Assessing multilingual teacher competencies

There are 117 living languages in Myanmar (Lewis et al., 2016). In a country of 53 million people, over 23 million are fluent in one of the seven main indigenous language clusters: Shan, Mon, Rakhine (Rohingya), Chin, Kachin, Karenni (Kayah), and Karen (Kayin) (World Bank, 2018). Even during the January 2011 – January 2021 period under a democratically elected civilian government, the official language of oral and written instruction in all government schools remained rigidly singular. In many of Myanmar’s ethnolinguistic minority communities, the national language is only first encountered in schools and rarely used at home. An assessment of multilingual education (MLE) teacher competencies was used to assess the specific proficiencies needed to effectively promote multilingual education with 16 teachers working in areas under ethnic administration in southeastern Myanmar, as well as one temporary shelter on the Thai–Myanmar border, with the goal of identifying existing abilities and areas for growth. Overall, 94% of observed ethnic and refugee teachers demonstrated meeting minimum MLE competency requirements to support children to build a strong bridge from their mother tongue to their L2 (Burmese or English, depending on the context). The study was conducted together with the Karen Education and Cultural Department (KECD), Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), the Karen Teacher Working Group (KTWG), the Mon National Education Committee (MNEC), Rural Indigenous Sustainable Education (RISE), and the Karen Refugee Committee–Education Entity (KRC–EE) and World Education Thailand and Myanmar.