Multilingual Socialization, Multilingualism as a First Language, and Education for Social Justice
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More information: https://languageinstitute.wisc.edu/multilingual-socialization-multilingualism-as-a-first-language-and-education-for-social-justice/
About the talk
Children in multilingual societies do not acquire languages as separate systems; rather, they develop an integrated communicative repertoire that can be understood as Multilingualism as a First Language (MFL). MFL fosters early language awareness, crosslinguistic reflection, and cognitive language proficiency before schooling begins. This presentation examines the pedagogical implications of MFL and critiques state policies of linguistic homogenization that privilege dominant languages, often producing educational failure and social injustice. It argues for a dynamic model of multilingual education grounded in the early development of MFL in multilingual societies.
About the presenter
Ajit Mohanty is former Professor and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) National Fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was a Fulbright Professor at Columbia University and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He co-developed Nepal’s 2009 Multilingual Education Policy with Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and authored the 2014 MLE Policy for tribal children in Odisha, India. His publications include The Multilingual Reality: Living with Languages (2019, Multilingual Matters) and nine other books. A Fellow of the APA, he currently serves as an Invited Expert for the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism.
Sponsors: The Language Institute, with the Second Language Acquisition PhD Program and Language Ideologies and Linguistic Discrimination group.
Contact: Dianna Murphy
The UW-Madison Language Institute is committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Language Institute associate director Jana Martin three business days in advance.
About the talk
Children in multilingual societies do not acquire languages as separate systems; rather, they develop an integrated communicative repertoire that can be understood as Multilingualism as a First Language (MFL). MFL fosters early language awareness, crosslinguistic reflection, and cognitive language proficiency before schooling begins. This presentation examines the pedagogical implications of MFL and critiques state policies of linguistic homogenization that privilege dominant languages, often producing educational failure and social injustice. It argues for a dynamic model of multilingual education grounded in the early development of MFL in multilingual societies.
About the presenter
Ajit Mohanty is former Professor and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) National Fellow at Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was a Fulbright Professor at Columbia University and Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He co-developed Nepal’s 2009 Multilingual Education Policy with Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and authored the 2014 MLE Policy for tribal children in Odisha, India. His publications include The Multilingual Reality: Living with Languages (2019, Multilingual Matters) and nine other books. A Fellow of the APA, he currently serves as an Invited Expert for the European Civil Society Platform for Multilingualism.
Sponsors: The Language Institute, with the Second Language Acquisition PhD Program and Language Ideologies and Linguistic Discrimination group.
Contact: Dianna Murphy
The UW-Madison Language Institute is committed to inclusive and accessible programming. To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Language Institute associate director Jana Martin three business days in advance.
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Where is it happening?
UW-Madison campus, 250 E Campus Mall, Madison, WI 53706, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Language Institute
