"Multilingual Education: Challenges, Perspectives, Opportunities" (international conference)

• Thematic framework: Education
• Geographical outreach : International
• Types of project: Research and Analysis
  

Summary of the activities
The International Conference on Multilingual Education will bring together some of the best known international experts in theory and practice of Multilingual Education
(MLE) to share their views and to interact with experts and practitioners in India as well as other South Asian countries.

Mother tongue based MLE has become a global movement seeking to provide quality education for all. With mother tongue education seen as a critical input for development and revitalization of languages, the number of countries joining the MLE movement has shown a rapid increase. This rising interest in MLE is supported by the forceful developments in theory and practice of multilingual education, a large body of committed MLE practitioners and professionals around the world and, of course, persuasive influences of several international organizations (such as UNESCO, World Bank, UNPFII etc).

2008, the International Year of Languages promises to be an eventful year for the MLE movement.

The following themes will be addressed during the Conference: - MLE: Challenges, Perspectives & Opportunities;
- MLE in Diverse Settings: International Experiences;
- MLE Ideology and Practice: Issues & Insights;
- MLE: The Role of English & Other Challenges;
- MLE for Mother-Tongue-Only Children;
- MLE for Children with Bilingual/Multilingual Competence;
- MLE for Linguistically Diverse Classrooms;
- Pedagogic Strategies for MLE;
- Planning, Organization and Monitoring of MLE;
- Strategies for Development of Languages.

Main partners
JNU, UNICEF, Save the Children Fund, NCERT(MHRD), CIIL, SIL