Medium of instruction

Amedium of instruction(plural:media of instruction,ormediums of instruction) is alanguageused in teaching. It may or may not be theofficial languageof the country or territory. If thefirst languageof students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction for part or all of schooling.Bilingual educationormultilingual educationmay involve the use of more than one language of instruction.UNESCOconsiders that "providing education in a child'smother tongueis indeed a critical issue ".In post-secondary, university andspecial educationsettings, content may often be taught in a language that is not spoken in the students' homes. This is referred to as content based learning orcontent and language integrated learning(CLIL). In situations where the medium of instruction of academic disciplines isEnglishwhen it is not the students' first language, the phenomenon is referred to as English-medium instruction (EMI).

In different countries and regions

Africa

• InTanzania,Swahiliis used inprimary schoolsand adult education, whereas English is used insecondary schoolsanduniversities.
• InZimbabwe,the use of English,Shonaand Ndebele is established in education until the fourth grade; from the fourth grade, English is the medium of instruction.
• InSouth Africa,students are taught primarily in their home language from Grade Zero (Reception Year) up to Grade 3. From Grade 4 onwards, English is the default language of learning and teaching, except for a minority of schools in whichAfrikaansis used. The national curriculum requires that all students study at least two official languages as separate subjects, one of which must be studied at home language level and the other at least at first additional language level. The most common home language among the school population isisiZulu.
• InNigeria,the medium of instruction at all levels of education (primary, secondary, universities and colleges) is English.
• In the francophone states of Africa, education has typically been inFrenchonly.
• InEthiopia,Amharic,Oromo,and other Ethiopian languages serve as the medium of instruction in primary education, while English is used in secondary schools and universities (French had been the medium of instruction in public schools pre-1936).

Western Hemisphere

Brazil

Every public school usesBrazilian Portugueseas the medium of instruction, but no law prohibits the use of other languages in private schools. Many schools use other European languages (mainly because of the country's European heritage) such as English, German, Italian or French. Public schools also have mandatory English and Spanish but only once or twice a week.

Canada

Further information:Languages of Canada,Education in Canada,Official bilingualism in Canada,andLanguage policies of Canada's provinces and territories

• InCanada,almost all public schools use either English or French as the medium of instruction; French is standard in the province ofQuebec(a few cities also offering English-language schools) and, along with English, inNew Brunswick.The official language not used as the primary medium of instruction is taught as a mandatory subject in primary school and becomes optional for most secondary school students. Manypublicandprivate schoolsystems in English jurisdictions also offerFrench immersion.In parts of Canada such as theNorthwest TerritoriesandNunavut,someaboriginal languages,such asInuinnaqtunandTłı̨chǫ,are also used in local school systems.Heritage languages(immigrantordiaspora languages) are as also common across Canada in public and private schools.

United States

Englishis used, but in some schools, Spanish, French (inLouisiana),Hawaiian(inHawaii), and localNative American/American Indian languages are used as well.

• TheCherokee Nationinstigated a 10-year language preservation plan that involved growing new fluent speakers of theCherokee languagefrom childhood on up through school immersion programs as well as a collaborative community effort to continue to use the language at home.This plan was part of an ambitious goal that in 50 years, 80% or more of the Cherokee people will be fluent in the language.TheCherokee Preservation Foundationhas invested $3 million into opening schools, training teachers, and developing curricula for language education, as well as initiating community gatherings where the language can be actively used.Formed in 2006, the Kituwah Preservation & Education Program (KPEP) on theQualla Boundaryfocuses on language immersion programs for children from birth to fifth grade, developing cultural resources for the general public and community language programs to foster the Cherokee language among adults.There is also a Cherokee language immersion school in Tahlequah, Oklahoma that educates students from pre-school through eighth grade.

Asia

• InAzerbaijan,Azeriis the main language of instruction. Instruction inRussianand to a lesser extent inEnglishat both secondary and postsecondary level is also offered in some educational institutions.Georgianis the language of instruction in secondary schools in the Georgian-populated northern regions. Education was conducted inArmenianin some secondary schools until theFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War.
• InBangladesh,Bengali and English are used as mediums of instruction. In universities, the medium of education is mainly English.
• In thePeople's Republic of China(PRC),Standard Chineseis used as the medium of instruction in most schools. In elementary and secondary schools for ethnic minorities, the minority languages, such asMongolian,Uyghur,TibetanandKorean,are also used.
• InGeorgia,most schools conduct education inGeorgian.The number ofAzerbaijanischools is being reduced.
• InHong Kongwhich was a British colony until 1997, either English orCantoneseis the medium in most schools at the primary and secondary level.English-Medium-of-Instruction (EMI) schoolsadopt English as the medium of instruction for almost all classes. Chinese-Medium-of-Instruction (CMI) schools generally adopt Cantonese as the medium of instruction, but a significant number of CMI schools use English for high school courses. English is used almost exclusively at the tertiary level.
• InIsrael,Hebrewis the medium in most schools, andArabicis the medium in elementary and secondary schools for the Arab minority. Hebrew is used almost exclusively at the tertiary level.
• InIndia,the medium of instruction varies among English,Hindiand the respective states' official languages. Private schools usually prefer English, and government (primary/secondary education) schools tend to go with one of the last two. However, the medium of instruction in colleges and universities is always either English, Hindi or a regional language. The medium of education is also dependent upon the state and its official language.
  • InAssam,AssameseorEnglishis used.
  • InWest Bengal,BengaliorEnglishis used.
  • InKarnataka,KannadaorEnglishis used.
  • InGoa,EnglishorKonkaniis used.
  • InGujarat,GujaratiorEnglishis used.
  • InMaharashtra,EnglishorMarathiis used.
  • InAndhra Pradesh,TeluguorEnglishis used. Some schools also useSanskrit.
  • InTelangana,Telugu,orEnglishis used.
  • InTamil Nadu,TamilorEnglishis used.
  • InKerala,MalayalamorEnglishis used.
  • InOdisha,OdiaorEnglishis used.
• InJapan,Japaneseis used in most schools (including universities and colleges).
• InSouthandNorth Korea,Koreanis used in most schools (including universities and colleges).
• InMacau,Cantoneseis used as the medium of instruction in many schools.Portugueseis used in Portugal-backed schools. English, which is not an official language of the region, is also used in manyEnglish-Medium-of-Instruction (EMI) schools.
• InPakistan,most public schools useUrdu,but private schools have English as medium of instruction.English was made medium of instruction in 18 colleges in 2008.
  • Government of the Punjab Notification No. PS/SSE/Misc/2009/176 dated 18-09-2009 required for the subjects of science and mathematics to be taught in English in each school.
• InTaiwan,Standard Chineseis used as the medium of instruction in most schools, with moreTaiwanese Hokkienpresence in schools in recent years.

South East Asia

• In thePhilippines,English is the primary medium of instruction from preschool to university, except in the Philippine history and Filipino language subjects, in which Filipino is used.Recently, regional languages have been introduced as the medium of instruction in public schools for grades K–3 as part of theDepartment of Education's mother tongue-based education policy.
• InSingapore,in pre-schools children learn in two languages: English and a mother tongue: Chinese, Malay or Tamil.The medium of instruction is English in all schools following the national curriculum except in "mother-tongue" subjects. International and private schools may use other languages. See alsoSpecial Assistance Plan.
• InIndonesia,Indonesianis the medium in most schools, including universities.
• InCambodia,Khmeris the medium in most schools, including universities.
• InVietnam,Vietnameseis the medium in most schools, including universities.
• InThailand,Thaiis the medium in most schools, including universities.
• InLaos,Laois the medium in most schools, including universities.
• InMalaysia,Malayis the medium of instruction in most schools. However, there are also Chinese and Indian schools serving the respective communities, which are allowed to use Mandarin and Tamil respectively as a medium of instruction, but Malay is still required to be taught as a subject. English-medium schools were present during the colonial period but were slowly phased out after independence. Today, all the former English-medium schools have since been converted to Malay-medium schools. Nevertheless, English continues to be a compulsory subject in all Malaysian schools.

Australia and Oceania

• InAustralia,most schools useEnglish.However, in theState of Victoria(known for its manyGreekandItaliansettlers), there are a number of schools that teach in Greek and Italian. A few schools also teach in French, Chinese, Arabic and Japanese.
• InNew Zealand,English is used in many schools, but more and morekohanga reo(kindergarten) andkura kaupapa(primary and secondary school) are usingMāoriinstead.
• InVanuatu,English and French are the main languages of education.

Europe

• InBelarus,Russianis the main language of instruction. While schools usingBelarusianschools are 53%, they are located mostly in rural areas, and the share of students who receive instruction in Belarusian is as low as 18%.
• InBelgium,Dutchand French (German in some parts of Eastern Belgium) are used.
• InCroatia,besides Croatian-language education, education of the representatives of national minorities is carried out in 24 elementary schools, and the program is conducted in the language and writing of a relevant national minority, 61 elementary schools having classes with such programs.
• InEstonia,as of 2011, there were 463Estonian-medium schools, 62 Russian-medium schools and 36 mixed medium schools, 25% of vocational education being in Russian while the remainder Estonian. In higher education, 90.2% is in Estonian, 7.8% in Russian and 1.85% in English.
• InFinland,Finnishis the language used in most schools, butSwedish,also an official national language, is used in a number of schools along the coast andAbo Akademi.The right to education in Swedish is based in the constitution. There are also a few schools in which education is given, to some extent, inSamiin the north.See alsoMandatory Swedish.
• InFrance,legislation restricts languages other than French in state schools. Otherlanguages of Franceare the medium of instruction in non-state schools such asDiwanBreton language-medium schools and theCalandretasin the south that useOccitan.SeeLanguage policy in France
• InIceland,Icelandicis used at all levels of education. English is the first secondary language to be taught (even starting a bit as early as kindergarten), withDanishalso required later. Some universities teach in part in English in topics popular with foreigners (and "Icelandic for foreign students" is also offered).
• InIreland,English is used in most schools with a growing number ofgaelscoileanna(10%) usingIrish.
• InItaly,Italian is the official language throughout the country, with French also official inValle D'Aosta,and German inSouth Tirol.
• InLatvia,Latvianis used in most schools. According to theMinistry of Foreign Affairs,education is available in eight national minority languages: Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Hebrew and Romani.Boris Tsilevitch,politician and former chair of PACE sub-commission on minorities, notes that all minority schools (except the Russian and Polish ones) offer education in either Latvian or Russian, with corresponding minority language and culture taught as subjects.The network of Russian-language schools is being reduced. Some Polish-language schools were created after restoration of independence. Education in public minority high schools is conducted mostly in Latvian since 2004 despite wide protests by theHeadquarters for the Protection of Russian Schools.
• InLithuania,as at 2004/2005, 91.3% of pupils studied in Lithuanian, 5.3% in Russian and 3.6% in Polish in general education schools.
• InMoldova,Moldovan(Romanian) is used, but Russian is slowly being introduced.
• InNorth Macedonia,the state is obliged by theOhrid Agreementto provide university level education in languages spoken by at least 20% of the population(Albanian)
• InNorway,the medium of instruction isNorwegian.The state undertakes to provide a substantial part of preschool education in Sami, at least pupils whose families request it in sufficient numbers.
• InPoland,the medium of instruction in most schools isPolish.However, in areas where national or ethnic minorities reside, there are also public schools using a minority language of instruction (such as German, Ukrainian, Belarusian, or Kashubian), or schools which offers classes of the minority language.
• InRomania,the medium of instruction is mostly Romanian, but the state undertakes to provide education in minority languages up to the following levels. In Russian, it is a substantial part of preschool education, at least to those pupils whose families request it in sufficient numbers. In Bulgarian and Czech, it is a substantial part of primary education. In Croatian, it is a substantial part of secondary education. In Serbian, Turkish, Ukrainian and Slovak, it is secondary education. In German and Hungarian, it is higher education.There are also international schools where the medium of instruction is English.
• InRussia,Russian is dominating in education. Approximately 6% of students learn at school in minority languages.Besides, some tertiary education establishments useTataras a language of instruction alongside Russian.
• InSlovakia,education in minority languages must be provided in municipalities if Slovak citizens speaking respective language are more than 20% of population: higher, technical and vocational education in Hungarian, a substantial part of technical and vocational education in Ruthenian and Ukrainian, a substantial part of preschool education for those pupils whose families request it in sufficient numbers in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, German, Polish and Roma.
• InSlovenia,the general medium of instruction is Slovene. In areas with the Hungarian ethnic minority, bilingual instruction in Slovene and Hungarian is compulsory. In the Italian ethnic community area, basic education can be provided in Slovene or Italian.
• InSwitzerland,German,French,Italianand/orRomanshare used in most schools.
• InUkrainesince the2017 law "On Education"is language of instruction in Ukrainian schools is the state language, which is Ukrainian (national minorities are guaranteed the right to study in public educational facilities including their language alongside Ukrainian).

Prior to the 2017 law "On Education" the mediums of instruction in pre-school education were Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Moldovan, Crimean Tatar, English, Polish and German; in general education, Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian, Moldovan, Crimean Tatar, Polish, Bulgarian and Slovak; in vocational training, Ukrainian and Russian; in higher education, Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian.

• In theUnited Kingdomand theCrown dependencies,English is mostly used.
  • In theIsle of Man,English is used, butManxis being revived with one Manx-medium school atSt. John's.
  • InScotland,English is the primary language of instruction butGaelic medium educationis also available. There is little or no use ofLowland Scotsas a medium of education.
  • InWales,most schools teach in English, but more and moreteach in Welsh.
  • InCornwall,Cornishis used to some extent in some schools that otherwise teach in English.

See also

• Native-language instruction
• English medium education
• Language policy
• Language revival
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

External links

• The place of the mother tongue in school education— recommendation Nr. 1740 (2006) by PACE
• The use of Vernacular Languages in EducationUNESCO1953