Plurilingual Perspectives in Basic Level Teacher Education in Nepal: Educators’ Memos from the Past

This study aimed to explore the basic level early grade teachers’ experiences in teacher education and pedagogical practices in terms of language. The second attempt was to evaluate alignments and contentions among three entangled nexuses: language policy, teacher education and pedagogical practices in multilingual contexts. The study targeted at the teachers’ experiences and language policy in education. A phenomenological study was done to analyze the documents of the 13 participants through the interviews and the focused group discussions. policy documents related to language policy in education formulated by the governments and schools were duly analyzed to assess the degree of alignment and contention between policy and practice. The teachers reflected the lack of an academic degree on how to teach language and deal with language issue in other subjects. Many students and teachers, in early grades, did not understand each other’s languages. The findings expose that there is a huge gap in teacher education, pedagogical practices in multilingual early grades, and language policies. First, teacher education, language policy in education and pedagogical practice do not align with each other. Second, the teachers have been practicing unplanned multilingual pedagogical approaches in the multilingual classes. Third, schools have introduced an English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) policy but teachers have not been educated, trained, prepared and oriented for this. Fourth, the teachers naturally were practicing multilingual pedagogy. Fifth, the teachers have experienced challenges in implementing EMI policy in early grades. Sixth, they are in need of and desire for multilingual teacher support education and training for effective pedagogical practices to bridge diverse home monolinguals and a few multilingual early graders to other additional languages. This is a due pedagogical approach in which children turn and scaffold multilingualism to immerse themselves into English and Nepali, the prominent medium of instruction in the education system of Nepal till the date.