NEW DELHI : India could soon see a new model of language teaching, with educators trained to teach more than one language as part of a proposed multilingual education programme being developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
Sources within the Education Ministry confirmed that NCERT is working on a model of multilingual education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 framework. The proposal is part of the council’s academic expansion following its transition to an Institution Deemed to be University.
At the centre of the proposed initiative is a Master’s programme in Multilingual Education, which is expected to train a new cadre of teachers specialising in applied linguistics and multilingual pedagogy. Unlike the conventional system, in which language teachers are generally trained to teach a particular language, the proposed model seeks to prepare educators to teach multiple languages.
These could include combinations of regional Indian languages and foreign languages. The idea is to enable schools to expand the range of languages they offer without necessarily having to recruit a separate teacher for every language.
However, the proposal is still being developed. Sources familiar with the plan said details such as the number of languages a teacher could be trained to teach and the proficiency required in each were still being worked out by NCERT and Education Ministry officials.
HOW WILL THE PROPOSED MODEL WORK?
The proposed programme is intended to go beyond simply training teachers who can speak several languages. Instead, it would focus on whether educators have the academic grounding and teaching skills required to teach those languages effectively in a classroom.
Under the conventional model, language teachers have largely been trained in individual languages, with an emphasis on literary studies, including poetry, drama and literary history. The proposed approach seeks to place greater emphasis on applied linguistics and multilingual teaching methods.
This could include training in grammar acquisition, phonetics, language structure and the mechanics of how languages are learned, alongside classroom pedagogy. The objective would be to prepare teachers to help students develop practical skills in speaking, writing and comprehension, rather than focusing primarily on literary analysis.
A multilingual teacher trained under the proposed programme could potentially help a school offer students a wider choice of languages, particularly where recruiting separate teachers for every language is difficult. The model could therefore address a practical challenge faced by schools as they seek to expand language options under the NEP framework.
The exact structure of the programme, including the combinations of languages covered and the academic standards expected of teachers, is yet to be finalised.
WHY IS NCERT DEVELOPING A NEW MODEL?
The proposed multilingual education programme is part of a broader restructuring of NCERT’s academic role after it was granted Institution Deemed to be University status under the “distinct category”.
A ministry notification dated March 30 granted NCERT the status, opening the way for it to expand its academic and research activities. The notification also called on the council to initiate research, doctoral and innovative academic programmes.
The transition gives NCERT greater academic autonomy to design and conduct specialised programmes and confer its own degrees, including in areas linked to teacher education, research and pedagogy.
Previously, NCERT’s teacher-training programmes were conducted primarily through its Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs), located in Mysuru, Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Shillong.
NCERT did not independently award its own doctoral degrees under the earlier arrangement.
Degrees were granted through affiliations with regional state or central universities.
With its new deemed-university status, the council can design and run academic programmes directly, including specialised courses intended to respond to emerging requirements in education.
FROM LITERARY STUDIES TO APPLIED LINGUISTICS
The proposed programme signals a possible shift in how language teachers are prepared. Traditionally, language education has often placed considerable emphasis on literature, including the study of literary works, authors and the history of a language.
The proposed model would place greater emphasis on the science and practice of language learning and teaching. Applied linguistics examines how languages are acquired and used, while multilingual pedagogy focuses on teaching students who learn or use more than one language.
For teachers, this could mean training that combines an understanding of language structure and pronunciation with practical methods for teaching speaking, writing and comprehension.
The larger aim is to turn multilingual education from a policy objective into a workable teaching model, supported by educators equipped to handle more than one language in the classroom.
The initiative remains at the proposal stage, with key details still under discussion. How many languages teachers would be expected to master, what level of proficiency would be required and how the programme would be implemented have not yet been finalised.
