International Mother Language Day 2026: Spotlight dialogue with Language and Learning Foundation

Dialogue with Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra - a visionary in multilingual education

GSF Spotlight dialogue with Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra – linguist, folklorist, recipient of the UNESCO International Mother Language Award

On International Mother Tongue Day, we celebrate the linguistic tapestry that children bring to our classrooms. But how do we ensure this celebration translates into meaningful, joyful, and effective learning every single day?

Join us for an intimate dialogue, where we will explore the profound divide between schools and the communities they serve. Dr. Mishra will share transformative insights from his decades of work with India’s tribal communities – work that has been central to Language and Learning Foundation’s mission of creating inclusive, equitable, and effective learning environments.

In this 75-minute live dialogue we will delve into the heart of multilingual education. Drawing from his recent book, Erai Erai: Multilingual Education in Tribal Schools of India, and his extensive field experiences with LLF, Dr. Mishra will help us explore the critical questions that emerged from GSF’s previous engagements with Dr. Barbara Trudell and Prof. Angeline M. Barrett.

We will explore:

• The disconnect between a child’s home and their classroom, and how to navigate deeply ingrained parental perceptions that favour international languages over mother-tongue instruction.
• How initiatives like Storytelling Festivals and School Museums – pioneered in LLF’s work -can authentically integrate community wisdom and foster genuine joy in learning.
• How do we honour a tribal language and identity while also providing access to global languages of power?
• How civil society organisations can effectively collaborate with government systems to create lasting, scalable impact for linguistically diverse learners. (Drawing from his decades of experience developing Multilingual Education programs in partnership with state governments in Odisha and beyond)

There will also be an opportunity for participants to pose their own questions and engage directly with Dr. Mishra on the challenges they face in their unique contexts.

Explore LLF’s resources:

• Website: languageandlearningfoundation.org
• Language and Learning Foundation on LinkedIn
• Multilingual Education: An Approach to FLN (PDF)
• MLE Research Report (PDF)

Let us come together to explore how we can move beyond policy and symbolism to build bridges, not walls – between our classrooms, our communities, and the systems that sustain them.