Promoting Literacy in Multilingual Settings

The Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) in the United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) Bangkok is supporting pilot mother-tongue/bilingual literacy projects in nine countries – Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. Each project has undertaken research with the participation of linguists and community members, prepared context-specific literacy materials using mother-tongue/bilingual approaches and trained local people in the use of these teaching/learning materials in order to facilitate effective learning by community members. A regional workshop on mother-tongue/bilingual literacy programmes for ethnic minorities was organised by APPEAL, UNESCO Bangkok, in order to present the research.

From the foreword:

"This publication, Promoting Literacy in Multilingual Settings, presents the outcomes of this workshop. It begins with two resource papers: one focusing on linguistic diversity, literacy and education, and the other on approaches to education in ethnic minority communities. Experiences from the nine countries participating in the UNESCO pilot project follow. The second half of the publication focuses on aspects of multilingual education programme development that were identified during the workshop as being particular challenges for participating countries. These topics include developing low-cost and effective materials, training community teachers, and using appropriate teaching methods. Ideas and approaches for effective multilingual education programme development, as well as examples of good practice in the participating countries, are included in these chapters."

The table of contents includes the following six chapters:

1. Linguistic Diversity, Literacy and Education
2. Education in Ethnic Minority Communities: Questions to Consider and Problems to Solve
   • Outcomes of Non-Mother Tongue Education Programmes
   • Factors Related to Language-based Exclusion
   • Making "Education for All" Truly for Everyone
   • Planning for Strong Multilingual Education
3. Multilingual Education Practice in Eight Asian Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, The Philippines, and Thailand
4. Developing Low Cost and Effective Materials for Multilingual Education Programmes
   • Research
   • Responding to Learning Needs
   • Writing Systems
   • Community-based Materials Production
   • Materials for Development
   • Types of Materials
   • Piloting and Testing Educational Materials
   • Reference Materials
5. Training Effective Community Teachers for Multilingual Education Programmes
   • Characteristics of Effective Teachers
   • Equipping Effective Teachers
6. Teaching Methods for Effective Multilingual Education Programmes
   • Teaching Reading and Writing Skills
   • Experiences in Thailand
   • Experiences in Cambodia
   • Methods and Materials for Teaching and Learning