Negotiating Multilingualism in Indian Classrooms: Teacher-Student Communication in Policy and Practice

Abstract

India’s multilingual classrooms require more than formal language policy; they require communicative pedagogies that enable equitable participation in learning. Although India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes mother tongue instruction, implementation often overlooks how teachers steer through linguistic diversity in practice. This essay reviews emerging research on teacher-student communication across Indian classrooms, foregrounding adaptive strategies such as translanguaging, visual scaffolding, and peer mediation. These practices, although essential, remain undervalued in teacher education and curriculum design. Introducing the framework of “communicative justice,” the essay argues that meaningful inclusion requires recognizing students’ linguistic repertoires and supporting teachers’ communicative agency. It calls for systemic investment in multilingual pedagogy, inclusive assessment, and discourse-based research to align policy with classroom realities.

Keywords

communication communicative justice equity language comprehension/development language policy language processes multilingual education NEP 2020 policy analysis qualitative research translanguaging

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