BUILDING LITERACY AND NUMERACY IN MULTILINGUAL CLASSROOM: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF PEDAGOGICAL STRATEGY AND POLICY CHALLENGE IN TIMOR-LESTE

The results of the study indicate that systemic limitations, language barriers between home and school languages, and a lack of pedagogical materials are barriers to successful learning. Specifically, the prevalence of Portuguese as the language of instruction has been known to interfere with early childhood learning among children, and the lack of teacher training leads to the worsening of inequalities in classroom performance. However, the review identifies new strategies that can boost student engagement and performance. The new strategies include mother tongue/translingual approaches, culturally responsive teaching, multiliteracies, and the incorporation of literacy and numeracy education in both local and social contexts. The evidence shows that literacy and numeracy are interdependent and that teacher professional development is conclusive.