Learning Begins with Understanding the Teacher

In UNESCO’s account of bilingual education in Mozambique, teacher Abel Marthinho Jâoa describes children becoming less afraid to express themselves when their teacher and classmates speak the local language. His observation draws attention to something that can disappear behind discussions of school buildings, examinations and attendance: children need to understand the conversation before they can confidently join it. The language of a lesson helps determine whose knowledge becomes visible in the classroom.

在联合国教科文组织关于莫桑比克双语教育的介绍中，教师阿贝尔·马尔蒂尼奥·雅奥描述说，当老师和同学使用当地语言时，孩子们表达自己的胆怯会减少。他的观察让人注意到一个容易被校舍、考试和出勤讨论掩盖的问题：孩子们需要先听懂交谈内容，才能自信地参与其中。一堂课使用的语言，会影响哪些孩子的知识能够在课堂上展现出来。

UNESCO’s 2025 guide, Languages matter: Global guidance on multilingual education, addresses this relationship between language and access to learning. Its publication page describes multilingualism as both a fundamental human characteristic and an educational approach. The guidance is intended to help education ministries and other partners turn that recognition into policies and classroom practice. This involves decisions about teaching, resources and assessment, rather than simply adding another language lesson to the timetable.

联合国教科文组织2025年的指南《语言至关重要：多语言教育全球指南》探讨了语言与获得学习机会之间的这种关系。其出版物页面将多语言现象既视为人类的一项基本特征，也视为一种教育方法。这份指南旨在帮助教育部门及其他合作方，把这种认识转化为政策和课堂实践。这涉及教学、资源和评价方面的决策，而不只是往课程表里增加一门语言课。

Consider a hypothetical mathematics lesson. A child understands how to share twelve objects equally among three people but cannot follow the teacher’s question in an unfamiliar language. Silence could easily be mistaken for a lack of mathematical understanding. If the child can explain the process in a familiar language, the teacher has more information about what the child knows. The example illustrates a practical distinction: difficulty expressing an idea in the school language does not necessarily mean difficulty understanding the idea itself.

以一堂假设的数学课为例。一个孩子知道怎样把十二件物品平均分给三个人，却听不懂老师用陌生语言提出的问题。沉默很容易被误认为是不懂数学。如果孩子能够用熟悉的语言解释过程，老师就能获得更多关于其已有知识的信息。这个例子说明了一项实际区别：难以用学校使用的语言表达一个想法，并不一定意味着难以理解这个想法本身。

UNESCO’s February 2025 explanation of the guidance links learning through home languages with basic literacy, additional language learning and progress across subjects. It recommends introducing another language alongside sustained support for the learner’s home language. The educational aim is to expand what learners can do across languages. An abrupt change in the language of instruction can demand that children master unfamiliar vocabulary while also trying to understand new subject content. Planning that progression therefore matters as much as selecting the languages.

联合国教科文组织2025年2月对指南的说明，将使用家庭语言学习与基础读写能力、其他语言的学习以及各学科的进步联系起来。它建议，在持续支持学习者家庭语言的同时，引入另一种语言。教育目标是拓展学习者运用不同语言完成任务的能力。教学语言的突然变化，可能要求孩子在努力理解新学科内容的同时掌握陌生词汇。因此，规划这种循序渐进的过程，与选择使用哪些语言同样重要。

Teachers need preparation for these demands. UNESCO recommends recruiting teachers who are fluent in learners’ mother tongues and the official language of instruction, together with training adapted to local contexts. Speaking two languages does not automatically provide a method for teaching through both. A teacher may need to plan how to explain a concept, connect terms across languages and assess understanding. Such planning also raises a staffing question: which teachers can support the languages actually used by the children in a particular school?

教师需要为应对这些要求做好准备。联合国教科文组织建议招聘能够熟练使用学习者母语和官方教学语言的教师，同时提供适应当地情况的培训。会说两种语言，并不自动意味着掌握了使用两种语言教学的方法。教师可能需要规划如何解释概念、联系不同语言中的术语，以及评价学生的理解程度。这种规划也提出了人员配置问题：哪些教师能够支持某所学校的孩子实际使用的语言？

Materials and professional support must develop together. UNESCO’s December 2025 account of its India education report recommends stronger teacher preparation, multilingual learning materials and assessments across grades. It also calls for community participation and sustainable financing. These recommendations reveal the scale of implementation. A policy can name a language, but schools still need suitable books, teachers who can use them and time to prepare lessons. Families and local communities can contribute knowledge about language use, while education authorities remain responsible for organizing dependable support.

教材与专业支持必须同步发展。联合国教科文组织2025年12月对其印度教育报告的介绍，建议加强教师培养，并在各年级提供多语言学习材料和评价工具。它还呼吁社区参与和可持续的资金支持。这些建议揭示了实施工作的规模。政策可以指定一种语言，但学校仍然需要合适的书籍、能够使用这些书籍的教师，以及备课时间。家庭和当地社区可以提供有关语言使用情况的知识，而教育主管部门仍有责任组织可靠的支持。

A possible classroom activity shows how these elements might connect. Children could first describe an everyday process in a language they know well, then examine how the same explanation is expressed in another language. A teacher could provide selected vocabulary and a diagram before asking for a short response. This is a hypothetical design, not a tested programme or a promise of success. Its purpose would be to preserve access to the concept while building the language needed to discuss it more widely.

一项可能的课堂活动可以说明这些要素如何衔接。孩子们可以先用自己熟悉的语言描述一个日常过程，再研究如何用另一种语言表达同样的解释。教师可以先提供选定的词汇和一张示意图，然后要求学生作出简短回应。这是一种假设的设计，并非经过检验的项目，也不是对成功的承诺。它的目的是，在帮助学生掌握用于更广泛讨论的语言时，仍然让他们能够理解相关概念。

Evaluating multilingual education consequently requires attention to both participation and learning. More children speaking during a lesson would be encouraging, but teachers would still need to establish what they understand and can apply. Equally, a quiet child deserves opportunities to demonstrate knowledge in ways that reveal more than fluency in one language. The practical ambition is demanding: build classrooms where children can contribute what they already know, receive clear instruction and gradually gain the linguistic tools for more complex work.

因此，评价多语言教育需要同时关注参与和学习。如果更多孩子在课堂上发言，这会令人鼓舞，但教师仍需要确认他们理解了什么，以及能够运用什么。同样，安静的孩子也应有机会以不同方式展示知识，让教师看到的不仅是他们使用某一种语言的熟练程度。实际目标要求很高：建设这样的课堂，让孩子能够贡献已有知识、获得清楚的教学，并逐步掌握完成更复杂学习任务所需的语言工具。