The most common terms in the field are multilingual or plurilingual.
I have adopted the term “multi-languaging” to convey a broad meaning of the correlative, concurrent or simultaneous teaching/learning of multiple languages. 

The proposal is about how to simultaneously teach/learn three national languages of India (Hindi, Samskrit and Urdu), one international language (English) and one vernacular/local language (Telugu, which happens to be my mother tongue), all starting from First Class (Grade or Standard). 
The cornerstone of the proposal is that the content or subject material of each lesson in each class is identical in all five languages and will include material that is representative or encompassing of all five languages.

My desire to find a scientific, non-political, non-religious, non-ideological and unattached method to achieve national or linguistic integration of India was the prime motive behind this proposal. 
I looked upon diverse languages of India as I would look upon a molecular or cellular biological problem and tried to find a solution, completely unattached. 
Without appearing to be philosophical, the diversity of nature, the diversity of life in general and the diversity of people and their ways as embodied in their languages and cultures is so beautiful and mesmerizing. 
It raises the question: why are we not celebrating diversity as much as is warranted? 
To truly celebrate diversity, understanding of others is paramount. 
Understanding of others’ languages provides one concrete window of opportunity toward that goal—hence this project. 
India’s language question, with no national language accepted by all Indians, even after 73 years of independence, is significant. 
My wish to find an answer to such a seemingly intractable question was enabled by two factors. 
They were: 
a) My life’s journey, being born, brought up and having spent the first 30 years of my life in India. 
b) My extensive research background and medical teaching experiences—especially my research work on human bone marrow microenvironmental cells, called stromal (supportive tissue-related) fibroblasts or cells.
These cells support and educate the hematopoietic (blood-forming) stem or progenitor or precursor cells to become mature blood cells like white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets throughout one’s life. 
I previously made the important discovery that bone marrow stromal cells, when expanded under specific cell culture conditions, propagated a single pluri-differentiated (simultaneously differentiated into multiple tissue pathways) mesenchymal (connective tissue-related) cell, contrary to the long-held popular belief that they consisted of five different (separately differentiated) mesenchymal cell types. 
My work showed co-existence of multiple phenotypes (outward forms and shapes, as distinct from underlying genotype or genetic makeup) within the same cell: “one cell with many different faces.” 
Mundane-sounding stromal fibroblasts proved in fact to be mesenchymal stem cells that have the potential to give rise to various connective tissues of the body, like muscle cells, bone cells, fat cells, etc. 
In any event, different languages may be viewed as different phenotypic expressions of the same human thought process. 
I hope that the conceptual parallelism between my multi-languaging proposal and my previous pluri-differentiated stem-cell discovery is evident. 

As was important, along the way and as a part of my research, I became experienced in many analytical skills, techniques and thought processes of general value and that can be extended beyond molecular and cell biology. 
That paved the way for the conception of this language proposal and the potentially powerful teaching aid, Wordbook (as under FAQ 4). 
I thought it would be appropriate to mention the above because I may seem to be the most unlikely person to try tackling as daunting a problem as that of language in India, but I approached it by a route never trodden before. 

To summarize, the most important, original and crucial point I wish to make is that identical content in different languages is more efficient than the current method of different content in different languages. 
I also provide guiding principles for choosing lessons and creating supplementary materials like Wordbook. 
Finally, I answer a series of questions below, providing a comprehensive view of the proposal.

The term ML Wordbook is new, although it is analogous sounding to Workbook as in a spreadsheet software, such as Microsoft Excel. 
It highlights a new method or process devised for taking and/or practicing lessons in multi-languaging, a term employed to mean correlative, concurrent or simultaneous teaching/learning of multiple languages. 
Wordbook presents the words of a sentence in a document, or of the entire document, in the original or source language—in English in this instance—in a single row on a spreadsheet, withone word in one cell. 
Thus, Wordbook can be created in two formats: sentence per row, or entire document per row on a spreadsheet. 
To illustrate the concept and its use, consider a very small document with just four sentences and a total word count of 23:

“Good morning. 
Diversity is our pedigree. 
Learning five languages simultaneously is an excellent idea. 
Smoking is bad for or injurious to one’s health.”

In “sentence-per-row” format, present the text sentence by sentence, in blocks of as many rows as there are languages—in this instance 5—followed by a row left blank, as follows:

Row 1 (English):   Good morning.
Row 2 (Telugu): 
Row 3 (Hindi):
Row 4 (Sanskrit):
Row 5 (Urdu):
Blank
Row 7 (English):   Diversity is our pedigree.
Row 8 (Telugu): 
Row 9 (Hindi):
Row 10 (Sanskrit):
Row 11 (Urdu):
Blank
Row 13 (English):   Learning five languages simultaneously is an excellent idea.
Row 14 (Telugu): 
Row 15 (Hindi):
Row 16 (Sanskrit):
Row 17 (Urdu):
Blank
Row 19 (English):   Smoking is bad for or injurious to one’s health
Row 20 (Telugu): 
Row 21 (Hindi):
Row 22 (Sanskrit):
Row 23 (Urdu): 
Blank

Wordbook would likely serve as a powerful teaching aid, because:

1. It uses the widely available and easy-to-use spreadsheet software, Excel, in a very effective manner.
2. These vocabulary tables not only contain all words from the original document but also preserve sentence structure in spreadsheet file format. 
   This would allow the student to inspect side by side, word by word, and sentence by sentence across five languages. 
   It facilitates simultaneous visualization and correlative learning of multiple languages and their comparative morphosyntax in a programmatic fashion, which has not been possible before. 
3. The method can be extended to any number of languages―all the languages of the world at once, if one wanted.
   Five-language teaching is just a jumping-off point. 
   Wordbooks can contain 20-30 languages, and those who want to pick 3, 4 or 5 can easily pick them up from the Master Wordbook and start using them for their lessons.
4. Different class lessons or book chapters can be placed on different sheets, and the entire class book can be produced as a single spreadsheet file. 

To appreciate the full power of Wordbook, it is equally important to consider any issues unique to different languages and how they can be utilized to enhance its teaching power.

Sanskrit, for example: In word-by-word translation, several English words may be combined into a single Sanskrit word, creating empty cells in the Sanskrit row. 
For example, “good morning” in English is translated to the single word “suprabhatam” in Sanskrit. 
However, a focused attempt is to be made to split up the compound word into component parts if possible or if desired and enter the component parts into individual cells.
Alternatively, adjacent cells can be merged or split as needed to match the original reference or source language from which the text was translated, thus preserving normal sentence structure in the target language. 
This issue does not apply to the standard sentence-by-sentence translation. 

Urdu, another example: Urdu gives rise to a special situation because it is written from right to left. 
In word-by-word translation, individual Urdu words are written from right to left, but the words of a sentence are to be entered into spreadsheet cells from left to right, following the order of the words in the original or source language (English) in the first row. 
This issue does not apply to the standard sentence-by-sentence translation.  

Word-by-word translation is excellent for improving vocabulary, but the slightly differing order of words in different languages may make the “Wordbook” format look awkward. 
However, the Wordbook will be given to the student as a supplement, in addition to the standard translation. 
Wordbook is a study tool; it has been devised to help the student experience the syntactic differences between languages, as is necessary. 
That the differences are highlighted by this method is an important advantage. 
The student will be comparatively studying morphosyntax across five languages. 
For a combination of languages that includes English, English may be used in the first row, with the other languages following word by word. 
Since this is a computer file, any language can be arranged as the first row, as per the convenience of the student. 
It may be better to keep the original, reference or source language from which the text is translated in the first row.
Students will learn to manage language interference or clash by exploiting similarities and differences among multiple languages. 
Thus, multi-languaging is an immensely rewarding experience for the student, especially using Wordbook.

Finally, spreadsheets like Excel have several built-in text-to-speech options, including Speak Cells. 
This customizable option may be activated to enable the student to click a button and have the contents of the spreadsheets read aloud. 
Alternatively, new, specialized software could be developed, incorporating text-to-speech functionality for all five languages. 
Consequently, the Wordbook is expected to become a valuable educational tool for simultaneously teaching/learning multiple languages. 

Each document—DOC1, “Message”; DOC2, “Content, Syllabus and Curriculum”; DOC4, “FAQs and Answers”, “Read Me First” and “Read Me Last―What Next; and “Model Lesson i – India’s National Symbols”—is presented on a separate sheet of the spreadsheet.
These documents are used here as examples to represent chapters of a book, allowing a translation of each chapter to be presented as a sheet and each book as one spreadsheet file. 
The Wordbook can be printed in traditional hardcopy book form as well. 
In sum, Wordbook is designed to serve as a comparative analytical tool for learning multiple languages. 

With the objective of demonstrating Wordbook functionality, various Wordbooks are presented as part of the website.
The entire documents are in “sentence-per-row” format, as explained above.  
The Wordbooks are:

• Founder & President’s Message
• Content, Syllabus and Curriculum
• FAQs and Answers
• Read Me First
• Read Me Last―What Next?
• Model Lesson i ― India’s National Symbols

I concur.
I am very receptive to the idea because Communicative approach, as stated above, and my proposal are perfectly mutually compatible and complement each other.
That my proposal’s focus is on morphosyntax (notably both vocabulary and sentence structure) is obvious, but it can be beautifully combined with the Communicative approach, for which I have striven through these Q&As.
My proposed approach advocates not only availing technologies like text-to-speech and audiovisual tools but also multilingual role-playing by students in a school play and, however unorthodox and even if informally, employing the legendary Bollywood/ Tollywood sing-and-dance to advance simultaneous teaching of multiple languages.

They are many:

• Establishes cultural connections, because each language bears its cultural mores.
• Promotes tolerance, civility and respect for others.
• Adds to students’ breadth and depth of thinking power. 
• Delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (the brain disorder that gradually damages memory and thinking skills as one gets older). 
  The more languages the individual knows the later the onset, which effectively serves as a form of insurance against the inevitability of Alzheimer's for future senior citizens. 
  Thus, learning multiple languages is to an individual’s own benefit.
• Empowers the child socially, spiritually, culturally, intellectually and ultimately professionally. 
  This allows for equal opportunity for all citizens.

• Primarily benefits the child; secondarily benefits the nation and the world. 
• Provides a whole new vantage point to recognize and consequently be able to study partisan politics, regionalism and religion as they are, by being free of and above them.
• In sum, fosters personal joy, mutual harmony and global peace. 
• An abundance of research literature exists about second-language acquisition (SLA), discussion of which is beyond the scope of this Q&A format.
• However, to cite one reference: Consequences of Multilingualism for Neural Architecture by S.Hayakawa and V.Marian in Behavioral and Brain Functions2019 Mar 25;15(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s12993-019-0157-z.
• To mention a promising forthcoming book: Languages Are Good For You by Sophie Hardach 01 Oct 2020. https://headofzeus.com/books/9781789543926

It is no sleight of hand. 
I am calling it as I see it within the big picture. 
I recognize these sensitivities in the exposition of my “message.” 
However sensitive or tricky that may be, that’s a reality. 
To an unbiased observer, all three of Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit would qualify for a national language based on the breadth and depth of their level of penetration in terms of geography and/or as a foundation to other vernacular/local languages. 
One way to define “national” in the context of India is as being pan-Indian. 
All three languages would qualify as being pan-Indian; Hindi and Urdu are spoken in many different states, and Sanskrit is the foundation of Hindi as well as several other state languages. 

Even though English is international, I am presenting it very much as one of “our languages” as illustrated on the model book covers, providing a sense of integration. 
Note that I did not call English a “foreign” language. 
In fact, in my message, I did draw its relationship to Indian languages, not only in etymology but even in phonetics, as part of the Indo-European family. 

For the sake of completeness, consider a whole host of terms like “national language,” “international language,” “mother tongue,” “first language,” “native language,” “household language,” “second language,” “official language,” or “communication language.”
These terms are vast and still being discussed among researchers. 
Each scholar and/or country tends to use one of the definitions according to their social-political context. 
Importantly, regardless of the labels one gives to a language, my proposed method is label-agnostic and is applicable to a combination of any or all languages—2, or 22, or more. 
You choose what languages you need or want to learn and call them by whatever names. 

I agree with everything stated above. 
But the world today is a small village, and India is one big street. 
English is therefore better referred to as an international language or world language than by any other designation. 
That’s my view. 

I tend to think differently. 
It is well known that Sanskrit is a foundational language for many Indian languages, although currently not used in day-to-day communication anywhere in the country, except in Mattur village in Shimoga district near the city of Shivamogga in Karnataka State. 
Interestingly, although it is the only state to do so, Uttarakhand State has also accorded Sanskrit the status of a second official language with the objective of promoting it. 
Equally heartening news is, https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/sanskrit-india-s-ancient-language-making-gradual-comeback-in-kerala-s-karamana-village/story- q3jlJzYHgJJS1ks0nlWfCJ.html

My reasons for including Sanskrit are two-fold: 
a) Having a course in Sanskrit is tantamount to having a course in logic. 
b) Sanskrit is just a language, not a Hindu language. 
In the same way, Urdu is just language, not a Muslim language. 
Similarly, English is just language; whoever learns it earns it.
Religion and language must be delinked, should we desire national integration. 
Picture the conversational scene of a Hindu child fluently speaking in Urdu, and a Muslim child fluently speaking in Sanskrit.  
That would be like witnessing the proverbial God. 
I am an atheist, but that does not preclude me from employing theistic metaphors. 
The impact of teaching/learning of Sanskrit and Urdu together in terms of achieving India’s national integration is immeasurable. 
The advantage of learning Sanskrit for ten years far outweighs the advantage of learning another current language of a neighboring state. 
Moreover, people across state borders speak the languages of both states anyway, regardless of the conduct of their governments.

I can perhaps best answer this question by directly quoting an article published by a senior literary critic, Kuldeep Kumar, in The Hindu daily newspaper (December 14/15, 2017). 
To quote, “The ‘house’ of Hindi/Hindavi/Hindustani was divided at Fort William College that was founded in 1800 at Calcutta (now Kolkata) and where John Borthwick Gilchrist, a surgeon and wandering linguist, was appointed the Professor of Hindustani. 
On the college staff were three Indian scholars―Sadal Mishra, Insha’llah Khan and Lallooji Lal―who produced three works and played the most important role in crafting two registers or styles of Hindustani that we now know as Urdu and Hindi. 
Lallooji Lal invented the modern Sanskritized Hindi by weeding out colloquial as well as Persian and Arabic words from spoken Hindustani, while Insha wrote in the mixed language.
It was at the Fort William College that Sanskritized Hindi was identified with the Hindus while the other register that used words of Perso-Arabic stock was identified with the Muslims.”

Looking back two centuries later, it appears intriguing that a surgeon presided over the division of Hindustani into Hindi and Urdu. 
Coincidentally, I am a physician having graduated from Osmania Medical College, Yale-trained pathologist, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded biomedical research investigator, and similarly improbable individual, endeavoring to undo or minimize some of that division by devising a novel multi-languaging proposal. 

It is worth noting that among pairs of related languages, the relationship between Hindi and Urdu is unique because of the way they were born or created. 
They completely agree at the base and differ at the top—quite the opposite of other related language pairs, such as Telugu and Kannada. 
Hindi and Urdu differ in the higher-order lexicon, with Hindi borrowing from Sanskrit and Urdu from Perso-Arabic. 
On the other hand, Telugu and Kannada differ in the base lexicon but have a nearly identical higher-order lexicon, all borrowed from single source: Sanskrit. 
Thus, Telugu and Kannada converge (as English and French do), where Hindi and Urdu would diverge (see ref. by Prasad and Virk).  

In sum, Urdu is a quintessential national language of India, along with Hindi (and of course Sanskrit). 
Hindi and Urdu may be likened to two identical twin sisters, given up for adoption to different families, and being dressed differently, starting with the different scripts.
Although there are a lot of common words between the two languages as used in ordinary conversations, it is indisputable that the two languages being related by birth is not widely known; this relation is not appreciated by India’s everyday citizens, Hindus and Muslims alike.
It is much to the benefit of the new generations of students to learn this basic language history and remember and cherish the connectedness of our languages. 
To a non-political, non-religious and unattached thinker, any schism between Hindi and Urdu is artificial, unfortunate and unhelpful. 

References:

Kuldeep Kumar. Understanding Rekhta: Are Hindi, Hindavi, Rekhta and Urdu Different Names for the Same Linguistic, Literary and Cultural Heritage?The Hindu December 14/15, 2017. 

K. V. S. Prasad and Shafqat Mumtaz Virk. Computational Evidence that Hindi and Urdu Share a Grammar but Not the Lexicon. Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on South and Southeast Asian Natural Language Processing (SANLP), pages 1–14, COLING 2012, Mumbai, December 2012.

Amrit Rai. A House Divided: The Origin and Development of Hindi/Hindavi. 320 pp. Oxford University Press, 1985.

Christopher R. King. One Language, Two Scripts: The Hindi Movement in Nineteenth Century North India. 232 pp. Oxford University Press, 1994. 

The method devised for the purpose of multi-languaging is “mathematical” or “algebraic” in nature, is scientific at its core, and cultivates analytical skills. 
To that effect, Wordbook has been developed. 
The student will be simultaneously exposed to and learning the same subject/lesson in five different languages in every class. 
Because the subject matter is identical, even if in five languages, the dimensionality of the information is greatly reduced, and it would not be overburdening for the students.
My prediction is that such comparative/correlative learning of languages may make it relatively easier, more interesting and more powerful than learning three languages of unrelated subject matter, as in the current system that has existed for over 50 years. 
There is a perceptible sharing of common roots or vocabularies, grammar and phonetics, to varying degrees. 
It is important that we learn of the connectedness of our languages. 
It would be fascinating, I believe, for young and formative minds to see these connections and inculcate correlative thinking early on. 
Also see the answer to, “What are the benefits of learning multiple languages?”

Although my proposal involves five languages, as mentioned above, the dimensionality of the information is greatly reduced by the proposed method.
My prediction is that it will be easier and more effective to learn five languages together correlatively than having to learn them in isolation.
For these and other reasons and references as cited below, my answer to the question is that it will not be overburdening for the child.

The learning capacity of child’s mind was best described by Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the Montessori Method, as “the absorbent mind, that children from birth to age six possess limitless motivation to achieve competence within their environment and to perfect skills and understandings.” 
It has also been recognized that children below the age of six absorb more than one language effortlessly and joyfully. 
Recent studies further reveal that new language learning ability is highest until the age of 18, after which it declines, and to achieve fluency learning must begin before 10 years of age. 
This is an age-old subject fraught with considerable debate and discussion. 

References:

The Sooner You Expose a Baby to a Second Language, the Smarter They’ll Be, by Laurie Vazquez, https://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/the-sooner-you-expose-a-baby-to-a-second-language-the-smarter-theyll-be, April 8, 2016.

At What Age Does Our Ability to Learn a New Language Like a Native Speaker Disappear? by D.G. Smith in Scientific American May 4, 2018.
According to this report, “Despite the conventional wisdom, a new study shows picking up the subtleties of grammar in a second language does not fade until well into the teens.” 

What is the Best Age to Learn a Language? by Sophie Hardach, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181024-the-best-age-to-learn-a-foreign-language, October 25, 2018.
According to this report, “When it comes to learning a foreign language, we tend to think that children are the most adept.
But that may not be the case―and there are added benefits to starting as an adult.”

Learning a table of four alphabets (Latin, Telugu, Devanagari and Urdu) together may be as appropriate as learning a table of any one alphabet alone, I think. 
It may not necessarily be four times more complex or difficult. 
On the contrary, their differences may make learning them together more fun and efficient for the students. 
It allows for comparative/correlative thinking and learning starting from ABC. 

The question tests the limits of the inventiveness of the educators. 
We may need to write a smartphone app or prepare a video or even create a video game treating the letters as characters in a play, highlighting the similarities and differences between alphabets. 
Furthermore, lullabies or nursery rhymes focused on alphabets can be written and sung. 
That will achieve comparative teaching of the four alphabets effectively and entertainingly with a hilarious effect, much to children’s delight. 
As the adage goes, necessity is the mother of invention.  

Note: To READ MORE, click the language name.

Assamese, Bengali (Bangla), Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. 

See the attached custom-made “Languages of India by State” map. 
For each state, it shows the state name, main language name & more—e.g., Telangana, Telugu & more. 
If you would click on “Telugu & more,” you will see all the languages spoken in Telangana. 
Linguistic diversity is India’s rich national heritage that has yet to be harnessed to its fullest extent. 
I am also aware that accepting and assimilating diversity as our pedigree (in the sense of “heritage,” “tradition,” “family,” “khandaan,” “vamshaavali,” “parivaar,” “parampara”) remains a distant dream for many.
India’s diversity has yet to be fully prided, prized and embraced by its citizens.  

To provide historical context, “National Integration Language Series,” Balaji Publications, Madras (Chennai), as many of us are familiar, publishes titles like, “Learn Telugu Through English in 30 Days,” “Learn Telugu Through Hindi in 30 Days,” “Learn Sanskrit Through English in 30 Days” and so on. 
The series has been in existence at least for forty years. 
I do not know whether anyone has studied and published their effectiveness and impact in achieving the stated goal of national integration. 
Considering the recent uproar following the unveiling of the Draft National Education Policy of 2019 on June 1, 2019, national language integration remains a goal unachieved, 73 years after independence in 1947. 
That’s a long time by any measure. 
The recent agitation around language was a repeated occurrence from the 1960s, and it gave me a sense of déjà vu. 
Setting a goal is one thing, but achieving it is quite another matter. 
It is no small goal, however. 
It requires a novel approach to achieve it. 

The multi-languaging method I propose is different from previous models and is expected to efficiently and analytically teach all five languages required of national integration in single unified step. 
Therefore, the languages targeted for teaching represent three national languages (in my opinion, all three: Hindi, Samskrit and Urdu), one international language (English) and one vernacular/local language (Telugu, which happens to be my mother tongue).
Any vernacular/local language can replace Telugu, if different from it. 
Any number or combination of national or international languages can be taught, depending on the objective. 
My focus remains on the context of India.  

Although the proposal arose out of the specific situation of India, the method is applicable in a general setting and to all languages of the world. 
See for example, european.multilanguaging.org.

There exist 6,500 or so languages in the world, depending on how they are defined and counted. 
There are so many languages because: 
a) a language represents a means of communication in a community or population of people, and 
b) if a population remains locked in a geographic location for hundreds or thousands of years without contact with the outside world for whatever reason, their method of communication gets crystallized, giving birth to a new language, each richly endowed with its own ingenuity. 
Not too long ago, the world was not as small as it looks today. 
Every corner or pocket of Earth was a world or even universe by itself. 

That’s a challenge ahead for the language scholars, but I believe that it is highly achievable. 
To simplify, twenty percent of the content will be represented by each of five languages, English, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit. 
To give one vivid example, poems by Tennyson, Vemana, Premchand, Iqbal and Kalidasa, in their respective languages with representative themes can be selected. 
The selection and preparation of specific content and syllabi will be tasked to linguists and language experts under the auspices of governmental backing and authority. 
New books will be produced containing each class lesson with the same content in five languages. 
The new class subject is to be referred to as “Our Languages.” 
It will have the size of the current three language books (English, Telugu and Hindi) combined. 
For convenience, it can be divided into three volumes by quarter, Q1-Q3, or by using whatever other measure or terminology as may be appropriate. 
Hypothetical textbook covers for classes I-X are presented as models to provide a concrete glimpse or sense of the integrated appeal. 
Each class is identified by a national symbol of India with a tricolor background, starting with Class I, with the Lotus, and culminating in Class X, with Kangchenjunga (Himalayas) symbolizing the year of graduation. 

Typically, for example in the Telugu-speaking states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Telugu is taught from Class I to X, English is taught from Class III to X, and Hindi is taught from Class VI to X. 
Each language is taught independently of the other two languages. 

Math, science and social studies are taught in Telugu or English, depending on the medium of instruction of the school.

Multilingual immersion is typically dual immersion that involves bilingual education, in which two languages are used for teaching all subjects, including math, science and social studies. 
In Canada, they may have an English/French dual-immersion system. 
In the US, English/Spanish may be more common. 
Students study in one language at a time. 
Language may alternate by day, by week, or by month, or one language may be used in the morning and the other language in the afternoon. 
There may be other variations. 

An immersion program may make sense in a bilingual scenario, but I do not think that it makes practical sense in a pentalingual situation. 
Also, math is math―a language by itself. 
So students may not gain much of a language-learning experience regardless of which language is used to teach math. 
My project proposes judiciously limiting the amount of content to enable students and immerse them in learning five languages, quite unlike Canadian/US immersion programs. 
The objective of the proposed “Our Languages” class is to gain an in-depth understanding of similarities and differences, and their interconnectedness with respect to vocabulary, grammar and the cultures that the chosen five languages would represent, as one integrated edifice.
It is the correlative and integrative principle of my proposal that would make learning multiple languages a delightful experience, more so than learning a single language.

To my knowledge, India does not use such methodology as dual immersion. 
My proposal does not involve such language immersion either. 
My focus remains on teaching five languages using selected identical content.
Math, science and social studies are to be taught per medium of instruction as they are now in India.  

To arrive at comparative estimates, assume that the time available for teaching languages in a school year is the same for both systems. 
There are 220 working days in a year, of which 20 are used for conducting exams, making 200 days available for teaching. 
In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, for example, Telugu is taught each day for 45 min for 200 days, and similarly English is taught each day for 45 min for 200 days, whereas Hindi is taught each day for 45 min for 133 days in a year. 
Calculations show Telugu and English are each taught 150 hours a year, whereas Hindi is taught 100 hours a year. 
Thus, the three languages together are taught for a total period of 400 hours a year. 
For discussion’s sake, consider there are 30 different lesson topics in Telugu, 30 different lesson topics in English and 20 different lesson topics in Hindi, totaling 80 different lesson topics for languages in the traditional system per year. 
On average, each lesson topic is taught for 5 hours. 

Consider reducing the number of different lesson topics to 40 or even 20 (8 or 4 of content as related to the five languages English, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit) to teach each lesson topic simultaneously in the five languages. 
Thus, each topic gets 10 to 20 hours a year to teach simultaneously in the five languages. 
The variable to be decreased or increased is the number of different lesson topics as necessary to achieve the desired language learning outcomes, considering that the total time available for teaching languages (whether 2, 3 or 5) in a year remains constant.
Remember, language classes are ultimately more about learning the language than about learning the content. 

How many languages (2, 3 or more) to teach/learn has been independent India’s primeval or first question from the day of its founding, and the debate about the number of languages is unlikely to abate anytime soon. 
But the hope is that my proposed correlative approach would make people pause, rethink and let go some of the fear and prejudice.  

I would say that the overall benefits of learning five languages far outweigh the benefits of learning a few additional, isolated, unrelated units of information, as in the current system. 
By learning additional languages instead, you are acquiring the keys or the codes to enter new vistas. 
Once you’ve learned a language, you know how to learn whatever units of information on your own. 
This is teaching to learn. 

Ideally three individual teachers together can cover teaching five languages, with two of the teachers each being able and qualified to teach two languages. 
Step 1: Each of the five language versions of the lesson will be taught in the usual way by the designated teacher for that language. 
Step 2: The students will work on and study the Wordbook on their own. 
Step 3: A correlative or joint class will be held by all three teachers and the students to explore and teach/learn the interconnections between the five languages. 
In the process, not only the students, but also the teachers, will be learning from the other teachers of other languages. 
Thus, it will be a learning experience for all involved. 
At the end of each lesson there could be a small poem or song to be included as relevant to the content of the lesson in all five languages. 
To signify the completion of a lesson, it could be sung in chorus in all five languages, providing a pleasant social context. 

This approach would lead to students becoming extremely proficient not in just reading, writing and speaking these five languages, but will also give them extensive knowledge of the other aspects like the grammar, history, rich cultural heritage, etc. of these five languages. 
Furthermore, this would be solid enough to enable them to successfully clear the five annual examinations, year after year, for ten years.

I would suggest that the textbook contain a section calledEndnotes, to be taught at the end of each class lesson. 
This section should provide notes on comparative etymology, syntax and grammar, as relevant to the lesson in question. 
The power of the proposed method rests on its comparative study. 
TheEndnotes section should bring into sharp focus similarities, differences and any grammatical principles unique to each of the five languages.
Each language provides a frame of reference to the other four languages; the student never operates in a vacuum or in isolation. 
In this model, the teaching/learning of languages will likely be most effective. 

Learning a subject in isolation does not excite me. 
It is more interesting, beneficial and productive if the students can explore the construction of a certain linguistic feature in context and have a summary of its structure, uses and examples before moving to the next topic. 
HavingEndnotes at the end of each chapter will provide the flexibility to effectively explain and manage various issues arising from the content of the lesson in question. 

In my view, this is no problem, but rather a benefit because, 

1. The fact is that any book in any language can be translated into another language, even if somewhat imperfectly. 
2. The new method thrives on revealing or exposing the similarities and differences between different languages, thus potentially vastly contributing to the educational experience of the student.
3. The primary goal is not so much serving the targeted language, but rather serving the student’s education. 

My answer to the first question is “no.” 
I used Telugu-speaking states as an example to present the concept, as I am most familiar with them. 

The teaching model is applicable to other states as well, but I feel that the second question is very sensitive, and a rather tricky one to answer. 
I venture to answer it only because of the availability of the multi-languaging proposal as developed and presented, and on the premise that one opts to learn a language primarily for one’s own benefit, and secondarily for the nation’s benefit.

My “fairytale” answer is:
Eighty percent of the content will be identical across India; 20% of the content will be devoted to vernacular/local language. 
The Telugu part will be replaced by Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, etc. in respective states. 
Each Hindi state will officially and permanently adopt one of the Dravidian (South Indian) languages, as a sister language, by an Act of State Assembly, establishing North-South linguistic bonding. 
Picture the linguistic landscape if ten of Hindi States/Territories would adopt different South Indian languages as sister languages. 
Imagine children, for example, in Himachal Pradesh learning Telugu, in Madhya Pradesh Malayalam, in Jharkhand Kannada, and in Uttar Pradesh Tamil. 
Imagine reciprocal student excursions taking place annually between sisterly bonded North-South states. 
That would be profound and historic. 

In the past, it may not have been just a matter of lacking the will to learn, but also lacking the effective methodology. 
Availability of a multi-languaging system of teaching is likely to make such a “fairytale” real and practicable―only if desired or wanted. 
Fairytale or non-fairytale, in final analysis, these are necessarily political and governmental decisions to be made by respective states, and that includes Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Absolutely, it needs to be validated. 
The whole method is conceived in the spirit of scientific inquiry. 
It is undoubtedly a long-term project.

Obviously, it is not possible at the beginning. 
So an appropriate way would be to get things ready for the first standard, then prepare for the second standard during that year so that they would be ready when this batch goes to the next standard. 
Typically, for such complex and important projects, feedback from the participants often leads to improvement.

I would completely agree. 
I believe in the effectiveness of a multimedia approach to teaching. 
To take it one step further, Bollywood and Tollywood, two of India’s colossal movie industry resources, have produced some of the finest lyrics and haunting melodies. 
However untraditional it may sound, I would wholeheartedly propose carefully identifying select Bollywood and Tollywood songs of different genres, as appropriate for the standard (class), and having the lyrics elegantly translated into four other languages and singing them to the original tune by the students. 
Learning multiple languages could not be faster or more fun. 
Might it be only a matter of time before we’re all asking ourselves why this wasn’t done in yesteryears?