performance of children who speak these languages. To fill this research gap, Room to Read conducted a socio-linguistic study in Rajasthan, India to analyze the language structure and understand language choice and language use of the marginalized communities. The socio-linguistic study highlights community members’ changing preferences for language depending on context, including medium of instruction, home life, and the market. What’s more, language preference depends on perceived language hierarchy and social stigma. Overall, the study indicates that the multilingual communicative practices mediated by translanguaging is more the norm than the exception in these contexts.

This presentation will highlight key findings from the sociolinguistic study conducted in the Sirohi District of Rajasthan, India, demonstrating how language use, choice and attitude among parents, teachers and students shape the language environment. The presentation will go on to describe Room to Read’s interventions to promote oral language skills Rajasthan, India and Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, highlighting how these interventions tap into a rich oral heritage, including folklore, riddles, songs, poem, that exist in the communities in the form of oral culture.

The presentation will also highlight how Room to Read created a conducive environment for children of different language backgrounds by creating space for home language (L1) in the classroom transactions and by sensitizing and capacitating teachers. Room to Read encourages the use of home language in the classroom to help children learn the medium of instruction. It is hoped that Room to Read’s model will be applicable to the work of other conference attendees who seek to enhance inclusivity for learners in multilingual environments.

Author

• Mohammad Mazharul Karim, Room to Read