Reconceptualising Multilingual Education Beyond Monolingual Ideologies

Abstract

Multilingual education especially mother-tongue-based (L1) is crucial for achieving quality, inclusive education , and empowering individuals, and bridging divides across other goals, to ensure that no one is left behind, improves learning outcomes, and promote cultural understanding. UNESCO and NEP 2020 lead efforts recognising language diversity as vital for human dignity and sustainable development, and integrates language skills with global goals in teaching. The escalating linguistic heterogeneity necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of educational paradigms, compelling a shift from entrenched monoglossic instructional ideologies to asset-oriented Multilingual Education (MLE). This study lays down three main analytic objectives through a methodical, non-empirical synthesis of the existing literature, i.e., the critical definitions of multilingual education and multilingualism within the academic sphere; to deconstruct the operational dualism of subtractive and additive MLE models; and to analyse interdependence hypothesis (CUP) and threshold hypothesis as the foundational framework for effective multilingual education (MLE). The study argues that the frequent failure of MLE models is not a consequence of theoretical weakness, but a result of systematic policy incoherence and the pervasive influence of subtractive pedagogical practices that undermine the development of strong academic language proficiency in the first language (L1). It further contends that effective MLE is ethically obligatory, as it requires global shift towards linguistic diversity as human capital and moving from mere tolerance to proactive support in terms of the languages. This reconceptualisation foregrounds equity, epistemic justice, and learner agency, positioning schools as sites for sustaining linguistic ecologies while fostering cognitive development, social cohesion, and long-term educational resilience in multilingual societies.