Implementing MT-First MLE:

Problems and suggested solutions

Susan Malone
SIL International
Adapted from presentation in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia
July 2009
Problem: Lack of clearly articulated
policies supporting MTB MLE
Result: Implementing agencies—
government and non-government
agencies and language
communities—are not sure what
they can and cannot do with respect
to implementing their MTB MLE
program.
Suggested solution:

Advocate with the responsible

government agencies to establish
supportive policies with clear
directions for implementation,
including who is responsible for
which actions.
Problem: Lack of communication
among agencies and organizations
that support MTB MLE
Result
• Duplication of materials
• Misunderstandings
• Wasted time and effort
Suggested solution:
• Bring potential partners together to
plan ways that they can work
together so that each partner
contributes from their areas of
strength;
• Develop materials and other
resources that are government-
approved and can be used across
languages / programs.
Problem: Lack of preliminary research
Result: Lack of information needed to…
• Select locations for pilot classes;
• Identify and mobilize resources;
• Identify and avoid potential
problems;
• Develop a good program plan.
Suggested solution:
• Program partners (language communities
and supporting agencies) conduct
preliminary research;
• They analyse and document the results of
their research;
• They use the findings to plan their
program so that it builds on available
resources and avoids or overcomes
constraints.
Problem: Lack of awareness-raising
and mobilization
Result: Parents, school staff and
education officials do not
understand the purpose and
benefits of MLE and therefore do
not support it.
Suggested solution:

Raise awareness about the

purpose and benefits of MTB MLE
among international, national,
provincial and district government
and non-government agencies
and within language communities.
Problem: Lack of qualified MT teachers
Result: because of poor education
opportunities in the past MT teachers…
• Do not fully understand the concepts
they are expected to teach;
• Do not understand how to implement
the curriculum;
• Do not speak, read or write the official
school language well.
Suggested solution:
• If not enough certified MT teachers, recruit MT
“Teaching Assistants” to work under the
supervision of certified L2 teachers;
• Provide easy-to-follow lesson plans with clear
directions for activities;
• Establish pre-service and in-service teacher
training programs that are approved by
appropriate government agencies and build MTB
MLE teachers’ competence and confidence in the
classroom and their credibility among all
stakeholders.
Problem: Implementation moves
too quickly
Result:
• Not enough time to adapt mainstream
curriculum so it is suitable to MTB MLE;
• Not enough time to develop good
quality teaching materials;
• Not enough time to develop graded
reading materials in the local
languages.
Suggested solution:
• Ensure that implementers have at least
18 months to prepare materials in each
language, before beginning classes;
• Follow a cycle of “incremental
implementation”: Plan
Implement

evaluate
revise
implement

evaluate, etc.
Problem: Lack of knowledge about
program impact, strengths and
weaknesses
Result:
• People in charge cannot identify and
correct problems and build on strengths
• Without correction, programs weaken;
stakeholders become discouraged and
conclude that the problem is with MTB
MLE in general.
Suggested solution:

• Conduct regular, careful

assessments of all parts of the
program and document results;
• Use the assessments to adjust the
components of the program, as
needed.