Definition of Terms

Mother tongue - first language that a person learns

Teaching – the process of educating or instructing

The term “mother tongue” was first used by Catholic monks. – Ivan Illich

Mother Tongue Base Education

The use of student’s mother tongue as language of instruction

STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT NOYNOY AQUINO

Learn English well and connect to the world. Learn Filipino well and connect to our country. Retain your mother tongue and connect to your heritage.”

DepED Order No. 74, s. 2009

“Institutionalizing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)”

The Aspects of Development

1. Language Development Student’s will establish a strong educational foundation in the language they

know best; They will build a good “bridge” to the school language(s), and They will be prepared to use both/ all of their languages for success in school

and for life-long learning.2. Cognitive Development

Cognitive development begins at home at birth. School activities will engage learners to move well beyond the basic questions

of who, what, when and where to cover all higher order thinking skills in the learners L1, their language of thought.

3. Academic Development Students will achieve academic competencies in each subject area and, at the

end of the program; They will be prepared to enter and achieve well in the mainstream education

system.

4. Socio-cultural Development Students will be proud of their heritage language and culture, and respect the

languages and cultures of others; They will be prepared to contribute productively to their own community and

to the larger society.

Purpose of MTB-BLE:

bridge to the wider world

promotes learners’ integration into the national society

makes learning relevant and enjoyable

What kind of learners does MTB-MLE tend to produce?

Multi-literate - they can read and write competently in local languages

Multi-lingual - they can use these language in various context

Multi-cultural - they can live and work harmoniously

Strategies in Implementing Mother Tongue- Based Instruction

Translation from target language to mother tongue

Utilization of multilingual teaching

Utilization of Lingua-franca

Improvisation of instructional materials written in mother tongue

Remediation of instruction

Utilization of literary piece written in mother tongue as motivation

Benefits of Mother-tongue education:

Improves access to education

Strong bridge

Scaffolding

Strengthen the affective domain

Reduced drop out rates

Reduced repetition

Critical Issues and Needs

Absence of books written in mother tongue

Lack of vocabulary

Adequate numbers of facilitators appropriate to local contexts

Teacher’s ability to cope the new language instruction

Increase the use of community knowledge and resources throughout educational system

12 mother-tongue languages

Tagalog

Kapampangan

Pangasinense

Iloko

Bikol

Cebuano

In order to enhance the ability of Southeast Asia countries to compete in global markets, there are greater needs for multilingual citizens.

To encourage the development of more multilingual populations, it is critical to implement strong multilingual programs that begin in the mother tongue and then gradually add other

necessary languages.

UNESCO

“Studies have shown that using the language used at home (mother tongue) inside the classroom during the learners’ early years of schooling produces better and faster learners who can easily adapt to learn a second (Filipino) and third (English) language.”