Written by: Vanessa Komiliades, Head Professional Development and Amy Lightfoot Academic Director, British Council
Across the world, learners come to school with diverse linguistic backgrounds shaped by family, community, culture, migration and history. Yet too often, language is treated as a technical detail in education reform rather than as integral to all learning. In May 2026, we launched our updated global position paper on language‑responsive education, calling for education systems to place language at the centre of policy, practice and reform.
This paper is based on insights and input from published evidence forming our literature review and our experience working with ministries of education in over 50 countries since 2010. Four in-person events in London, Kathmandu, Abuja and Paris, attended by representatives from over 25 partner organisations were designed to also shape this consolidation of ideas, where we show why and how education systems can respond more effectively to learners’ diverse linguistic realities. By doing this, learning becomes more inclusive, more equitable and meaningful and learning outcomes are improved.
Why language matters
Language is the means through which teaching happens, knowledge is constructed and learning is demonstrated. However, it is often taken for granted in education systems, even though decisions about language can profoundly shape learners’ experiences and outcomes. We are also clear that language policy and its implementation is not neutral, it is closely tied to identity, power and belonging.
Evidence shows that learners understand new concepts best when they can draw on languages they know and are familiar with, particularly in the early years of schooling. Where the language of teaching and learning is not aligned with learners’ linguistic development, students may be physically present in classrooms but effectively excluded from learning. Language choices can therefore either widen or narrow educational inequalities.
Recognising this, our language-responsive position emphasises language as a central consideration in discussions about quality, equity and inclusion in education systems.
What is language‑responsive education?
Our research, broad experience and inputs from the dedicated project events have been distilled into three core principles relating to language-responsive education:
- Every context is unique. Language‑in‑education decisions are shaped by social, political, economic and historical realities. There is no single model that works everywhere. For this reason, the British Council does not advise as to whether or when countries should adopt English‑medium education or any other language policy. Instead, it argues that decisions must be made locally, based on relevant evidence, a deep understanding of learners and contexts and experience of what is or isn’t currently working.
- Language responsiveness requires a system‑wide approach. Language is not only a classroom issue. It needs to be considered across policy, curriculum, teaching materials, assessment, pedagogy and teacher education. Misalignment or lack of consideration for language across these components can pose a risk to learning.
- The value of linguistic diversity. Learners’ languages are not barriers to overcome but resources that support thinking and identity and shape meaning. Language‑responsive education systems seek to recognise, value and build on these resources rather than marginalise them. This means welcoming a diversity of languages into classrooms and schools, celebrating these and using them as a tool for further learning.
English, opportunity and inequality
At our recent launch of the position paper, a central theme of the discussion was the complex role of English in education systems. Dr Mir Abdullah Miri, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter, cautioned against simplistic narratives that frame English as either the solution to educational inequality or as purely a colonial imposition.
Drawing on experience from Afghanistan and refugee education contexts, he emphasised that English does offer real opportunities linked to higher education, employment and mobility. Families and learners are often keenly aware of this value. However, English becomes a source of inequality when learners are assessed through it before they have had meaningful opportunities to learn in or through it.
Learners may understand mathematics or science concepts but lack the English proficiency needed to demonstrate that understanding. When this happens, low achievement is often misdiagnosed, masking what is in fact low access to the curriculum. Language‑responsive education starts with the diverse realities of learners, asking what languages they bring to school and whether systems genuinely enable access to learning.
Insights from policy and practice
Other speakers at the event illustrated how language‑responsive principles are being applied in different contexts. Justine Sass (UNESCO) highlighted the persistent gap between effective policy and implementation, while Melina Rellán Barreiro (Department of Education, Castilla y León, Spain) and Ernest Kofi Davis (Ghana Education Service) described, respectively, Spain’s plurilingual curriculum and Ghana’s push for stronger early mother‑tongue instruction and teacher preparation to support a fair transition to English.
The significance of language‑responsive education today
At a time when learning inequalities remain deeply entrenched across many education systems, strengthening how education systems respond to language is essential for inclusion and equity. We invite you to join us in these ongoing debates and discussions. Our recently published position paper is not an endpoint but a starting point for deeper engagement, collaboration and practical action. Turning language‑responsive principles into reality requires systemwide thinking, long-term commitment and sustained dialogue across sectors and contexts.
When education systems put learners’ linguistic realities at the heart of decision making, they are better equipped to deliver quality education that truly leaves no one behind.
To share your thoughts and for further discussion please contact vanessa.komiliades@britishcouncil.org and amy.lightfoot@britishcouncil.org