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Literacy is essential in today’s world, where having foundational skills in reading and writing are a gateway to accessing various forms of information, knowledge and opportunities to thrive in any society. Alarmingly, there are globally, and this number is at risk of increasing due to low literacy levels in primary schools. 

At present,. This statistic, commonly referred to as ‘learning poverty’, suggests that future generations are at real risk of not acquiring knowledge from written content throughout their education, and will thus not be able to acquire one of the most basic skills to function in their communities. 

Current projections point to learning poverty becoming an increasing problem, especially in conflict settings where often everyone does not speak the same language.

This barrier to becoming literate is compounded exponentially in contexts where learners do not speak or understand the language of instruction in their learning environments. Vulnerable and marginalized learners, such as those from indigenous and ethnolinguistic minority backgrounds, are even more likely to be affected. It is estimated that .

The education setting is therefore a primary site where foundational literacy skills can be developed in learners systematically by using the languages they know best. This process begins with an understanding that becoming literate relies on learners comprehending that oral language can be represented in texts by written symbols. Research has shown that reading skills can transfer from a child’s first language (L1) to their second language (L2). A study in found that reading skills not only transferred best from a child’s first language, in this case, Setswana, to their second language, English, but also lead to improved reading skills in both languages.

Employing and empowering indigenous and ethnic minority teachers can also level the playing field for learners from the same language communities. 

An showed that some indigenous teachers in Cambodia have begun experimenting with translanguaging, a pedagogical concept that describes harnessing all of a learner’s linguistic resources for teaching and learning and applying the same type of teaching strategies for reading activities in both the learner’s first (L1) and second (L2) languages. Translanguaging helped maximize lesson time for more reading and learning practices, and it has strengthened student comprehension of new concepts in their second language when supported by the use of their mother tongue. As a result, prioritizing L1 literacy development before introducing L2 enables learners from indigenous and ethnolinguistic minority communities to develop a strong foundation for subsequent L2 literacy.

Displaced learners, such as refugee children, may face when they join a new host community which, in turn, may impact their social cohesion. Resettlement of displaced people in new communities within or outside their country of origin brings forth new challenges and opportunities for linguistic and cultural diversity. Schools and teachers in the host communities need effective, linguistically inclusive approaches that use these displaced children’s home language and culture as stepping stones to support both their foundational literacy development and integration to the host community’s education system.

in Thailand is a strong example of how creating a space for improving multiple literacies can work towards fostering social cohesion, all the while allowing for multiple languages to have a place in the classroom. The programme was initially developed to address the low literacy rate of Patani Malay-speaking learners in Thai, the national language. Not only did the programme improve learners’ literacy results by using their L1 (Patani Malay) before transitioning to their L2 (Thai), it also worked closely with communities to develop better perceptions around their own identities, involving them in decisions regarding their language, script and education.

Encouraging all children to become literate in multiple languages in this manner can help promote linguistically inclusive and therefore peaceful societies in the long term. 

But for this to come about in a sustainable manner, seeing through a systemic change in all areas of education is paramount. 

While no country has yet to reach this goal, plenty of related pilot initiatives simultaneously focusing on different components of education have demonstrated positive results and potential in Asia and the Pacific. Many such initiatives will be shared at the , which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 4 to 6 October 2023. The conference will bring together policy-makers, researchers, practitioners and other education development stakeholders to share views, good practices and experiences, and to engage in dialogue on how communities and countries can work towards quality education for linguistically vulnerable and marginalized learners. The conference will entail over 100 presentations and discussion panels covering themes such as foundational learning and literacy, translanguaging and multilingual pedagogies, materials for multilingual learners and multilingual education in crises and emergencies, among others.

These conference panels and presentations, together with the examples described above, can serve as strong, promising practices of L1-based literacy development to address learning poverty and current high illiteracy rates that disproportionately impact linguistically marginalized learners. While illiterate adolescents and adults require immediate literacy interventions to enable their full access and participation in their communities, such transformation of building foundational literacy through education is also necessary if we hope to successfully foster sustainable and peaceful societies now and for the future, both in Asia-Pacific and beyond.

This article is a lightly adapted version of .

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