1. Children need to know who they are and where they come from.

Knowing their roots help them

to acquire a strong sense of pride of their identity and develop their sense of pride of their
cultural heritage. Knowing and using their mother tongue or heritage language help children
understand themselves better.
2. Children learn best when they begin their education in their mother tongue or heritage language
and use it to learn language(s).
3. The best MTBMLE program are the L1 as language of instruction as learners gain competency on
everyday L2 (oral and literacy) in the early grades then the use of both L1 and L2 for learning till
the end of primary school.
4. Children’s knowledge and skill transfer across language from the mother tongue to school
language.
5. When students L1 is invoked as a cognitive and linguistic resource through bilingual instructional
strategies, it can function as a stepping stone to scaffold more accomplished performance in the
L2
6. There are 3 types of development which are central to MTBMLE program: language
development, cognitive/academic development and socio cultural development. All the three
dimensions of development are essential to the holistic development of the learners to help
them become multi-lingual, multi-literate, multi-cultural citizen of the country.
7. Language acquisition and learning is meaning making. It is imperative that children understand
what the teacher says using the language that they know best their mother tongue.
8. MTBMLE approach in the K-12 curriculum follows the early-exit transition plan. As pointed out
by many researchers and specialists, taking a “short cut” is a disadvantage to the children’s
learning journey.
9. Creating a strong linguistic foundation requires at least six years of formal schooling in L1 as the
language of instruction.
10. Learning in the 21st century is empowering students to be producers and consumers of
knowledge and critical thinkers who make wise and informed decisions. This can be attained if
children begin to learn in their mother tongue and expand their perspective using their first
language and other languages.