Inclusive Mobile Learning: How Technology-Enabled Language Choice Supports Multilingual Students

TL;DR

It is suggested that providing local language options to learners is an effective way to make EdTech more accessible and is associated with higher active participation, even among learners who registered for English instruction.

Abstract

Most learners worldwide are multilingual, yet implementing multilingual education remains challenging in practice. EdTech offers an opportunity to bridge this gap and expand access for linguistically diverse learners. We conducted a quasi-experiment in Uganda with 2,931 participants enrolled in a non-formal radio- and mobile-based engineering course, where learners self-selected instruction in Leb Lango (a local language), English, or a Hybrid option combining both languages. The Leb Lango version of the course was used disproportionately by learners from rural areas, those with less formal education, and those with lower prior knowledge, broadening participation among disadvantaged learners. Moreover, the availability of Leb Lango instruction was associated with higher active participation, even among learners who registered for English instruction. Although Leb Lango learners began with lower performance, they demonstrated faster learning gains and achieved comparable final examination outcomes to English and Hybrid learners. These results suggest that providing local language options to learners is an effective way to make EdTech more accessible.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: Engineering Process Design steps in the Yiya Solutions course curriculum. The curriculum consists of nine ordered steps to create the final product. Each step is made of several lessons: Introduction Step: Basics of STEM education (4 lessons); Step 1: Identify (3 lessons); Step 2: Investigate (4 lessons); Step 3: Brainstorm (4 lessons); Step 4: Plan (4 lessons); Step 5: Create (4 lessons); Step 6: Test (3 lessons); Step 7: Improve (6 lessons); Step 8: Launch (4 lessons).
• Figure 2: A visual presentation of how learners interact with the Yiya Solutions remote course. Learners access the course and review the course material by dialing the USSD code on their phones. On certain days of the week, learners will tune in to live radio broadcast delivered in the language they selected. Instructors deliver the lesson content, activities, and questions through radio. Learners then interact with the lesson content and questions via USSD on their phones.
• Figure 3: Proportion of learners selecting each language option by demographic characteristics. Figure (a) shows language preference by highest education level, indicating how learners with lower and higher education levels chose between the available language options. Figure (b) shows language preference by neighborhood type, illustrating how learners from villages, town centers, cities, and refugee settlements distributed their choices among the language options.
• Figure 4: Average Week 1 score by language choice. Week 1 score is the learners’ average test scores from Week 1 as a proxy for their baseline performance.
• Figure 5: Percent of learners listening to live radio broadcasts (English and Leb Lango broadcasts) by language option of the course (Leb Lango, Hybrid and English). Each broadcast was associated with a distinct prize code, and learners’ submitted codes were used to classify which broadcast they listened to. The x-axis represents lesson number, while the y-axis shows the percentage of learners engaged with each lesson.