What you need to know about languages in education

UNESCO has been promoting multilingual education as a means to improve learning and learning outcomes and give life to linguistic and culture diversity since 1953 when a meeting of specialists in vernacular languages led to the Organization publishing the Use of Vernacular languages in education. Its position was strengthened in 1999 when the UNESCO General Conference adopted a resolution crystallising the definition of ‘multilingual education’ as the use of at least three languages: the mother tongue(s), a regional or national language and an international language. UNESCO promotes multilingualism, that is, the use of more than one language in daily life, which is normal practice in a multilingual context. Literacy programmes and methodologies respond to the needs of learners best when they are context-related, bilingual and support intercultural understanding within the framework of lifelong learning. (cf. The Education 2030 Framework for Action, Target 4.6, para. 59). Multilingual education based on the mother tongue (s) in the early years of schooling plays a key role in the transition from home to school and fosters respect for diversity. As such, multilingualism contributes to learning to live together, in line with Target 4.5 and 4.7 of SDG 4.

UNESCO produces studies and reports and shares promising practices that help advance the recognition of multilingual education, notably in early years of schooling, with the overall objective of supporting the achievement of SDG 4 on Education, and Target 4.5 and 4. 7 in particular. It also undertakes advocacy and awareness-raising work through the annual celebration of International Mother Language Day on February 21 (see below). Finally, UNESCO pays particular attention to the promotion of multilingual education in support of indigenous peoples. UNESCO participates in, and contributes to, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues (UNPFII). UNESCO is the lead agency of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous languages (IDIL). The Organization Intersectoral Task Team for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages has developed the Global Action Plan in cooperation with the Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages.

People’s ability and freedom to use their chosen language is essential for human dignity, peaceful co-existence and the general well-being of a society. In 2019, as a way of recognizing the challenges faced by indigenous people and the important role played by their languages in culture, knowledge, communication and education, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL) with UNESCO tasked to lead global efforts. Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among people missing out an education and their languages serve to exercise human rights, preserve history, customs and traditions and for freedom of personal expression and thought. IDIL is a global call to action to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages while mainstreaming linguistic diversity and multilingualism into sustainable development efforts. Through an online platform it aims to build a global community for indigenous languages, facilitate information-sharing on activities and events organized all over the world, promote relevant resources and tools, report and monitor progress made, and create new opportunities for exchange and dialogue. #WeAreIndigenous #Indigenouslanguages. 

Each year on February 21 UNESCO celebrates International Mother Language Day (IMLD) highlighting different aspects of linguistic diversity and multilingualism. IMLD, an initiative from UNESCO member State Bangladesh, promotes the importance of multilingual education and cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies. Multilingual education based on mother tongue (s) is still an exception in many countries and regions of the world. Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand.  At the same time linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear.