Mother Tongue Based- UNESCO’s Principles on Language and
Education
Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE)
CHAPTER ONE
Basic Terminologies
Mother Tongue – means one’s native language,
the language learned by children and passed from
one generation to the next.
Language – is the expression of ideas by means of
speech-sounds combined into words.
o L1 – 1st Language
o L2 – 2nd Language
Bilingual – the use of two languages.
Multilingual – the use of two or more languages.
Diversity – the inclusion of different types of
people in a group.
Literacy – the ability to read and write.
What is Language?
 A system of conventional spoken, manual,
or written symbols by means of which
human beings, as members of a social
group and participants in its culture,
express themselves.
 Language is the foundation of every
culture.
 It is an abstract system of word meaning
and symbols for all aspects of culture.
Language Includes:
o Speech
o Symbols
o Written characters
o Gestures
o Numerals
o Expression of non-verbal communication
According to Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
language does more than simply describe
reality, it also serves to shape the reality of
culture.
 Developing a writing system for a
hitherto unwritten language often has
an educational purpose – whether to
record and transmit local history and
knowledge to the next generation, to
use the language in formal schooling,
or to facilitate adult literacy
acquisition.
 The educational use of a language
depends, except in the most informal
settings, on a written form which can
be employed in learning.
UNESCO’s Three (3) Principles of
Education in Multilingual World
Principle 01
UNESCO supports mother tongue
instruction as a means of improving educational
quality by building upon the knowledge and
experience of the learners and teachers.
Principle 02
UNESCO supports bilingual and/or
multilingual education at all levels of education as
a means of promoting both social and gender
equality and as a key element on linguistically
diverse societies.
Principle 03
UNESCO supports language as an
essential component of intercultural education in
order to encourage understanding between
different population groups and ensure respect to
fundamental rights.
Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual
Education
MLE refers to “first-language-first”
education that is schooling which begins in the
mother tongue and transitions to additional
languages.
MLE is the use of more than two
languages for literacy and instruction. It starts
from where the learners are, and from what they
already know.
 Purpose of MTB - MLE  Alienation from heritage language and
culture, from parents and community.
 To develop appropriate cognitive and  Loss of languages, cultures and of
reasoning skills enabling children to knowledge systems.
operate equally in different languages –
starting in the mother tongue with
transition to Filipino and then English and
to preserve the Philippine Cultural
treasure as well.

The languages considered by DepEd in

its MTB - MLE implementation
1. Iloko
2. Pangasinan
3. Kapampangan
4. Tagalog
5. Bikol
6. Waray
7. Hiligaynon
8. Cebuano
9. Meranao
10. Chavacano
11. Maguindanaon
12. Tausug

Why Teaching Mother Tongue as a

Subject in School Important?
o It will preserve our country’s cultural
treasure.
o Provides learners with a strong educational
foundation in the first language in terms of
instruction.
o It is a stepping stone in achieving the aims
of education as well as the goal of
functional literacy.

Benefits of MTB - MLE

 Reduced drop-out
 Reduced repetition
 Children are attending school
 Children are learning
 Parents and community are involved

If MTB – MLE is not used:

 Loss of confidence of students in
themselves as learners.
 Inability to learn the official school
language well.
 High repetition and drop-out rates.