Managing Multilingual Communication in Yoruba-English Bilingual Schools in Ogun State

Bilingual school environments demand sophisticated communication management strategies that support effective instruction and administration across two language systems simultaneously. This study examines multilingual communication management in Yoruba-English bilingual schools in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected from school administrators, teachers, and non-teaching staff in five designated bilingual schools in Abeokuta South, Ifo, and Ikenne local government areas through semi-structured interviews, communication audits, and classroom observation. The study applies communication management theory and bilingual education programme management frameworks to assess how schools manage language allocation across curriculum subjects, administrative communication, community engagement, and school events. Existing literature on bilingual education in Nigeria has focused on programme evaluation and learner outcomes, with the communication management challenges faced by school administrators being underexplored. This study fills that professional practice gap. The research investigates how language allocation policies are operationalised in daily school life, how misunderstandings arising from bilingual communication are managed, and how schools communicate with parents from both Yoruba-dominant and English-dominant household backgrounds. Findings are expected to reveal pragmatic code-mixing strategies among teachers and administrators that deviate from official language allocation policies, driven by communicative efficiency needs. Recommendations will address communication management training for bilingual school administrators and the development of practical bilingual communication protocols. Keywords: multilingual communication, bilingual schools, Ogun State, school management, language allocation.