Indian Multilingual Education

Abstract

This chapter explores the scope of language education in the Indian multilingual context. It reviews the construct of translanguaging and its usefulness in language classrooms with special attention to reading, the cornerstone of primary education. It presents a critical summary of translanguaging practices across the globe followed by teacher-learner practices in Indian classrooms with children from low socio-economic status and/or from migrant workers' families. The review of Indian classrooms with translanguaging practices helps to understand the purposes of use of this pedagogic strategy and its impact on language learning and reading. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the role of using the socio-constructivist theory to scaffold reading through peer interaction. This chapter is a precursor to the next chapter that presents the design of a translanguaging-based reading model built with the help of peer interaction to scaffold reading development in young multilingual learners.