How to make bilingual classes work

‘If I study in the English medium section, I can learn both Kannada and English’. This response of an eight-year-old child who was studying in Class 3 in the Kannada medium section in a government school where an additional English medium section was opened last year intrigued me. How and why did the child get this feeling? Are children deprived of opportunities to learn English in Kannada medium schools? This is a serious question we need to ponder over in the backdrop of parental aspirations, societal demands and the quality of English language education imparted in schools.

The government introduced English medium sections in 1,000 schools last year. However, offering English as the medium for studying core curriculum seems to have thrown some challenges to students as well as teachers.

Rote learning

On my visits to a few schools, I saw that children could write their names in English but surprisingly they could not do so in their own language(s). Children were so used to choral drills that they could not stop when asked to do so in the middle of an activity. For example, when I asked a child, ‘What is your name?’, he replied ‘My name is Chandan’. Then I asked another child, ‘What's your teacher's name?'. He said, ‘My name is Jacintha’ (which was the teacher’s name). Also, children were able to repeat rhymes, short stories and structures but lacked comprehension. They did not seem to know the meanings of simple words. Children could do simple math problems given in the textbook. When a similar problem was given using other numbers, they were not able to understand and solve the problems, clearly indicating that these classrooms practised memorisation and rote learning.

Children were able to repeat rhymes, short stories and structures but at the expense of comprehension. They did not seem to know the meanings of simple words such as ‘in’, ‘out’, ‘under’, ‘above’, ‘inside’, ‘outside’, ‘near’, ‘far’, etc., which have been introduced in Maths lessons.

Children could do simple math problems (adding and subtracting single digit numbers, identifying smallest and biggest numbers, etc.) given in the textbook. When a similar problem was given using other numbers, they were not able to understand and solve the problems. This was a clear indication of memorisation and rote learning that was being practised in these classrooms.

It is important to provide opportunities for children to speak, interact with the teacher and with the peer group, in whichever language they are comfortable with, in the classroom. Students should be involved in genuine communication and encouraged to participate in classroom activities.

It is time we adopted dual medium education in these ‘English medium’ schools. In these dual medium bilingual sections, two languages should be used simultaneously and purposefully for teaching and learning in order to achieve higher learning outcomes. UNESCO supports bilingual and/or multilingual education at all levels of education as a means of promoting both social and gender equality and as a key element of linguistically diverse societies.

Jim Cummins, a well-known second language educator, claims that enhanced conceptual and vocabulary development in the first language (L1) favours the child’s academic achievement in the second language (L2). This is because knowledge and thinking skills that have been acquired in L1 are transferred to L2. He further argues that if a child’s competence in the L1 is not sufficiently developed, extensive exposure to the second language in the early years of schooling may affect further development of the L1, as well as limit the development of the L2.

We must remember that it is very distressful for children to learn a language whose structure, format and grammar they do not understand and at the same time grasp scientific, mathematical and linguistic concepts in the 'unlearned' language.

There are several different models followed in other countries where bilingual medium is in practice. In one such model, the lesson begins in L1, the next part of the lesson is in L2 (English), the third part of the lesson is in L1 again. The next day the sequence of languages is switched around. In another model, the lesson is taught in L1 on the first day and the same lesson is taught in L2 the next day. These are examples for purposeful uses of code-switching (not translation method) in the classroom. It is found that in these ‘dual language bilingual schools’, students achieve higher levels of overall academic success than students who study through only one language.

If English only approach is adopted, the other language(s) will not be valued and as a result students’ communicative competence in the other language(s) will decrease and the other language(s) might slowly disappear. If children are not allowed to use their home language(s), they might stop speaking altogether. It is reported that ‘the rate of language development is related to the quality and quantity of contact with the language’.

Flexible language approach

The National Education Policy 2020 advocates a flexible language approach in the classroom. It is stated that ‘teachers will be encouraged to use a bilingual approach, including bilingual teaching-learning materials, with those students whose home language may be different from the medium of instruction to ensure smoother transition from the home language to the medium of instruction’. It is also suggested that the bi/multi-linguality of our classrooms should be cherished and celebrated by conducting ‘language weeks’, ‘language melas’ and weekly language school assemblies which will help in developing bi- and multi-literacies and multi-competence in children.

There are several ways to make bilingual classrooms academically and cognitively enriching and challenging to students. The following are a few such strategies:

Giving opportunities for children to talk about their life experiences rather than confining to the textbook content
Using bilingual dictionaries and reference books
Creating bilingual print-rich environment
Using bilingual story telling methods
Making the best use of the bilingual textbooks to teach core subjects namely Mathematics and Environmental Science
Playing games and fun activities in other languages for 15 to 20 minutes everyday
Relating stories, songs and rhymes in one language to other languages and cultures
Asking open-ended questions that build genuine conversation in the classroom

In this regard, it is essential to conduct teachers’ capacity building programmes to enhance their English levels and develop appropriate classroom practices. Training teachers in language-supportive pedagogy will help them make better classroom decisions to facilitate learning and achieve better learning outcomes. It is important to develop a flexible approach and an appropriate model that suit the local context and help in developing L1 as well as L2 skills and mainstream curriculum knowledge.

(The author is a professor at Regional Institute of English, Bengaluru)