Multilingualism: Mother tongues as the tool for learning in classrooms

One of the consequences of globalization processes is the spread of English as a medium of instruction in national school systems. Disadvantaged communities are increasingly demanding access to English so that their children can join a workforce that mandates knowledge of this language. The question of mother-tongue education remains a vexed one. On the one hand, it seems reasonable and desirable that learners should be able to receive education in their mother-tongue, if they so wish. On the other hand, there are some very real difficulties involved in the implementation of this ideal. The purpose of this paper is to clarify what these difficulties are, and then to suggest what needs to be done to overcome them. The intention is neither to argue for or against the notion of mother-tongue education in the Indian and South African context, nor to consider whether its implementation is practically possible, but simply to spell out what courses of action need to be undertaken if the idea is to be seriously pursued.