Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on UNESCO’S (2007) factors in the success of mother tongue-

based multilingual education program implementation (Benson, 2004, Danbolt, 2011 and Malone,

2012) inventory of challenges in mother tongue-based multilingual education. As emphasized in

UNESCO (2007) MTB-MLE guidelines, it pointed out that the effectiveness of mother tongue-

based multilingual education necessitates thorough planning and commitment. The planners need

to take into consideration measures to ensure that the program is effective.

Moreover, the strategies and problems encountered by the teachers were given emphasis

in this study. Benson (2004) mentioned that that one challenge that may be faced in mother-tongue

based schooling is acceptability, apart from human resource. Along with this challenge is the

difficulty to find teachers who are competent in the MT. In consequence, unqualified teachers with

less training can be hired especially when nationwide implementation is carried out. She further

emphasized the materials development as one of the problems met by the teachers. She argued that

greater attention should be given to time and resources in the implementation of mother-tongue

education. Educators and people in the community should have time to work together with

linguists to be able to produce materials in the MT. Benson stressed that there are problems in the

implementation because people who are involved in the implementation fail to reach a consensus

on the allocation of resources. Malone (2012) further emphasized seven problems in planning,

implementing, and sustaining an excellent mother tongue-based education. These are multiple

languages with multiple dialects, absence of concrete orthographies, shortage of mother tongue

speakers with teaching materials, scarcity of written literature, various mother tongues, large class

sizes, and deficiency of curriculum and instructional materials.

 Furthermore, based on the aforementioned maxims, the following theories anchored on

MTB-MLE’s learning were indicated: (1) Cummins’s Interdependence Theory (1984); and (2)

Skutnab-Tangas and Toukomaa’s Threshold Theory. Cummins asserts that second language

competence depends upon the level of development of L1. He distinguished between two kinds of

language mastery: ‘interpersonal communication’ refers to oral communication skills that are used

in everyday situations, while ‘cognitive academic language proficiency’ (CALP) is achieved when

the speaker can use language in decontextualized ways, including writing, permitting the use of

the language as a cognitive tool. He argued that if learners have achieved CALP in L1, this

competence can be transferred to L2, permitting them to participate successfully in academic

learning in L2. Further, Skutnab-Tangas and Toukomaa (1976) proposed the ‘threshold theory’,

which posits that only when children have reached a threshold of competence in their first language

can they successfully learn a second language without losing competence in both languages.