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

2026-03-03

AI Summary

This study addresses the educational inequities faced by multilingual learners due to language barriers by conducting a quasi-experiment in Uganda with 2,931 participants enrolled in informal engineering courses. Leveraging radio and mobile platforms, learners were offered instructional content in Leb Lango (a local language), English, or a hybrid of both, marking the first large-scale investigation into the impact of learner-directed language choice on engagement and learning outcomes in mobile learning environments. Despite starting from a lower baseline, participants receiving instruction in Leb Lango demonstrated accelerated learning progress, ultimately achieving performance comparable to those in English-only and hybrid conditions, while also exhibiting significantly higher levels of overall engagement. These findings provide empirical support for the strategic use of local languages to advance educational equity.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Multimodal Learning
• Natural Language Processing: Language Grounding & Multi-modal NLP
• Search and Optimization: Learning to Search

Application Category

• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Mining multimedia, multimodal, multilingual, cross-lingual Web data
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Multilingual and cross-lingual Web search
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Practical large-scale studies of user experience

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.

Problem

• Inclusive Mobile Learning
• Multilingual Education
• Language Choice
• EdTech Accessibility
• Linguistically Diverse Learners

Innovation

• multilingual education
• mobile learning
• local language inclusion
• educational equity
• EdTech accessibility