Welcome to your course more deal for content and pedagogy for the mother tongue!

As an elementary school teacher, your main role is to ensure that meaningful

learning is taking place in your classroom. However, this is not easy as we all want it to
be. Quite several factors affect the quality and success of learning; one of which is the
language used in instruction that may not be accessible to all your learners.

Before the K to 12 Program, Filipino and English were recognized as the official
mediums of instruction in the country, despite its undeniable cultural and linguistic
diversity. Such policies were found to have directly affected the high attrition and
dropouts’ rates of children who do not speak the school’s language. This is on top of the
consistent low performance of students in standardized exams that would prove the lack
or even absence of meaningful learning in the classroom. Hence, you will appear
embedded in the major educational reform of K to 12 is the Mother Tongue-Based
Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) -- an initiative that recognizes the pivotal role of
language in facilitating learning. It is anchored on the idea that learning new concepts
will effectively happen if the language used to teach these new concepts are familiar or
accessible to the young learners.

This course, Content and Pedagogy for the Mother Tongue, is a three-unit
specialized subject that “includes the structure of the mother tongue as a language,
literature in the mother tongue, methods and techniques of teaching the language, and
development of instructional materials and assessment,” (CHED Memorandum Order No.
74, series of 2017, on the Policies, Standards and Guidelines for Bachelor of Elementary
Education, Annex B, p. 19).

At the end of the course, you are expected to know and do the following:
• understand comprehensively the MTB-MLE being implemented in the Philippines;
• Equip yourself with the pedagogical knowledge and skill pertinent to teaching
Mother Tongue as a subject;
• Develop instructional plans for the mother tongue with sound, interesting, and
meaningful activities, materials, and assessments; And
• implement a mother tongue instructional plan through demonstration teaching.

Before you begin learning from and working on this module, it is important that you
understand the purpose and design of this module. This is a self-instructional module,
which means that you will acquire basic concept skills about content and pedagogy for
the mother tongue.
UNIT 1 MOTHER TONGUE-BASED MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education [MTB-MLE] is one of the distinctive

features of the K to 12 program that was signed into law on May 15, 2013 by former
president Benigno Aquino the III. The introduction of the MTB-MLE, specifically from
kindergarten to grade 3, is grounded on the belief the children learn best if the language
used in instruction is understandable and accessible to the young learners. Several studies
have shown that they use of Mother Tongue in early grade instruction has, in fact, yielded
significant, positive results to student learning across subject areas or discipline.

This module will begin with the basic and important concepts that you need to
know about the MTB-MLE and its theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings. It is hoped
that by the end of this unit, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the value of
MTB-MLE in promoting equal opportunity to all learners to learn and succeed in school.

LESSON 1 WHAT IS MTB-MLE?

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected:
• Identify the different contexts in communication;
• Understand the relationship between language, heritage, culture and
communication;
• Discuss the personal factors involved in learning a second language; and
• Appreciate the comfort and complexity if the generation they are both into.

I. ACTIVATE
The digital natives, otherwise known as Generation Z, are those born between the
years 1994 to 2004. And you are one of them!

You were born with and into the comfort and complexity of technology. Interaction
for you means connecting through social media, while communication is coursed through
an account that could be totally divorced from who the real person is. Your generation is
highly reliant on technology to the point that some would opt to leave a sedentary life
without recognizing the downside of it. On the other hand, you’re also recognize as a
creative and collaborative that can contribute highly when you join the workforce.
 While other knowledge on Generation Z is still a work in progress through the lens
of education, we can safely say that the world they are growing up in is more
comprehensible. It is the day and age when the challenge of education is to prepare the
forthcoming generation of learners to brave constant change and rote memorization, yet
it is the readiness and capability to operate, compete and survive. More so, education is
all about learners who think about the box, employ higher order thinking skills, analyze,
troubleshoot, make decisions and solve problems.

II. ANALYZE
What are the most common languages spoken/used by your
classmates? Where do you think did they learn the language/s?

We thrive in a bilingual, or even in multilingual, world. This is the rationale why

Mother Tongue, Filipino, and English follow a unified frame-work which allows easy
transition from acquiring and learning one language to another. Republic Act 10533
“Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013” has highlighted the reality and relevance of
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education [MTB-MLE]. The implementation of the K to
12 Basic Education Program puts high premium on the learner’s mother tongue and other
languages used in the classroom. The Department of Education refers to Mother Tongue-
Based Instruction through DO #74 s. 2009.

The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother Tongue-
Based Multilingual Education [MTB-MLE] which starts from where the learners are at and
from what they already know, proceeding from the known to the unknown. Instructional
materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available.

In support of MTB-MLE, in 2013, DepEd issued DO #28 s. 2013 – Additional

Guidelines to DepEd Order No. 16, s. 2012 [Guidelines on the implementation of the
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education [MTB-MLE].

Reality dictates that the learners learn best when they are able to understand and
express in the language, they grew up speaking from childhood. Thus, they can build
strong scaffold in terms of comprehension, construction, and communication. Moreover,
research stresses that children with a solid foundation in the language they grew up
speaking or their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language.

III. ABSTRACT
Language is the basis of all communication and the primary instrument of thought.
Thinking, learning, and language are interrelated. Language is governed by rules and
systems [language conventions] which are used to explore and communicate meaning.
It defines cultures which is essential in understanding oneself [personal identity], forming
interpersonal relationships [socialization], extending experiences, reflecting on thought
and action, and contributing to a better society. Language, therefore, is central to the
people’s intellectual, social, and emotional development and has an essential role in all
key learning areas [English Curriculum Framework: Australia. 1998].

Language is the foundation of all human relationships. All human relationships are
established in the ability of people to communicate effectively with each other. Thoughts,
values, and understandings are developed and expressed through language. This process
allows students to understand better the world in which they live and contribute to the
development of their personal perspectives of the global community. Therefore,
proficiency in the language enables people to access, process, and assess information, to
engage with the wider and more diverse communities, and to learn about the role of
language in their own lives, and in their own and other cultures [Malone, 2006].

Language acquisition [a natural process and involves “picking up” language in a

nonconscious way through exposure to language, not by studying it] and language
learning [is conscious, intentional, involves study and pays attention to grammar rules]
is an active process from cradle to grave, and continues throughout life. It is continuous
and recursive throughout students’ lives. Students enhance their language abilities by
using what they know in new and more complex contexts and with increasing
sophistication [spiral progression]. They reflect on and use prior knowledge to extend
and enhance their language and understanding. By learning and incorporating new
language structures into their repertoire and using them in a variety of contexts, students
develop language fluency and proficiency. Positive learning experiences in language-rich
environments enable students to leave school with a desire to continue to extend their
knowledge, skills, and interests [Cummins, 1991].

Armed with the capability to read in their mother tongue, learners are able to cross
over and read in other languages. Their knowledge and skills transfer across languages.
This bridge then enables the learners to use both or all their languages for success in
academics and most of all for lifelong learning.

IV. APPLY

Having the end in mind of instilling lifelong learning over and above academic
excellence in Filipino learners, language learning in the mother tongue [L1], in
Filipino [L2-the national language], in English [L3-the global language], and the possibility
of a foreign language [L4], equips the learners to be more than prepared to
developed the competencies in the different learning areas they will hurdle.

Lesson Synthesis:
Think of how you acquired and learned the languages that you have right now.
How will you rate your level of proficiency for each of the language [10 points if you
consider yourself highly proficient]? What language did you acquire first? Second? Or, did
you acquire it simultaneously? Do you think it would make a difference if your L1
proficiency was well-established before you were exposed to your L2?
LESSON 2 WHY MTB-MLE?

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Discuss the reasons why learning a second language is important;
• Discus the personal factors involved in learning a second language;
• Understand the Lingua Franca Education Project and its connection to Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE); and
• Give a brief description of MTB-MLE.

I. ACTIVATE and ANALYZE

Question cards will be distributed randomly, decide whether you:
• Strongly agree
• Agree with reservations
• Somewhat undecided and most likely can be swayed to either side
• Strongly disagree
Prepare to share your answer and your justification to the class.
1. Language is an invention of groups of people in order to communicate effectively
with each other in their local/particular community.
2. Language represents concepts that are particular to a specific culture.
3. Language represents the people, the culture, the history, and heritage.
4. When we accept a language, we accept the culture.
5. Most language environments have words that are specialized and are used only
in those environments.
6. Age does not really determine difference in language style.
7. The structure of language affects the way in which its respective speakers
conceptualize their world or otherwise influences their cognitive processes.
8. New meanings are continually created as people change their ideas, feelings,
and activities.
9. As people think, read, travel, make friends, and experience life, the associations
and connections that words have for these people change.
10. Language determines how one thinks and processes information.
II. ABSTRACT
Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.

Second Language Learning

If you look in the dictionary to find the meaning of the word “acquisition”, you will find
it defined as something like “the process of learning skills or getting knowledge”. So, what
then is “language acquisition” and how is language different from “language learning”?

Some theorists believe that there is a difference between learning and acquisition and
that the difference is this: language learning is conscious or intentional process which may
involve studying the language, paying attention to grammar rules and possibly following a
course of instruction. Language acquisition, on the other hand, is considered to be a natural
process and involves “picking up” language in a nonconscious way through exposure to
language, not by studying it.

Children “acquire” their first language and get to know its rules through exposure and
by being exposed to examples of the language and by using it. This part of the theory of “first
language acquisition”.

“Second Language acquisition” is the process, and the study of the process by which
people learn a language that is not their native language. This is fairly new field of study and
there are still many questions to answer about how languages are learnt. However, teachers
and theorists believe that we do learn a second language by “acquiring” or “picking up’’
language, but there are some important considerations for second language learners.

Second language learners acquire language through exposure to many different

examples of the language, by reading it and by hearing it in their environment. We listen and
read and develop an understanding of language over a period of time before we eventually
use it ourselves. The period, when learners are taking in language, processing it and perhaps
silently practicing it, is known as the “silent period” and is thought to be an important state in
language acquisition.

Once we use the language, it is important that there is an opportunity for interaction
so we can use the language, to experiment, to make the language work in communication.

The final consideration is the need for a focus on form. Second language learners need
to focus on the language, to analyze and identify it and practice it. Teachers and learners will
also want to look at correcting mistakes so that learners can think about rules and exceptions
to rules.
In this lesson, it is important that you fully understand how we ended up
adopting the MTB-MLE. It all began with the Lingua Franca Education Project (LFEP)
where:

• The Department of Education, Culture and Sports embarked on a pilot study called
Franca Education Project in SY 1999-2000 which was aimed to define and
implement a national bridging program from the vernacular to Filipino, and later
 English to develop initial literacy for use in public schools. Through the bridging
program, an alternative curriculum will be used in acquiring basic literacy and
numeracy skills with the local lingua franca as the language of instruction.

• The pilot study involved two Grade 1 classes from each of the 16 regions. One was
the experimental class and the other control class.

• Two Grade 1 teachers from each of the experimental schools, together with the
principal, underwent training before the pilot study. One teacher handled the
Grade 1 experimental class while the other taught the alternate class.

• The Lingua Franca used in the pilot study were as follows:

Regions I, II, CAR – Ilocano
Regions III, IV,V,VI,XII, ARMM, NCR – Tagalog
Regions VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, CARAGA – Cebuano

Since the Lingua Franca Education Project (LFEP) DECS Memorandum No.144 s.
1999, Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Program is the most vital reform for
the country’s basic education and school system as a whole. The lessons from the findings
of various international and national studies on language used in education undertaken
by UNESCO are one in affirming the benefits and relevance of MTB-MLE which are in
conformity with the recommendations given by the Basic Education Sector Reform
Agenda (BESRA) to improve learning outcomes and promote Education for all (EFA).

As research shows, (Dutcher, 1994: Tucker, 1998; Klaus, 2001:Thomas, 2002;

Dekker and Young, 2007; Durnnian, 2007; UNESCO, 2007 b; Dekker, Duquiang, 2008;
Noorlander and Van, 2008), quality education occurs most effectively when the mother
tongue, the learner’s home language, is used for initial learning-- …the first language is
the language of learning. It is by far the easiest way for children to interact with the
world. And when the language of learning and the language of instruction do not match,
learning difficulties are bound to follow (World Bank, 2006. Page 4)

III. APPLY

MTB-MLE is a theoretically-based and well-planned educational program that

provides a strong foundation for literacy using the learners developing cognitive skills and
comprehension of academic content. Listed below are the “promises” of the MTB-MLE to
its learners.

• Literacy
 • Prior Knowledge
• Cognitive Development and Higher Order Thinking Skills [HOTS]
• Strong Bridge
• Scaffolding
• Teaching for Meaning and Accuracy
• Confidence Building and Proficiency Development for Two or more Languages
along the Macro Skills of Communication.

You may have been learning about MTB-MLE and its value, but it is also important
that early on, you are exposed to the problems and challenges that it has been facing
these parts years.

Lesson Synthesis:

For you, what do you foresee as challenges or difficulties that you will encounter
when you teach Mother Tongue as a learning area? Prepare to share your insights to the
class.
Lesson 3 CONTENT OF THE MTB-MLE?

Lesson Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:

• Understand the framework of the MTB-MLE;

• Gain deeper insight on the MTB-MLE curriculum;
• Draft a proposal on refinements/improvements of the curriculum; and
• Suggest ways of integrating MTB-MLE.

I. ACTIVATE

What “curriculum framework” means and its purpose?

Department of Education’s Curriculum framework for Mother Tongue as a learning area.

II. ANALYZE and ABSTRACT

A framework, when used in any context, implies a means of organizing and

managing content in systematic ways. With this, we can define a curriculum framework
as the one responsible in regulating the content of the curriculum; it sets the parameters,
directions, and standards for curriculum policy and practice.

MTB-MLE Curriculum Framework shown below.

1. What are the current and relevant issues in relation to our Philippine curriculum?

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. With the curriculum framework shown above, do you think these issues will be
addressed?

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3. What are the teaching and learning priorities of the framework that set the foundation
of the framework?

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4. How is content organized in the curriculum framework?

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Prepare for a class discussion.

III. APPLY

1. What needs to be improved [if any]?

2. If you will be given a chance to improve the framework, what changes will you
incorporate? Try to re-create the MTB-MLE framework based on your suggestions.

Lesson Synthesis:

Cite any words or ideas that are relevant in the Mother Tongue curriculum
framework. Based on how much you have learned about the framework.
LESSON 4 CONSTRUCTIVIST THEORY IN TEACHING MTB-MLE

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Grasp the essence of constructivist learning theory;
• Relate the constructivist learning theory with learning a language; and
• Formulate methods for teaching MTB-MLE through the constructivist approach.

I. ACIVATE
Your fundamental responsibility as a teacher is to guarantee that learning takes
place in your classroom. As a teacher, given this task, it is requisite that you have basic
knowledge of how students learn. There are number of learning theories that
demonstrate how individuals, especially young learners, learn. The five major learning
theories are listed below.

Behaviorism also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning which

states all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment through a
process called conditioning. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.
Behaviorism is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can
be studied in a systematic and observable manner.

Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the processes involved

in learning rather than on the observed behavior. ... The learner is viewed as an
information processor. Knowledge can be seen as schema or symbolic mental
constructions and learning is defined as change in a learner's schemata.

Constructivism is an important learning theory that educators use to help their

students learn. Constructivism is based on the idea that people actively construct or make
their own knowledge, and that reality is determined by your experiences as a learner.
Basically, learners use their previous knowledge as a foundation and build on it with new
things that they learn. So everyone's individual experiences make their learning unique
to them.

Humanistic Learning Theory, often called Humanism, focuses on the specific

human capabilities including creativity, personal growth, and choice. Humanists believe
people are good and noble. Maslow’s research into hierarchical needs is a major concept
in this learning theory, especially Self-Actualization, as it is only at this level the student
can truly experience growth.
 Connectivism is a learning theory that recognizes the evolution of ever-changing
learning networks, their complexity, and the role that technology plays in learning
networks through facilitation of existing learning networks and creation of new learning
networks. A theory of learning that describes the process of learning which takes place
through the building of online connections between people.

II. ANALYZE and ABSTRACT

Take time to read the information below about the constructivist learning theory,
the learning theory being championed by the Mother Tongue curriculum.

Constructivist Learning Theory

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are two most recognized pillars of constructivist
learning theory. Both puts high premium on how children acquire and construct meaning,
however, unlike the behaviorist , both Piaget and Vygotsky do not view children as empty
vessels (tabula rasa) waiting to be filled by an expert and learned adult. Constructivists
argue that children are performed to learn and acquire language as they go through
different developmental stages.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) argues that children are active learners who construct
meaning from their environment. Piaget is the proponent of cognitive developmental
theory that explains the interconnectedness of knowledge acquisition and language
acquisition through qualitative changes of their mental processes as they develop
(Crystal, 1987; Schickendanz, 1993; Vasta et al, 1999). He views children as active
learners, constructing knowledge over time, as they interact with their environment
through developmental states.

“Constructivism” has been a byword in education for generations, applied both to

learning theory and epistemology – both on how people learn and the nature of
knowledge. We do not need to adhere if it is simply a new fad, but we need to think
about our work in relation to theories of learning and knowledge. So we need to ask:
what is constructivism, what does it have to tell us that is new and relevant, and how do
we apply it to the universe of MTB-MLE? As they say, it will not take rocket science to
understand and employ constructivism. There is nothing dramatically new in
constructivism: the core ideas expressed by it have been clearly enunciated by John
Dewey among others.

Constructivism’s perspective of language opposition is generally centered on brain

development hung (1965) in schickedanz (1993) provides a summary of piaget it's stages
of cognitive development and how children construct knowledge and acquire a language.
 Leave Vygotsky's emphasized that private speech, of children talking to
themselves, for turning shared knowledge into personal knowledge (Slavin, 1997) .
Vygotsky proposed that children incorporate the speech of others and then use that
speech to help themselves solve problems (Slavin, 1997). Vygotsky's theory implies that
cognitive development and the ability to use thought to control one's own actions require
first mastery of cultural communication systems and then learning to use these systems
to regulate one’s own thought processes (Slavin, 1997, Crystal, 1987).

If Piaget’s view of learning and language acquisition is centered on the children's

changes of logical thinking through stages based on maturation and experience.
Vygotsky’s view is centered on the role of culture and social interactions of children with
other children and adults in the environment. Vygotsky even argued the children's speech
is a major tool in their development of thinking.

What is meant by constructivism? The term refers to the idea that learners
construct knowledge for themselves-each learner individually (and socially) constructs
meaning-as he or she learns.

Does it make any difference in our everyday work whether deep down we consider
knowledge to be about some “real” world independent of us, or whether we consider
knowledge to be of our own making?

If we believe that knowledge consists of learning about the real world out there,
then we endeavor first and foremost to understand that world, organize it in the most
rational way possible, and as teachers, present it to the learner. This view may still engage
us in providing the learner with activities, with hands-on learning with opportunities to
experiment and manipulate the objects of the world, but the intention is always to make
clear to the learner the structure of the world independent of the learner. We help the
learner understand the world. But we do not ask him to construct his or her own world.

Constructivists theory requires that we turn our attention by 180 degrees and look
towards all those wonderful, individual living beings -- the learners -- each of whom
creates his or her own model to explain nature. If we accept the constructivist position
we are inevitably required to follow a pedagogy which argues that we must provide
learners with the opportunity to: a) interact with sensory data, and b) construct their own
world.

As future educators/teachers it is our responsibility to inform our students of what

the truth is, it is our duty to let them know of what the “real world” is out there.
 Let us not fret and be frightened by this great responsibility for we are not left
alone in this task, there are guide posts that are laid out for us to consider.

1. Learning they say is from womb to tomb, from cradle to grave, and from naval
to gravel. Learning is not just pure absorption process of what is transferred directly from
one vessel to another. Hence, it is a process of learning by doing where in the active
engagement of the learner in the process makes it an effective one.

2. Learning is a web process, as a learner is engaged in learning, in the process of

it all, implicitly, the learner also learns other concepts or procedures related to what is
being learned explicitly.

3. Taking it from John Dewey’s reflective activity, learning is a mental process that
involves actual doing and reflective action. Reflective action gives the learner a chance to
note the significance and connection of the whole process.

Once a learner is able to define a concept in his or her own terms we can safely
say that learning took place. This is why we are always reminded to focus on the learner
in the process of learning and not on the learning area our subject/lesson. We have to
put premium on the student’s interest and ability, and where they are at in the process
of learning we have to note also that part of the learning process is attributed to the
experiences gathered by the learners in their own community. If we will fully accept the
constructivist point of view, we are reminded that knowledge is not just simply “out there”
divorced from the knower, but a complete process of learning by doing and reflecting. It
is both a personal and social process, learning does not take place if we do not open
ourselves to the world around us.

III. APPLY
Find a sample Lesson plan on Mother Tongue as a learning area. Using the sample
Lesson plan, analyze the activities to determine if it adopts the constructivists approach
to lesson development.
• Is the learning objective clearly defined?
• Is the activity motivating for the learner?
• is the learner informed of how he or she will be assessed?
• Does the learner have an opportunity to share ideas with others?
• Is the learner provided with sources and support to help build knowledge?
LESSON 5 PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCIES IN TEACHING MOTHER
TONGUE

Now that you have the basic concepts pertinent to MTB-MLE, you will now acquire
the pedagogical competencies that you need to successfully teach Mother Tongue to your
future students. The pedagogical competencies emphasized in this module are as follows:
your ability to understand deeper the target language and the culture in which the
language is situated; your ability to design and execute instructional plans in teaching
mother tongue; and your ability to create assessment to ensure that learning is genuinely
taking place.

These pedagogical competencies are discussed in the succeeding units. Lesson 5.1
and 5.2 though will discuss the pre-requisites of teaching mother tongue -- your
competency to understand and analyze a mother tongue and the local culture in which
the mother tongue is situated.

Lesson 5.1 UNDERSTANDING THE LOCAL CULTURE

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, students are expected to:
• State their own definition of culture and list other related concepts;
• Explain the various definitions of culturally-responsive education and its principles;
and
• List some examples of the elements of culture from observing their local
communities’ culture.

I. ACTIVATE
“For indigenous communities… worldwide that are still grappling with the legacy
of colonization, being able to speak their ancestral language is about empowerment and
reclaiming their identity. It may even carry significant consequences for their mental
health.”
This quote is taken from a BBC by Rawlings (2019) entitled “The Man bringing
dead languages back to life.” Do you believe in this quote? The goal of this activity is for
each student to think about the interrelationships of language, culture, and community.

As student’s beliefs, attitudes, and subjective norms are all circumscribed in

culture. Most of the time, culture affects, in a variety of ways, how different students
prefer to learn. Teachers should consider a diverse method of teaching the suit varied
aspects of student’s different cultures. Even though people are not aware of it, culture
governs their thoughts, believes and behavior (Gay, 2010B). Therefore, what is culture?
How would you define culture?

II. ANALYZE
First, think of words or ideas related to “culture.” Write these words around the
word “culture” seen below.

Doige (2003) commented that students’ academic achievement improves more

when the education is culturally relevant and responsive. For example, in a 2011 study,
pupils from an ethnic culture group did not learn as fast when compared to their
mainstream counterparts. This gap was attributed to the language barrier between
students and teachers. It was also caused by differences in values towards education
(Schmeichel, 2011).

How do you become a good teacher to these students? The answer is that there
is no single way of being a good teacher since approaches and relevant topics change in
different cultures, language, race, ethnicity, class, and gender (Taylor and Sobel, 2011).
How do you change the topic and the approach to make education more relevant in terms
of race, ethnicity, and culture? How do you become culturally-responsive? What is a
culturally-responsive education?

II. ABSTRACT
Think about the elements of a culturally responsive education period first, read the
different definitions of “Culturally-Responsive Education” below.

Definitions of “Culturally-Responsive Education”

• To use the experiences and frames of reference based on the diverse culture of
the students (Gay, 2010a)
• An approach to education where the teacher integrates elements of the students’
lifestyles and daily experiences in the instruction and the curriculum (Taylor &
Sobel, 2011).
• A type of pedagogy where teachers are competent in cross-cultural and
multicultural setting (Diller & Moule, 2005).
• Recognizes the uniqueness of the majority and minority in the body of students
(Cartledge, Gardner & Ford, 2009… as cited in Taylor and Sobel, 2011).

IV. APPLY
Culture is composed of many elements. Some of these are values, language
(Salvatore, 2012), symbols, objects (Watts, 1981), groups, and norms (Hebdige, 2012).
These elements may be classified into three: (1) Sense-making, (2) Artifacts, and (3)
Groups.

Elements of Culture

Sense-making is the multiple representation of meaning of a given object,

person, or event. Different people provide different meanings to a certain object. This
may depend on their values and their language (Salvatore,2012).
Key Questions:
What values are prominent in the community?
What specific words or phrases do they always use?
What do they mean by it?

Artifacts is defined as anything belonging to a group of people that's provides

information about the said group’s culture. It may include symbols, traditional objects
found in archaeological sites or more modern objects like cell phones, televisions, laptops,
etc. (Watts, 1981).
Key Questions:
What objects does the community use or own?
What are their significance?
What symbols or emblems were used by the community? Why?

Groups different cultures usually have sub-groups inside which are called
subcultures. These are groups that have their own norms and values that sometimes
retain a few of the parent culture’s general principles (Hebdige, 2012).
Key Questions:
What significant groups can be found in the community?
What are the organizations?
What are the expected patterns of behavior or belief in these groups?

Lesson Synthesis:

What would happen to a class if the teacher does not consider the students’
culture? In your own words, how would you define culturally-responsive education? What
are some of the instances when you would need to create or understand a community’s
socio-cultural profile? Explain your answers.
Lesson 5.2 KNOWING THE MOTHER TONGUE

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• List and analyze various definitions of mother tongue from different authors and
language institutions;
• explain national and international Laws and policies related to Mother Tongue
Based Multilingual Education; and
• construct illustrations and example of their own mother tongue or another
language they have studied you saying the five language knowledge

I. ACTIVATE
What is mother tongue? How is it defined by linguist and language institutions?
The goal of this activity is for you to scan the various definitions of mother tongue from
different authors and institutions. Go to the library or search the Internet four different
definitions of mother tongue. Read your definitions on the blanks provided.
1. The mother tongue is defined as
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

3._____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

4._____________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

II. ANALYZE
Have you heard of linguistic and interdependence hypothesis? Linguistic
interdependence hypothesis mentions that language proficiency skills, like speaking,
listening, reading, and writing developed using one language, may also transfer to higher
language proficiency skills in another language. This means that the speaking, listening,
reading, and writing skills developed using mother tongue may also transfer to the
student’s secondary language when he/she learns the new language (Paia, Cummins,
Nocus, Salaun, & Vernaudon, 2015). Do you believe in this hypothesis? Why or why not?

The goal of this activity is for you to summarize and reflect upon the international
and the national policies about the mother tongue as a medium of instruction. Look for
the policies listed below. Summarize each policy in the blanks provided.

United Nations declaration under rights of indigenous peoples (UNDRIP),

Articles 13.1-2 and 14.1

Affirming that indigenous peoples are equal to all other peoples, while recognizing the
right of all peoples to be different, to consider themselves different, and to be respected
as such, Affirming also that all peoples contribute to the diversity and richness of
civilizations and cultures, which constitute the common heritage of humankind,
Affirming further that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating
superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious,
ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally
condemnable and socially unjust, Reaffirming that indigenous peoples, in the exercise
of their rights, should be free from discrimination of any kind.

The Declaration of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,

Religious, and Linguistics minorities of 1992.

Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter

referred to as persons belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy their own
culture, to profess and practice their own religion, and to use their own language, in
private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.

RA 10157: The Kindergarten Education Act of 2011, Section 5

Republic Act (RA) 10157, otherwise known as “The Kindergarten Education Act,”
provides that the curriculum is designed to cater to the needs of the learners with
special needs or children who are gifted, those with disabilities, and other diverse
learners by adopting services in addition to the standards provided,
RA 10533: Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, Section 4 and section 5F

(a) Act refers to Republic Act No. 10533, entitled “An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic
Education System by Strengthening Its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years
for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes,” otherwise
known as the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.”

III. ABSTRACT
Bring your list of mother tongue definitions from the previous activity and proceed to
your pre-determined groups.

1. What common themes do you observe from the definitions listed above? Why do
you think these themes are repeated?
2. Using your own words, how would your group define mother tongue?
3. In your group's opinion, what are the aspects of the mother tongue language
should a teacher study? Why?
4. Do you agree with using the mother tongue as a medium of teaching? What are
its advantages and disadvantages?

IV. APPLY
Nelson Mandela, a highly influential South African political leader, was once quoted
saying, “if you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you
talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” (BBC News, n.d.) Do you believe in
this quote? Why or why not? How would you understand another person's language?
How would you study the said language?

The mother tongue, or any language, may be studied and understood through
different aspects. It may be examined using the five knowledge of the language which
are: (1) Phonology, (2) Morphology, (3) Syntax, (4) Semantics, and (5) Pragmatics.

• Phonology is defined as the study of patterns in speech sound. It consists of

knowing about the sounds of a language and of describing the said sound
(Brentari, Fenlon, & Cormier, 2018).

• Morphology is defined as the rules of language that govern word formation.

• Syntax - is defined as the set of statutes and principles that cover sentence
structure an word order in language (Chomsky, & Lightfoot, 2002)
 • Semantics is defined as the study of linguistic meanings.

• Pragmatics is defined as the study of unseen or hidden meanings in different

languages apart from its content. This meaning is provided by the context and a
pre-existing knowledge of the perceiver about the utterance.

Lesson Synthesis:
1. In your own words, how would you define the mother tongue?

2. In your opinion, why do the laws and policies mentioned advocate for the mother
tongue as a medium of instruction?

3. What would happen if another language, not the mother tongue, was used as s
medium of instruction in early grades? Why?

UNIT SUMMARY
Bravo! You have reached the end of unit 1! We hope that you now have a clearer
picture of MTB-MLE in terms of its educational goals, guiding principles, curriculum
framework, key stages and standards, and the overall significance of recognizing the
cultural and linguistic diversity of our country as a potent means of advancing quality
education for all. In the next chapter, you will be guided in developing instructional plans
in teaching Mother Tongue as a subject or learning area.
UNIT II INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING FOR THE MOTHER TONGUE

Planning instruction is a complex process requiring knowledge of planning

components such as what to teach, how to teach, and how well the students should know
the content after the lesson (Hunt et al., 1999). Planning also involves consideration of
any influences (physical, emotional, psychological, social, and technological) that may
affect student learning. Effective instruction does not only entail coming to class and
delivering a lesson; it entails helping students progress from one place to another in their
understanding an ability to do certain things (Teach for America, 2010). Through
formulating effective plans, constantly monitoring student progress, engaging in critical
thought and reflection, and adjusting their plans to be most effective, teachers move
their students content and performance master you to the next level.

This unit aims to sharpen your knowledge and skills necessary to engage in this
process of instructional planning.

LESSON 1 COMPONENTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Describe to seatmate one’s typical instructional planning process;
• Select and rank according to importance guide questions to consider in planning
instruction;
• Identify events that must be included in an instruction plan; and
• characterize effective instructional plan.

I. ACTIVATE
How do you plan for instruction? Describe to your seatmate the process you do.
If possible, show instructional plans you have previously made.

It is possible that you have several questions to consider when planning for your
daily classroom teaching. Which among the questions on the succeeding page will most
likely guide you? Put a check (✓ ) before all questions that apply. Then, rank the questions
from your highest (1) to least (11) priority.

QUESTIONS Rank
___A What should students know, understand, or be able to do?
 ___B How will your students demonstrate their mastery?
___C How will you instruct your students so they can reach that level of
mastery?
___D What learning materials will you utilize?
___E What method will you use to assess?
___F What learning activities will enable the students to acquire target
knowledge, and develop target skills and competencies?
___G How much time will each activity require?
___H What are the interests and learning preferences of the students?
___I What are the criteria for success? How well should the students know
the content after instruction?
___J How will the student outputs be graded?
___K What do students already know about the topic?
Compare your answers to your seatmate’s answer. How similar or different are
your answers? Explain your ranking. Why are some questions more important that the
others?

II. ANALYZE

Listed on the table below are questions we consider when planning for instruction.
Each question pertains two elements of classroom instruction (e.g., teacher, students,
learning resources, time, assessment, etc) that must be prepared before an instruction
happens. Identify the classroom instruction element each question refers to. The first
item is done for you.
Classroom
Questions Instruction
Element
A What should your students know, understand, or be able to Academic plan or
do? curriculum
B How will your students demonstrate their mastery?
C How will you instruct your students so they can reach that
level of mastery?
D What learning materials will you utilize?
E What method will you use to assess?
F What learning activities will enable the students to acquire
target knowledge, and develop target skills and
competencies?
G How much time will each activity require?
 H What are the interests and learning preferences of the
students?
I What are the criteria for success? How well should the
students know the content after instruction?
J How will the student outputs be graded?
K What do students already know about the topic?

III. ABSTRACT
Robert Gagne, a renowned educational psychologist, developed Nine Events of
Instruction which has guided trainers and educators in designing instruction for trainings
and classroom-based teaching.
Gaining attention (reception)
Informing learners of the object (expectancy)
Stimulating recall or prior learning (retrieval)
Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
Eliciting performance (responding)
Providing feedback (reinforcement) assessing performance retrieval
Assessing performance (retrieval)
Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization)

THE NINE EVENTS OF INSTRUCTION CAN BE DIVIDED INTO THREE SEGMENTS.

Instruction and Assessment and

Preparation
Practice Transfer
• Gaining attention • Presenting the • Assessing
stimulus performance
• Informing
learners of the • Providing learning • Enhancing
objective guidance retention and
transfer
• Stimulating recall • Eliciting performance
of prior learning
• Providing feedback

Compare Gagne’s instructional model with Murthy and Ram’s ( 2015 ) integrative
Approach to English Language Teaching in L2.
Murthy and Ram’s (2015) Integrative Approach to English Language Teaching in L2.
1. Activating prior knowledge

2. The Teaching-Learning Cycle

a. Building knowledge of the field (vocabulary building, sharing prior
experiences, practicing grammatical patterns, meaning-making, and
communicative activities)
b. Modeling the genre under focus
c. Join construction of the genre (oral to written form)
d. Independent construction of the genre

3. Evaluation of learners

In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
IV. APPLY

1. For each event in Gagne’s list, come up with tips and guidelines for teachers.
Read relevant print an online sources.
Example: techniques for gaining learner’s attention:
• Stimulate learner’s attention with novelty or surprise
• pose thought-provoking questions
• present an intriguing problem
• present meaningful and relevant challenge

Events of Instruction Tips and Guidelines for Teachers

Gaining attention
Informing learners of the objective
Stimulating recall or prior knowledge
Presenting the stimulus
Providing learning guidance
Eliciting performance
Providing feedback
Assessing performance
Enhancing retention and transfer
 2. What makes an instruction effective? Develop a rubric for an effective
instructional plan. Write your criteria on the blanks provided on the left side.
Exceeds the Meets the Developing Beginning
Standard Standard
4 3 2 1

Lesson Synthesis:

1. What new insights did you learn from this lesson?

2. What is the importance of instructional planning?
3. What is the importance of planning for Mother Tongue instruction?
LESSON 2 INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING CYCLE

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• explain the importance and purpose for instructional planning cycle;
• examine the ADDIE instructional planning model;
• discuss the relationship among the steps in ADDIE instructional design process;
and
• prepare for an instructional blend using the ADDIE design template.

I. ACTIVATE
Pair up with a seatmate and discuss answers to the questions below.
1. Do you reflect on your teaching and facilitating? In what ways?
2. When do you say you have done well in facilitating learning?
3. What are your sources of data?

Instructional planning is a decision-making activity. What we decide on and prioritize

today affect our instruction the day after. The decision-making process follows a cycle.

II. ANALYZE
Examine the ADDIE instructional design process below. What do you observe
about the steps? How about the relationship among the five steps? Write your answers
inside the box below the diagram.

The ADDIE Model is an iterative instructional design process., where the results
of the formative evaluation of each phase may lead the instructional designer back to
any previous phase. The end-product of one phase is the starting product of the next
phase.
III. ABSTRACT
ADDIE Instructional Design Process
• Analysis (the process of defining what it is to be learned)
Assessment of goals needs of learners
Problem identification
Task analysis
• Design (the process of specifying how it is to be learned)
Write objectives
Develop test items
Plan instruction
Identify resources
Select delivery system
• Development (the process of writing and producing the materials)
Work with producers
Develop worksheets and materials

• Implementation (the actual delivery of instruction whether classroom-based,

computer-based or lab-based)
Teacher-training
Tryout
• Evaluation (the process of determining the adequacy, effectiveness, and
efficiency of instruction; May be formative or summative)
Record test results
Interpret test results
Survey graduates
Revise activities

IV. APPLY
It is your turn to prepare for your own instructional plan. Observe the steps
provided by your teacher.

Lesson Synthesis:
After going through the complex yet exciting process of instructional planning,
what was it like? Describe your strengths and the challenges that you encountered
when you were familiarizing yourself with the process.
LESSON 3 INSTRUCTIONAL PLANNING MODELS FOR MOTHER TONGUE
INSTRUCTION

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Recall the description and meaning of the principles that govern the teaching and
learning of mother tongue;
• Familiarize yourself with instructional planning models for the teaching of Mother
Tongue;
• relate the principles of teaching Mother Tongue to instructional planning
• examine instructional planning models for their merits and applicability to one’s
teaching and learning contexts; and
• observe Mother Tongue classes to determine an exam in teaching strategies
employed by teachers/colleagues.

I. ACTIVATE
Recall the guiding principles that should inform the teaching and learning of Mother
Tongue by writing the descriptions and/or applications on the second column.

EIGHT PRINCIPLES

Known to Unknown
The second maxim of the teaching is that the teacher should proceed from known
to unknown. The teacher tries to take advantage of what the students know and then
tries to relate the new experiences with the old ones. In this process, the teacher should
take reverse course. He should try to present the known facts to the students first and
then take them to unknown arenas.

Language and academic development

Students with well-developed skills in their first language have been shown to
acquire additional languages more easily and fully and that, in turn, has a positive impact
on academic achievement. Application: Continue the oral development of L1 and begin
reading in L1 to strengthen L2 and L3 learning as well as academic achievement across
the curriculum. Students who use their multilingual skills have been shown to develop
both cognitive flexibility and divergent thinking. Application: Continue developing critical
thinking in the L1 as well as in L2 and L3. Jim Cummins. Principle 3. Cognitive
Development.
Cognitive Development
Higher Order Thinking Skills When we truly learn something, we can explain it,
apply it, analyze it, evaluate it, and use it to create new ideas and information Application:
In all subjects, focus on activities that build understanding and that encourage students
to apply, analyze, and evaluate what they have learned to create new knowledge.

Discovery learning Application

Find out what the students already know about a topic. Then provide activities
that let them use their knowledge to learn the new concept or task. Bruner, J.S. (1967).
We learn when someone who already understands the new idea or task helps us to
“discover” the new idea and then use it meaningfully.

Active learning Principle

Active Peer interaction. Children learn best through peer interactions in which they
work together creatively to solve problems. Application: Do most class activities in teams
or pairs. Encourage students to talk with each other and compare ideas to solve problems.
Active Second language active learning. Young children gain confidence in learning
a new language when they begin with “hear-see-do”. Application: Begin the L2 language
learning time by focusing on listening and responding to oral language. Children listen to
a command, observe someone respond to the command and then respond in action (no
talking at first)
Active Purposeful Talk. Talking helps us make sense of new ideas and information.
Application: 1) Ask a lot of “higher level” questions and give students time to think and
then respond. 2) Provide plenty of opportunities for students to work in teams, sharing
and comparing their ideas.

MEANING and ACCURACY

Meaning and Successful language learning involves hearing, speaking, reading and
writing activities that focus on both meaning and accuracy. Application: Include plenty of
activities that focus on both MEANING and ACCURACY.

Language Learning Principle

We learn a new language best when the learning process is non-threatening and
meaningful and when we can take “small steps” that help us gain confidence in our ability
to use the language meaningfully. Application: Begin the L2 language learning time by
focusing on “hear- see-do” activities than enable students to build up their “listening
vocabulary” before they are expected to talk. Introduce reading and writing in L2 only
when they have built up a good hearing and speaking vocabulary.
Affective component Principle
Valuing the Valuing students with talents in their home language more powerfully
enables learning than just valuing learners of English whose home language is irrelevant
to academic success.
Valuing the Application: Learners are encouraged when they know they are valued
in the classroom and their language and heritage are seen as resources. Jim Cummins.
Valuing the classroom environment should also give a sense of belongingness and
acceptance to the learners.
Valuing the home.

II. ANALYZE
The aforementioned principles come to life in the classroom through the teaching
and learning activities organized by the teacher when performing the role of an
instructional planner and designer.

III. ABSTRACT
Malone (2010) indicates that for learners to become successful learners, they must
be able to:
• listen and read with understanding;
• speak and write to communicate thoughts, ideas, needs and experiences;
• read letters, words, and sentences correctly; and
• speak and write correctly.
A “balanced teaching method” that enables learners to develop all four skills can be
divided into two “tracks”. Our track emphasizes accuracy and correctness and focuses on
the parts of the language. The other track emphasizes meaning and communication and
focuses on whole texts. The table below shows the main features of these essential
components in language education programs.

Emphasis: meaning and

Emphasis: accuracy and
communication correctness
Listening Listen to understand, think critically, and
Recognize and distinguish
respond creatively. sounds, recognize parts of word,
and follow directions.
Speaking Speak with understanding to Use language correctly
communicate thoughts, ideas, needs (pronunciation and grammar)
and experiences.
 Reading Read for meaning and understanding. Decode words by recognizing
their parts (letters, syllables,
tone marks, etc.)
Writing Write creatively to communicate Form letters properly and neatly,
thoughts, ideas, needs, and experiences. spell words accurately, and use
grammar correctly.

Lesson Synthesis:
In your readings and classroom observations, what are the teaching strategies and
classroom activities that worked well for learners?

What are those that did not work well?

What should teachers remember when planning for instruction?

LESSON 4 DEVELOPING INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS FOR MOTHER TONGUE

INSTRUCTION

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• unpack the standards in the curriculum guide;
• determine the nature of competencies;
• identify topic or content of instruction;
• select assessment strategies; and
• plan learning experiences.

I. ACTIVATE
On your own, answer the following questions. Then, discuss with partner.
• How do you use the content of the DepEd curriculum guide on MTB-MLE?
• How do you teach the content of the DepEd curriculum guide on MTB-MLE?

II. ANALYZE
Apparently, the curriculum guide serves as teachers’ blueprint for planning and
designing the curriculum. It should not be taught as is. It contains standards which are
broad guidelines for student achievement. It will be your job to interpret these standards
using unpacking strategies.
 Unpacking means extracting the component knowledge and skills required by a
standard in order to understand the learning expectations and can clearly articulate those
expectations to students and parents. Unpacking serves three purposes: (a) to establish
focus of standards and competencies, (b) to link standards, competencies, and teaching,
and (c) to contextualize teaching.
Examine the figure below on unpacking standards and competencies in the curriculum
guide.

Analyze the standards

Determine the nature of

competencies (knowledge,
Skills, Values)

Identify topic or content

Select assessment strategies

Plan learning experiences

Select/design instructional
materials

Figure 1: Strategies for Unpacking Standards and Competencies in the Curriculum Guide

You may observe that the model utilizes backward design of instructional
planning. Recall the insights you gained from the previous lesson on backward design.
Step 1. The first step in the figure involves analysis of the standards. Standards articulate
what a student should be able to know, understand, and do by the end of the year, and
they set equitable benchmarks across classrooms and schools.
Read the discussion below on the various types of standards stipulated in the
curriculum guide.

Content Standard Performance Standard

• Answers the questions, “what do • Answers the question, “What do

students want to know, be able to we want students to do with their
do, and understand?” learning or understanding?” and
“How do we want them to use
their learning or understanding?”
• Defines what students are expected
to know (knowledge: facts and • Defines the expected proficiency
information), and what they should level
be able do (process or skills) with
what they know • Products and/or performances as
evidence that students can
transfer or use their learning in
• The meanings or understanding
real-life situations
that they construct or makes as
they process the facts and
information
Types of Standards
Learning Area Standard
(This defines the broad outcomes for the MTB-MLE learning Area.)

Example: Use Mother Tongue appropriately an effectively in oral, visual, an written

communication in a variety of situations and for a variety of audiences, context, and
purposes, including learning of other content subjects and languages, demonstrate
appreciation of various forms of literacy genres, and take pride in one cultural
heritage.

Key stage standard

(This defines the specific outcomes four key stages such as K-Grade 3, Grade 4-6,
and Grade 7-10.)

Example: K to grade 3- By the end of grade 3, students will enjoy communicating in

their first language unfamiliar topics for a variety purposes and audiences using basic
 vocabulary and phrases, read L1 texts with understanding, and create their own
stories and texts in their L1.

Grade level standard

(This defines the specific outcomes for the language domains of each grade level.)

Example: Kindergarten - the learner demonstrates skills and strategies in phonemic

awareness, alphabet knowledge, sound-letter correspondences, decoding, vocabulary,
and comprehension as they enjoy listening and responding to a variety of texts in
their Mother Tongue.

III. ABSTRACT
Step 2. Examine the competencies by determining the target language domain.

The five macro skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing, and viewing) are further
categorized into 12 domains in the MTB-MLE curriculum.

• Oral language (OL)

• Phonological Awareness (PA)
• Book and Print Knowledge (BPK)
• Phonics and Word Recognition (PWR)
• Fluency (F)
• Composing (C)
• Grammar Awareness (GA)
• Vocabulary and Concept Development (VCD)
• Listening Comprehension (LC)
• Reading Comprehension (RC)
• Attitude towards Reading (ATR)
• Study Skills (SS)

Step 3. Determine the nature of competencies (knowledge, skills, and values)

The target of the competency maybe knowledge (conceptual and factual

understanding), skills (ability to perform or demonstrate linguistic skills an activities), and
values (appreciation for language, development of right attitudes and dispositions).
 Competency Language Domain Nature
Talk about oneself and one's Oral Language (OL) Skill
personal experiences (family, bed,
favorite food)

Step 4. Determine the topic or content and time allotment.

The target competency contains specific topic or lesson. The first column of the
curriculum guide “Quarter/Week/Theme” provides clue to the topic at hand.

Competency Language Domain Nature Topic

Talk about oneself and one's Oral Language (OL) Skill Talking about
personal experiences (family, oneself and
bed, favorite food) other topics

The curriculum guide provides the minimum standard for the Filipino learners. The
time allotment in the first column of the curriculum guide proper also serves as the
minimum duration of learning the topic. Our learners may acquire or develop the target
competency much ahead of the expected time.

Time Allotment Competency Language Nature

Domain
Quarter 1, week 1 Talk about oneself and one's Oral Skill
personal experiences (family, Language
bed, favorite food)

Step 5. Select assessment strategies.

The most important principle to remember when selecting assessment strategies
is constructive alignment. It is the “coherence” among the learning outcomes,
assessment, and learning experiences in an educational program.
Constructive Alignment

Learning Outcomes

Learning Assessment
Experiences
Spady uses “matchmaking” as a synonym for alignment. He explains that alignment
basically means the “the perfect match” of four things, namely:
1. What is important for the learners to learn;
2. What we teach them;
3. How we teach them; And
4. What we assess when we ask them to perform.

Indeed, the backward design approach makes teachers consider the objectives or
competencies of the subject first. These competencies embody the knowledge and skills
teachers want their students to have learned at the end of the subject.

Clearly, the verb used in the competency provides clue as to the type of
assessment strategies to be used in the classroom. In the example, the target
competency involves the ability to speak the target language; The assessment therefore,
should provide learners the opportunity to use the language in oral form.

Step 6. Plan learning experiences.

Make sure to match the learning activities with learning outcomes. Examine the
table below.

Target Competency Learning Activities/Experiences

Recognize that printed text has meaning
(Focus on Whole Language/Meaning)
Recognize letters of the alphabet, tone
marks, and other language features
(Focus on Parts of Language/Accuracy)
• Look at pictures of familiar scenes
and say what they mean
• Take part in Shared Reading
Activities
• Use books in dependently, turn
pages in correct order, pints to
and talks about picture
• Read short simple stories with
picture
• Read/say the sound of letters in
isolation
• Read/sound out short words in
isolation
• Write the letters of the alphabet
• Read and write own name
correctly
Step 7. Design learning Materials.
Tomlinson (2003) indicates that effective language materials:
• Expose the learners to language in authentic use;
• help learners to pay attention to features of authentic input;
• provide the learners with opportunities to use the target language to achieve
communicative purposes;
• provide opportunities for outcome feedback;
• achieve impact in the sense that they arouse and sustain the learners’ curiosity an
attention; And
• stimulate intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional involvement.

IV. APPLY
On your own, choose one competency to unpack. Identify assessment strategies,
learning experiences, and materials aligned with it. Complete the table below with your
answers.

Lesson Synthesis:
What are the benefits of using the background design in instructional planning?
How do you feel about our week-long plan? Is it visible? Can you implement your plan?

UNIT SUMMARY
In this unit, you learned about the important principles and guidelines in
instructional planning in general and mother tongue instruction in particular. You also
learned and practiced curriculum unpacking strategies. It is hoped that you can now
understand the various elements of the curriculum guide and you can articulate these
elements with competence and confidence to your peers and students. Unpacking
strategies enable us to unravel the wondrous gifts inherent in our own curriculum guide
and equipped us to contextualize our teaching.
UNIT III TEACHING AND LEARNING THE MOTHER TONGUE

As future teachers of mother tongue as a subject, you are expected to play the
role of a language teacher; Thus, it is vital that you understand the nature and dynamics
of communication and language learning. In this unit, teaching and learning the mother
tongue, you will be exposed to the five macro skills of communication and the teaching
and learning strategies that you can use in the classroom for your young learners to
acquire and enhance these skills. A variety of instructional activities will be provided for
analysis and you are expected to design your own instructional activities in your chosen
Mother Tongue. In addition, lessons on choosing and developing on-grade and culturally
relevant instructional materials are also covered in this unit. Hopefully, the task that you
will complete here will equip you with the adequate knowledge and skills to teach Mother
Tongue as a learning area.
Lesson 1 THE MACRO SKILLS OF COMMUNICATION

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Familiarize themselves with the macro skills that are essential for them to
communicate effectively;
• see and understand the interconnectedness of these macro skills in
communication;
• draw out possible topics for instruction based on their understanding of the macro
scale and the sample classroom activities; And
• create a proficiency criteria for each macro skill.

I. ACTIVATE
In learning any language, there are skills that everyone needs to acquire and
master for him or her to communicate effectively. We call them “macro skills”. Macro
skills are defined by the skills that constitute it: speaking, reading, writing, and
listening. Recent literature adds two more skills: representing and viewing (Barrot,
2016). They are now commonly called as the Six Macro Skills of Communication. These
“language macro skills” is divided into “productive” and “receptive” skills.

Your task is to classify the six macro skills mentioned earlier as a productive or
receptive. Write your answers in the box provided.
Productive Skills Receptive Skills

II. ANALYZE

Below are sample language classroom activities. For each activity described, do
the following:
1. identified the dominant macro skill being targeted by the activity; And
2. list the other macro skill/s that is/are required to be used by the learner in order
to execute the activity.
 Activity 1
The teacher reads the instructions on how children Dominant Macro Skill:
should wash their hands. After, the learners are
expected to demonstrate the correct way of Other Skills Tapped:
washing their hands.

Activity 2
Teacher asks the learners to bring a family picture Dominant Macro Skill:
to a class. She or he is asked to talk about the
picture. Other Skills Tapped:

Activity 3
The teacher shares a story to the learners. She Dominant Macro Skill:
slowly tells the story and pauses occasionally. She
asks questions in between pauses like, “what do Other Skills Tapped:
you think will happen next?”

Activity 4
The teacher introduces card-making to his Dominant Macro Skill:
learners. He then tells them that they are going to
Other Skills Tapped:
create and design their own thank you cards that
they will give to their parents.

Activity 5
The teacher shows the learners a pop-up book of a Dominant Macro Skill:
local folk tale. Learners are asked to talk about
their favorite pictures from the book. Other Skills Tapped:

With your seatmate, discuss the following questions:

1. How did you arrive at the dominant skill for each activity?
2. What did you notice about the relationship between and among the macro skills?
3. Do you think it is possible that a single activity will only top one macro skill? Why
do you think so?

III. ABSTRACT
In the previous activity, you learned about the overlap and interconnectedness of
the language macro skills. This task should help you understand the macro skills on a
deeper level. From here, we will only focus on the five macro skills (i.e. reading, writing,
listening, viewing and speaking) covered by the Mother Tongue Curriculum Guide
prescribed by the Department of Education.

In triads, complete the table by developing a definition of the language macro

skill using the keywords in column 2, and by identifying the possible lesson topics in
teaching a specific language macro skill (see example below). Write at least three-
lesson topics for each macro skill.

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4

Language Macro Keywords Description of Possible Lesson
Skill the Skill Topics
Listening “understand, Ex. Listening for
interpret and Details
evaluate”
Speaking “building and
sharing meaning”
Reading “draw meaning and
interpret
information”
Writing “use symbols”
Viewing “perceiving,
examining,
interpreting and
constructing
meaning”

Prepare to share to the class your definitions and sample lesson topics.

IV. APPLY
When or how do you know that a language macro skill has been acquired and
mastered by a learner? What does “proficiency” in each of the macro skill mean? What
are the measures of proficiency for each macro skill?

Lesson Synthesis:
1. What new insights did you learn from this lesson?
2. What is the importance of understanding the language macro skills in relation to
your responsibility of teaching Mother Tongue as a subject?
LESSON 2 TEACHING FOR MEANING AND ACCURACY

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Understand and differentiate teaching for meaning and accuracy;
• Know and differentiated the most common teaching methods in language
instruction --- whole-to-part, part-to-whole, and balanced method;
• analyze various instructional activities; and
• create instructional activities using the competences from DepEd's curriculum
guides of mother tongue.

I. ACTIVATE
When you teach the language macro skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing,
and viewing, you are responsible in helping the learners build the competence (and
confidence) in using these macro skills meaningfully an accurately. This is called as a
“balanced teaching method”.
According to Malone (2000), a balanced teaching method allows learners to of
successfully learn a language by:
• Focusing on the parts of the language (teaching for accuracy); and
• Focusing on the whole text (teaching for meaning).

Let us check your understanding of teaching for meaning and accuracy. Read and
understand enumerated actual language classroom activities. Identified the focus of the
instruction. Write (TA) in the blank if the activity highlights accuracy, and (TM) if the
activity highlights meaning.
___ 1. A student is shown a sequence of pictures and she will be asked to tell the story.
___ 2. A student draws a picture of her favorite place, and she tells the class about it.
___ 3. A student follows dotted lines to form letters.
___ 4. A student matches the sound to its letter counterpart.
___ 5. A student reads and writes her own name correctly.

II. ANALYZE
Malone (2001) compared the three teaching methods that are commonly used in
teaching language in early years: the Part-to-whole, the whole-to-part, and the Balanced
Methods.
Part-to-whole is a teaching method in which instruction begins with the most basic
unit of language learning and works up to more complex aspects of language learning.
More attention is given to skill development through drills, and less attention is given to
constructing meaning through language. For example, the teacher provides premium in
the practice of forming letters, spelling words, and copying text.

On the other hand, the whole-to-part teaching method emphasizes the importance
of the learners’ understanding of the context in which the language is used. This teaching
method emphasizes the importance of meaning construction in the learner’s use of his or
her language. The use of big book in storytelling activities is one example of this method
where the goal of the activity is to make the learners understand the story with the aid
of the big book.

Balance method is the combination of the two methods described above. Below
are selected instructional activities that are believed to be examples of the use of the
balanced method. Try to identify the activity that is being described in numbers one to
three. Use the least shown below:
a) Shared reading d) Independent reading
b) Interactive read aloud e) Shared writing
c) Guided reading f) Interactive writing

Activity Description Write your answers here

1 Teachers select a Big Book that is slightly above the
level of the most students in the class. Teachers
and students read out loud, together. Often, the
text contains rhyming words or patterns that are
predictable for students to read with the teacher.
The teacher can cover up certain parts of the text
(a letter, a word, or a phrase) to have students
predict what makes sense based on the scale being
covered.
2 The students will read the same book appropriate
to their reading level. The teacher introduces the
book, point out vocabulary words an allows the
students to do a picture walk. Then, students will
have to read a book on their own, at their own pace
while the teacher listens an assist. The teacher
prepares a comprehension check afterwards.
3 The class collaboratively creates or written work.
The teacher models the writing and the students
help in composing it. The teacher models a range
 of skills like grammar, phonics, punctuation,
spelling, and the writing process itself. how

II. ABSTRACT
What does balanced literacy method mean? Write two to three sentences for your
definition.

IV. APPLY

Lesson Synthesis:
As a teacher, what is your inclination or preference? Would you prioritize teaching
for meaning or accuracy? Share your thoughts to the class.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
LESSON 3 CHOOSING ON-GRADE AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Identify the different sources of instructional materials for mother tongue
instruction;
• evaluate instructional materials for mother tongue instruction vis-à-vis learning
goal, distinctive features, and grade level appropriateness; and
• choose-on-grade an culturally relevant materials in teaching mother tongue as a
learning area.

I. ACTIVATE
Now where do you get the instructional materials in teaching mother tongue?

You have ideas where these materials can come from. The challenge to you in this
activity is to list down as many sources of instructional materials in Mother Tongue as
you can. You have one minute to write as many as possible. An example has been
provided.
songs

Compare your list to a seatmate. Any similarities? Differences? Do you agree or

disagree?

II. ANALYZE

Below are three examples of instructional materials that may be used in teaching
Mother Tongue. With partner, discuss the material using the questions that follow.
Prepare to share your answers to the class.
Instructional Material #1

1. What do you think is the learning goal of the instructional material?

2. Characterize the material. What is its purpose? What are its distinctive features? What
format was used? What is it about?

3. What grade level do you think this material can be used?

Instructional Material #2

Panuto: Pagsunod-sunurin ang mga pangyayari sa kwento. Lagyan ng bilang 1,2,3,4, at 5 ang
nakalaang patlang.
___ 1. Namasyal ang mga mag-anak.
___ 2. Tuwang-tuwa ang dalawang bata sa kanilang pamamasyal.
___ 3. Umuwi silang may ngiti habang nakatingin si Loida sa batang pulubi.
___ 4. Napansin ni Loida ang batang pulubi at binigyan niya ito ng tinapay.
___ 5. Namili at kumain sila ng masarap na pagkain.

1. What do you think is the learning goal of the instructional material?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. What grade level do you think this material can be used?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

Instructional Material #3

You will listen to a popular song in your Mother Tongue. Enjoy listening!

1. What do you think is the learning goal of the instructional material?

2. Characterize the material. What is its purpose? What are its distinctive features? What
format was used? What is it about?

3. What grade level do you think this material can be used?

III. ABSTRACT
In choosing the instructional materials, you just need to remember two important
criteria: the material must be on grade (i.e. appropriate to the grade level of your
learners) and culturally relevant (i.e. your learners can relate to the material).

Below is a summary grid developed by Malone (2000) that shows the common
characteristics of graded reading materials. Your task this time is to identify the stage of
reading that the statement refers to.
• Reading for new readers
• Reading for learners who are gaining fluency
• Reading for learners who want to read in another language that they understand
and speak
• Reading for learners who have become lifelong readers and learners
__________ 1. The purpose of this stage is simply for the readers to realize that written
texts have meaning.
__________ 2. It talks about people, places, and activities that are familiar to the
readers.
__________ 3. Sentences are short, easy to read, and uses vocabulary that the readers
know and use.
__________ 4. This stage makes use of small reading books.
__________ 5. The purpose is to “help readers gain confidence in using print literature
for learning and enjoyment.”
__________ 6. It is written in a language that the readers understand and have learned
to read.
__________ 7. This stage “provides information about the vocabulary and grammar of
the languages that readers have learned so they can use the languages for higher level
of thinking and learning.”
__________ 8. This stage “provides readers with information and ideas that are relevant
to their life and affirm their heritage language and culture, and help them learn about the
world outside their community.”
IV. APPLY

Lesson Synthesis:
How important are on-grade and culturally relevant materials in the teaching of
mother tongue? Recall a past learning experience where you encountered an instructional
material that you feel was too easy or too difficult for you. How did it affect your learning
experience?

LESSON 4 DEVELOPING ON-GRADE AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• recall a short story, poem, or any piece of literature using their mother tongue
language;
• analyze a piece of literature written in mother tongue to determine the basic
elements of a short story;
• familiarize themselves with the guidelines and developing materials for mother
tongue in instruction;
• write, edit, and translate level one stories using their mother tongue language;
• create the story book using their own stories written in mother tongue.

I. ACTIVATE
As a teacher of mother tongue, you can develop your own literature in various way:
• L1 speakers can create their own stories;
• They can put their traditional oral literature into written form;
• They can translate materials from one language to another;
• They can adapt materials from outside their community so that it is relevant an
interesting to local readers; and
• Learners can make their own stories as they gained fluency in reading an writing
(Malone, 2013, p.13).
For starters, think of a short story, poem, or any literature that you can remember
that your parents/grandparents have told you. It can also be any story or song that you
have heard while you were growing up. Share it to the class using the language of your
mother tongue.

II. ANALYZE
Mother tongue instruction, especially in the Philippines, is relatively young. One of
the major challenges in the implementation of MTB-MLE in the country is the scarcity of
on-grade and culturally relevant instructional materials using the language of the mother
tongue. Hence, being a teacher of mother tongue as a learning area, you are also
expected to develop your own instructional materials (IM) using the mother tongue of
your class by creating your own IM and translating and adapting written materials into
the language of the mother tongue.
Our focus in this module is for you to develop instructional materials for new
readers of mother tongue. But how do you develop these materials? You will begin by
analyzing a sample material.
Bring out the short story written in the mother tongue that was asked from you
by your teacher as an assignment. With a partner, answer the following questions:
1. Who will read this story? What topics do you think would interest them?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
2. Why do you think this story was written? What was the goal of the writer for the
readers?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. Who and what is the story about? Where and when did the story take place?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

In creating your own stories that you will use in teaching mother tongue as a
language, it is vital that you first clearly identify your audience, the purpose of your story,
and the overall plot of your story.

Malone (2013) provides you with the basic guidelines that you need to remember when
writing your own stories.
a) Make sure to keep your stories short an easy to read;
b) Use natural, familiar language of your readers when composing your story;
 c) Write about people, places, activities, and experiences that are familiar and
relatable to your readers;
d) Create stories that can be pictured or illustrated to help your new readers
understand the text better; and
e) Write for a specific person who you think represents the people who will read your
story.

III. ABSTRACT and APPLY

The next set of activities in this lesson were modified from SIL’s Trainers Guide:
Literature Development Workshop (Malone, 2013, p.13). The task will require you to
develop your own level 1 story. Edit and translate it into another mother tongue language.
Then, illustrate your own story.

A. Write Your Own Level 1 Story

With partner, think of a story that you would want to write about. It should be an
original story or story that has been orally told in your community. Before you start
brainstorming on your story, please note of the characteristics of a level 1 story --- a story
for children who are learning to read in their L1 or in a new language. These
characteristics were enumerated in the previous activity.

Discuss with your partner the story that you want to ride. Complete the story arc
below.
3 Describe the climax. This is the most
exciting moment of the story. It’s when the
problem is at its worst.
2 Describe how the problem gets 4 Describe how the problem
worse starts to get solved.

1 Describe what the character wants

and what problem is getting in the way.
STORY ARC 5 Describe how the problem is finally
solved and how the character has
changed.

Now that you are done with your story arc, your next task is to transform your
story into a level 1 story. It is suggested that a level one story should not be longer than
eight sentences and must be “picturable”. Rewrite your story into eight sentences. Make
sure that each sentence can be illustrated. Write your sentences on the blanks below and
after each sentence, provide keywords that would show how you intend to illustrate that
sentence.
Sentence 1: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 1: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 2: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 2: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 3: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 3: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 4: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 4: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 5: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 5: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 6: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 6: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 7: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 7: ____________________________________________________________

Sentence 8: _____________________________________________________________
Illustration 8: ____________________________________________________________

B. Editing your own/other groups level 1 story

Congratulations! You just completed your first level 1 story. But you are not yet
done. We have to make sure that your story's content is sound, interesting and well-
organized, your language use is correct and understandable to new readers, and your
writing mechanics (spelling and punctuation) is flawless.

Exchange your 8-sentence story with another group. Using the checklist below, evaluate
your peers’ story.

Criteria Yes No
Content
 Will the intended audience be interested in this story?
Will they understand the story?
Do the parts of the story fit together well?
Does the ending fit with the rest of the story?
Language and Mechanics
Is the language clear?
Does the intended audience understand and use this kind of language in
their daily lives?
Is there anything you can take out? Are there any words, phrases, or
sentences that are not necessary to make the writing clear and
interesting?
Are there any mistakes in the way the sentences are written (grammar)?
Are there better or more interesting words that you can use? If the book
is for new readers, are there easier words that you can use?
Are there foreign words that can be replaced with words from the local
language?
Adopted from Malone (2013)

Additional Comments:
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

C. Translating your Level 1 story

Another important task that you will be required to do as a teacher of mother
tongue is to translate stories into your class mother tongue. As an exercise, translate your
own story into another language.
In translating, you always need to remember that a good translation is all about
translating meaning, not words. The translation must be (1) clear that allows readers to
understand the translation, (2) accurate in which the translation communicate the same
ideas of the original author, and (3) natural because it is written using a language that is
familiar to the intended readers (Malone, 2013).
Write your translation inside the box:
Ask yourself:
1. Is the meaning in the translated text as the same as in original text?
2. Are all the sub-points from the original text included?
3. Is the language clear and natural?
D. Putting the story into a Book Form
For the last task for this lesson, you will now have to put your story into a book
form. You need to have A4 sheets of paper that is enough for your 6-8 page story. Fold
your A4 sheets into halves, one inside the other, to make the pages of a book.
Each sentence in the story will take one page of the story book, to be accompanied
by an illustration that was identified earlier. Malone (2013) provides simple guidelines on
how you should create your illustrations.
a) Illustrations should show only what is happening in the text;
b) Illustrations should be about people, places, and objects that are familiar to the
readers;
c) People and object should usually be complete figures. For example, if the picture
is of a person, it should include all parts of the body: head, body, arms, and hands,
legs, and feet; and
d) Illustrations should fill most of the space that is provided. The lines should be
simple (no unnecessary shading or details).
When you are done with the inside pages, create your story title page with illustration.

Prepare to present your work to the class.

Criteria for Grading the Story Book
Story Quality 20 points
Clarity and Appropriateness of Language 15 points
Creativity/ Illustrations 15 points
Adherence to Instructions 5 points
TOTAL 55 points

Lesson Synthesis:
In creating your own story, what is it that you enjoyed most? What was the most
challenging? What else can be done to better prepare you to develop, translate, and edit
locally produced materials?
LESSON 5 LANGUAGE TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR MOTHER TONGUE

Lesson 5 is subdivided into four sub-lessons where each lesson highlights the
macro skills of communication: listening and viewing, reading, speaking, and writing.
Each sub-lesson touches the different language domains related to the macro skills, the
specific language competencies in the curriculum guide for Mother Tongue, and teaching
and learning strategies that you can use in teaching the macro skill.

Lesson 5.1 LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR

LISTENING AND VIEWING

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Acquire strategies for teaching listening and viewing;
• Distinguish between bottom-up and top-down models of listening;
• Categorize listening skills and activities as involving bottom-up or top-down
approaches;
• Design activities for selected listening skills;
• Design activities that target the development of viewing skills.

I. ACTIVATE
The majority of texts that students nowadays are encountering and creating are
multimodal, one where the meaning is communicated by more than one mode (e.g.
written text, audio, still pictures, moving pictures, gesture, use of space, etc.) This has
huge implications for our educational system. In fact, some countries (e.g Singapore,
Canada, and Australia) have added skills of viewing and visually representing in the
traditional four macro skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing.

Listening and viewing are essential in comprehending and appreciating multimodal

texts. Viewing is defined by the Canadian common curriculum framework as an active
process of attending and comprehending visual media, such as television, advertising
images, films, diagrams, symbols, photographs, videos, drama, drawings, sculpture, and
paintings. Viewing help students develop the knowledge and skills to analyze and evaluate
visual multimodal texts. Listening is one of the major skills in language acquisition.
Learning to listen to the target language improves language ability. The sound, rhythm,
intonation, and stress of the language can only be perfectly adapted through listening
(Renukadevi, 2014).
Are you quick or slow to listen? Let us try out your listening skills!
Listen to Julian Treasure’s TED talk entitled “five ways to listen better.”
 Name his five practical steps to improve our listening skills.
1. Silence
2. Mixer
3. Savoring
4. Listening Positions
5. Acronym [RASA] Receive, Appreciates, Summarize and Ask
Explain also why he said that individuals in the contemporary times lose their
listening skills.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

II. ANALYZE
An early view of listening saw it as the mastery of discrete skills or micro skills (e.g
Richards, 1983). A skills approach on the other hand focused on the development of such
things as (Rost, 1990): discriminating sounds in words, especially for phonemic contrast,
deducing the meaning of unfamiliar words, predicting content, noting contradictions, in
adequate information, ambiguities, and differentiating between fact and opinion. Applied
linguist theorized bottom-up and top-down models of processing to explain the nature
of listening period we can see here the importance of prior knowledge and
comprehension.

Bottom-up processing help students recognize lexical and pronunciation features to

understand the text. Because of their direct focus on language forms at the word and
sentence levels, bottom-up exercises are particularly beneficial for lower-level students
who need to expand their language repertoire. As they become more aware of linguistic
features up the input, the speed and accuracy of perceiving and processing aural input
with increase.

Top-down processing relies on prior knowledge and experience to build the meaning
of a listening text using the information provided by sounds and words hear you to arrive
at a meaning of text, the listener draws on personal knowledge of the context, topic,
speakers, situation, and the world, matching it to the aural input. The table below lists
some skills for each approach.
 Bottom-up Listening Skill
• distinguish individual sounds, word
boundaries, and stressed syllables
• identify thought groups
• listen for intonation patterns in
utterances
• identify grammatical forms and
functions
• Recognize contractions and
connected speech
• Recognize linking words
Top-down Listening Skills
• listening for gist, main ideas, topic,
and setting of the text
• listening for specific information
• sequencing the information
• prediction
• guessing
• inferencing

Understanding the viewing process is as important as understanding the listening

and reading process. Effective and active viewers ask these questions:
• What is the text representing?
• What is the purpose of the text?
• To whom is the text directed?
• How is the text constructed?
• What assumptions, interests, beliefs, biases, and values are portrayed by the text?
• What is my reaction to the text? What causes this reaction?

They also engage in the following procedure:

1. Pre-viewing. Students prepared the view by activating their schema (the prior
knowledge they bring to the study of a topic or theme), anticipating a message,
predicting, speculating, asking questions, and setting a purpose for viewing.
2. During viewing. Students view the visual text to understand the message by
seeking and checking understanding, making connections, making and confirming
predictions and inferences, interpreting and summarizing, pausing and reviewing,
and analyzing and evaluating.
3. After viewing/responding. Students respond personally, critically and
creatively to visual text by reflecting, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.
Activity 1. Categorized activities below as involving top-down or bottom-up processing.
Before the item, write BU for bottom-up and TD for top-down approach.

_____ 1. Listen to a 2-minute long conversation about getting around the city
_____ 2. Listen to sentences giving and asking for directions, paying attention to the
intonation, meaning, and grammatical structure of each phrase
_____ 3. Answer a completion test by selecting the appropriate verb to complete the
thought of a sentence
_____ 4. Asking and answering questions about the famous food in town
_____ 5. Holding a class discussion about different modes of transportation to get to the
famous City Museum
_____ 6. Listening to the first 20 seconds of the audio recording to predict the topic of
the material
_____ 7. Check one’s predictions after listening to the audio recording
_____ 8. Summarizing a conversation
_____ 9. Act out situations
_____ 10. Writing a story based on a picture of a city

III. ABSTRACT
Examining Teaching Strategies for Listening

Here are more research-based strategies for teaching listening. In triads, read
credible print and non-print sources an examine the usefulness and effectiveness of the
strategies. Complete the table below with your answers.

Teaching strategy Guidelines Usefulness/effectiveness

Listen and draw to make listening more
intentional and test students’
spatial skills, have students
follow and illustrate your
instructions. Let them
compare drawings with peers
afterwards.
Asking questions to Posing questions before the
help students listen listening task keep students
focused and directed.
 Purposeful listening
Listening with beer
interaction
Research has shown that
when students know why
they are listening, they are
more focused. Systematically
presenting (1) listening for
main ideas, (2) listening for
details, and (3) listening to
make inferences, help
students develop a sense of
why they listen and which
skill to use to listen better.
Encouraging interaction with
classmates and native
speakers through listening
expands communicative
contexts and enhances self-
confidence.

Examining Viewing Frameworks

The table below lists three frameworks for teaching viewing skills. They all require
students to interact with the viewed material. Choose one multimodal text or one visual
art to view and interpret. Analyze it using one of the strategies below. Write your
interpretation in the box after the table.

The 3C's (color, Paintings and The visual thinking

camera, character) and
the 3S’s (story, setting,
sound) framework for
film and video
Color
What colors do you see?
What do the colors make you
feel?
Why do you think certain colors
are used?
What mood do you think the
colors create?
Photographs: see,
think, wonder
What do you see?
What do you think about what
you see?
What does it make you wonder?
strategies (VTS)
Students silently examine
carefully selected art images.
The teacher asked these three
open-ended questions.
• What is going on in this
picture?
• What do you see that
makes you say that?
• What more can we find?
Students then. . .
Camera • Look carefully at the
What shots have been used? image
Through whose eyes do we see • talk about what they
observe
the story?
• back up their ideas with
When do we see different evidence
characters’ POV? • Listen and consider the
views of others
When does the camera move
• Discuss many possible
and when does it stay still? interpretations
• Construct meaning
together
Character
What do the main characters The teacher . . .
look like? • Listens carefully to each
How do they speak and what do comment
• paraphrases students
they say? responses demonstrating
How do they behave? language use
Which character interests you • points to features
described in the artwork
the most? Why?
throughout the
discussion
Story • facilitates student
discussion
What happens in the beginning,
• encourages scaffolding
middle, and at the end of the of observations and
story? interpretations
What are the most important • validates individual views
• links related ideas end
things (events) that happened in points of
the story? agreement/disagreement
How do we know where the • reinforces a range of
ideas
story takes place?
How long does the story take
place in real time?

Setting
Where does the action take
place?
When and how does the setting
change?
 How could you tell where the
story was taking place?
How could you tell when the
story was taking place?
Sound
How many different sounds do
you hear? what are they?
How does the music make you
feel?
Are there any moments of
silence?
Can you hear any sound effects?

IV. APPLY
It is time for you to apply what you have learned about teaching listening and
viewing in the mother tongue. Your final task is to create an instructional activity that is
specifically targets one or more listening or viewing competencies from the mother
tongue curriculum guide. Complete the template on the succeeding page.

At the bottom of the template, you will find “process questions”. Once you are
done describing your activity, exchange your work with a seatmate and evaluate your
seatmate’s work using the process questions.
Criteria for Grading
Clarity of Learning objectives 5 points
Are the objectives clearly articulated?
Alignment of the activity with the 10 points
learning objectives Does the activity directly address/meet
the stated objectives?
Student engagement 10 points
Does activities engage students to
actively involved in their learning?
Time-benefit 5 points
Does the activity require a reasonable
amount of time for learning that exceeds
expectation?
TOTAL 30 points
 Instructional activity- Listening/Viewing
Activity Title:
Target Grade Level: Time Required:
Type of Student Work: individual, pair, or group work
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the activity, the students are expected to:
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________

Activity description:

Criteria for grading (if possible, include a rubric if necessary):

Process Questions:
1. Are the learning objectives clearly defined? If not, what suggestion do you have
to improve them?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

2. Is the instructional activity well aligned with the learning objectives?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

3. Does the activity encourage active student engagement?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

4. If the student completes the activity, can the teacher determine whether or not
the student has met the stated learning objectives?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
5.2 LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR SPEAKING
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Characterize effective speech, effective speaker, and features of speaking skills in
the mother tongue;
• analyze principles and current approaches to the teaching of speaking skills;
• examine instructional activities for young learners in terms of their target
competencies and language domains;
• Create an instruction an activity that specifically targets one or more speaking
competences from the mother tongue curriculum guide; And
• evaluate a peer’s instructional activity using a scoring guide

I. ACTIVATE
TED (Technology Entertainment Design) talks have become viral nowadays. This
revolution in education revived the power of storytelling to disseminate ideas and
innovations in many aspects of life. Effective speaking skills is a requisite to powerful oral
presentations.
• Recall a TED speaker you heard recently. How about an effective speaker you
heard recently? Who is she/he? What was the speech about?
• What makes an effective speaker?
• How should we teach young children effective speaking skills?

Speaking is an interactive process of making meaning that includes producing,

receiving, and processing information (Brown, 1994). Oral language (OL), phonological
awareness (PA), Vocabulary and Concept Development (VCD), grammar awareness (GA)
are four of the language domains related to speaking.

II. ANALYZE
Read an analyze different instructional activities or learning experiences aimed at
developing a child’s early speaking skills. For each activity, identified the language domain
and the competencies that is/are being targeted by the activity.

1. Play or say a tongue twister then tell the learners that they are going to repeat
the sentence bit by bit after you. Start by asking your learners to repeat the last
part of the sentence until they complete the tongue twister.
Language Domain: _________________________________________
Speaking Competency/ies: ___________________________________
 2. This activity is done by pairs. Give each learner a picture. The pictures should be
almost the same with two or three elements missing from each picture. Without
showing each other the pictures, they should describe their pictures to each other
and try to find which objects are missing.
Language Domain: _________________________________________
Speaking Competency/ies: ___________________________________

3. Have students listen to stories. Then, have them retell the stories aloud. Record
their retellings in their own words to create a language experience chart that can
be used for future reading.
Language Domain: _________________________________________
Speaking Competency/ies: ___________________________________

4. Use role play cards for students to assume the role of a specific person or character
and to react to a stimulus or prompt as that person.
Language Domain: _________________________________________
Speaking Competency/ies: ___________________________________

5. Sing or read songs. Children can bring and a favorite song to perform alone or as
a group, but make sure you have heard the song first and can approve it.
Language Domain: _________________________________________
Speaking Competency/ies: ___________________________________

III. ABSTRACT
Read the four note cards about principles and approaches in the teaching of
speaking. Read each carefully.
1. Topic: Proficiency-Oriented Teaching of Speaking Skills
Hadley proposes five principles for proficiency-oriented teaching:

• Opportunities must be provided for students to practice using the language in a range of
contexts likely to be encountered in the target culture.
• Opportunities should be provided for students to carry out a range of functions (tasks)
necessary for dealing with others in the target culture.
• The development of accuracy should be encouraged in proficiency-oriented instruction. As
learners produced language, various forms of instruction an evaluative feedback can be useful
in facilitating the progression of their skills toward more precise and coherent language use.
• Instruction should be responsive to the effective as well as the cognitive needs of students,
and their different personalities, preferences, and learning styles should be taken into
account.
• Cultural understanding must be promoted in various ways so that students are sensitive to
other cultures and prepared to live more harmoniously in the target language community.
Source: Hadley, A.O.1993. Teaching language in context. Boston: Heinle and Heinle. Page 77.

2. Topic: Current Approaches to the Teaching of Speaking

• Speaking and oral interaction is seen as the basis for learning.
• Non-native usage as well as native usage both serve as models.
• Both accuracy and fluency are primary goal with a greater tolerance of errors.
• Oral proficiency is viewed as dependent upon mastery of lexical faces an conversational
routines.
• Pair and group activities predominate in the classroom.
Richards, J.C. Current Trends in Teaching Listening and Speaking.ELT.The Teacher.Oxford University
Press.

3. Topic: Case Study on Singapore Schools’ Teaching of Tamil Language

• Use local context-based materials so that the topics are familiar to the students.
• Use domain-based vocabulary that is words as they are used in real everyday living.
• Use age-related content, that is, topics that are relevant to the students at their particular
stage in life.
SingTeach.Mastering the Mother Tongue. (August 2009). Retrieved from
http://singteach.nie.edu.sg/issue 19-languageed/

4. Topic: Balance between Fluency and Accuracy in the Teaching of Speaking

• According to Mazouzi (2013), learners’ activities should be designed based on an equivalence

between fluency and accuracy achievement. Both fluency and accuracy are important
elements of communicative approach.
kljkhjkg
• Hedge (2000) expressed that fluency is the ability to answer coherently by connecting the
words and phrases, pronouncing the sounds clearly, and using stress and intonation.
• The second characteristic of speaking performance is accuracy. Learners should pay attention
to the exactness and completeness of language form when speaking such as focusing on
grammatical structures, vocabulary, and pronunciation (Mazouzi, 2013). To gain accuracy in
terms of vocabulary means to select suitable words in the suitable contexts.
IV. APPLY
Similar to your Apply Activity for listening and viewing, you need to create an
instructional activity that specifically targets one or more speaking competencies from
the mother tongue curriculum guide. Complete the template on the next page. Follow the
same process. The same criteria for grading will also be used.

Instructional activity- Speaking

Activity Title:________________________________________________
Target Grade Level: __________ Time Required: ______________
Type of Student Work: individual, pair, or group work

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the activity, the students are expected to:
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________

Activity description:

Criteria for grading (if possible, include a rubric if necessary):

Process Questions:
1. Are the learning objectives clearly defined? If not, what suggestion do you have
to improve them?
_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

2. Is the instructional activity well aligned with the learning objectives?

_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

3. Does the activity encourage active student engagement?

_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. If the student completes the activity, can the teacher determine whether or not
the student has met the stated learning objectives?
_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5.3 LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR READING

Leson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Know the different language domains in the mother tongue curriculum related to
reading;
• examine instructional activities for young learners in terms of their target
competences and language domains;
• familiarize themselves with the different approaches to reading through an
analysis of sample instructional activities;
• create an instructional activity that specifically targets one or more reading
competencies from the mother tongue curriculum guide; and
• evaluate a peer’s instructional activity using a scoring guide.

I. ACTIVATE
Reading as a macro skill is an “interactive process” that involves the reader, the
text, and the writer. Goodman (2005) specifically defines reading “as the process of
relating written symbols the oral language, of constructing meaning from written texts.”
In simple words, reading involves decoding the written text and making sense and
deriving meaning from the printed word.

From the definition of reading, the two basic processes in reading were
highlighted-decoding and comprehension. Decoding is the ability of the individual to
figure out the pronunciation of printed words and ultimately determine the words
meaning; on the other hand, comprehension is the ability to construct meaning by
interacting with a text (Harris & Hodges, 1995, in Cooper, et al, 2018). Early reading
instruction is focused on decoding and as a child progresses in his or her reading, the
focus shift from decoding to comprehension. The curriculum for mother tongue (from K
to grade 3) reflects the competencies needed by a child to successfully decode and
comprehend printed text using his or her mother tongue.

Listed below are some of the language domains in the mother tongue curriculum
directly related to reading. Your task is to match the language domain, to its equivalent
performance standard, and to a sample competency of that domain.
 Language Content/Performance standard Competency
Domain
1. Phonological A Uses developing vocabulary in both 1 Gives the
skills oral an written form beginning
letter/sound of
the name of
each picture
2. Phonics and B Values reading and writing us 2 Reads grade
word recognition communicative activities level text with
appropriate
speed
3. Fluency C Reads with sufficient speed, accuracy, 3 Uses
and proper expression in reading grade expressions
level text appropriate to
the grade level
to react to local
news,
information, and
propaganda
about school,
community, and
other local
activities
4. Reading D Demonstrates knowledge of the 4 Shows love for
comprehension alphabet and decoding to read, write, reading by
and spell words correctly listening
attentively
during story
reading and
making
comments or
reactions
5. Vocabulary and E Demonstrates understanding that 5 Note important
concept words are made up of sounds and details in a
development syllables and uses this knowledge to grade level
discriminate and manipulate sound narrative or
patterns informational
text
 6. Attitude F comprehends an appreciates grade 6 Uses the
towards reading level narrative and informational text combination of
affixes an root
words as clues
to get the
meaning of
words

II. ANALYZE
According to Lenters (2004/2005), for someone to be able to read, one has to:
• Understand the alphabet;
• Decode;
• Develop sight vocabulary to read fluently (with automaticity);
• Develop strategies to help with comprehension and fluency;
• Read text that match his or her reading level an interests; and
• Engage in extensive reading

These are the fundamentals of reading that you always need to remember when you
prepare a lesson on reading; this list is consistent with the language domains an
competencies in the mother tongue curriculum.

At this point you will be asked to read and analyze different instructional activities
or learning experiences aimed at developing a child's early reading skills. With a partner,
imagine that you will be doing these activities to your class. For each activity, identify the
language domain end the competency/ies that is/are being targeted by the activity. Kindly
identify as well as the most appropriate grade level for the described activity.

Activity 1
Play the game stand up/sit down. This game is like Simon says. Say pairs that
rhyme and pairs that do not rhyme. Students go from one position to the next only if the
words rhyme. The student’s responses will tell you if they are getting the concept.

Language Domain: __________________________________________________

Reading Competency/ies: ___________________________________________
Suggested Grade Level: ______________________________________________
.
Activity 2
The students match the letter or word cards with the pictures displayed. Write the
letters for a picture on the outside of a small paper bag. Students find the picture that
matches the letters and put the picture in the bag.

Language Domain: __________________________________________________

Reading Competency/ies: ___________________________________________
Suggested Grade Level: ______________________________________________

Activity 3
The students will select a book from the choices that you provide as a teacher.
They will then have to read their books silently. As they read, you move around and ask
each student the read aloud selected sections where you note his or her fluency to
determine which skills need to be taught. After reading, the students will share and
discuss their books with each other.

Language Domain: __________________________________________________

Reading Competency/ies: ___________________________________________
Suggested Grade Level: ______________________________________________

Activity 4
You showed them the big book and then you discuss the book cover, read the
title, author, illustrator, and other books features. Encourage the students to discuss the
cover and some of the pages of the book. Just make sure that you do not give away the
entire story. Ask them to predict and share what they think will happen in the book.

Language Domain: __________________________________________________

Reading Competency/ies: ___________________________________________
Suggested Grade Level: ______________________________________________

Activity 5
Students will read words by syllables. Write a syllable on the board and have
students read it. Then write another syllable on the board and have the students read it.
Have them read the word formed by putting the two syllables together. For example,
students read “ba” and then “ta” and then “bata”.
Language Domain: __________________________________________________
Reading Competency/ies: ___________________________________________
Suggested Grade Level: ______________________________________________
III. ABSTRACT
In your course teaching English in the elementary grades (Language arts), you will
have a comprehensive discussion of teaching reading. The instructional strategies that
you will learn in that course, though it is L2 instruction, may also be applied to mother
tongue instruction.
In this course though come on you will only focus on the three major approaches
in the teaching of reading to young learners: phonics, whole language, and language
experience.
The matrix below shows the three approaches to the teaching of reading and a
set of example activities for each approach. With this input, your responsibility is to come
up with your own simple definition and characterization of each approach.
Approaches to Example activities What does the
teaching approach mean to
reading you? In what ways
will the approach be
useful to you in
teaching reading in
the mother tongue?
Phonics • identify the first sound in a
word
• look for objects in the class
that rhyme
• sort pictures or make a collage
of objects that began with the
same letter- sound or rhyme
• toss a ball to a student after
saying a word. The student
has to think of a word that
begins with the same sound
Whole • reading aloud where students
language are given the chance to hear
stories, poems, songs, chants,
another texts read aloud, with
opportunities to chime in
words our lines are repeated.
• Shared reading involves the
students in reading. Teacher
 may ask these questions after
reading:
- did you like the story?
-What was your favorite part?
-Who was your favorite
character?
-Do you want to read it again?
-Do you want to see the
pictures again?
• Guided reading allows the
teachers to work with small
groups of children who are at
the same reading level,
providing support or
scaffolding while they read.
• Independent reading
encourages students to read
independently and motivates
them to read a variety of
texts.
Language • The students participate in a
experience common experience (e.g. a
field trip, a story, or a picture
that evokes feelings). They will
then discuss and decide what
to write. They dictate the story
to the teacher, who writes it
so everyone can see. Everyone
then reads what the teacher
has written and decides on
what to edit. Then they will
copy into their notebooks what
is written on the board.
IV. APPLY

Instructional activity- Reading

Activity Title:________________________________________________
Target Grade Level:_____________ Time Required: _________________
Type of Student Work: individual, pair, or group work

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the activity, the students are expected to:
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________

Activity description:

Criteria for grading (if possible, include a rubric if necessary):

Process Questions:
1. Are the learning objectives clearly defined? If not, what suggestion do you have
to improve them?
_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

2. Is the instructional activity well aligned with the learning objectives?

_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

3. Does the activity encourage active student engagement?

_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________

4. If the student completes the activity, can the teacher determine whether or not
the student has met the stated learning objectives?
_________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5.4 LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR WRITING

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• know the different stages of emergent writing;
• examine instructional activities for young learners in terms of their target
competencies;
• familiarize themselves with the different writing strategies suitable for emergent
writers;
• create that instructional activity that specifically targets one or more reading
competencies from the Mother Tongue Curriculum guide; And
• evaluate appears instruction activity using a scoring guide.

I. ACTIVATE

We all have struggled with writing. Yes, it is true that writing may be considered
as one of the most complex among the macro skills because beyond the need of the
writer to express his or her thought and emotions in words, the skill also requires other
elements in writing such as the accuracy in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

In this lesson, you will focus on the “teaching of emergent writing” for “emergent
writers”. Emergent writing, according to Berninger (2009), involves the act of producing
physical marks (mechanics), the meanings attributed to those marks (composition), and
the understanding on how written language works (orthographic knowledge).
II. ANALYZE
For the last macro scale that we will discuss, we will go back to the two-track
method being espoused in the teaching of mother tongue: the Meaning track and
Accuracy track. Your next task is to classify the writing activities described below whether
it highlights meaning, communication, and critical thinking (meaning track) or is
emphasize is correctness of structures/form (accuracy truck). The activities were adapted
from the SIL manual.

Instructional Activity Meaning Accuracy

Track Track
1 give students their name card and they will practice for
me the letters to write their names on a sheet of paper.
2 Ask students to think about an experience in school.
Each student draws a picture that shows something about
school and they write whatever they want to about their
picture. When they are finished, students will share their
stories with the partner.
3 Make students out in the field. They will be asked to create
pictures on the ground. Then, they will be asked to explain
their work to the others.
4 Tell the students to imagine their most favorite person.
They will create a picture that shows their most favorite
person. Then they will be asked to share their picture to
their class.
5 On the chalkboard, make 8-10 rows of five letters. Each
row has two letters that are the same and three that are
different. Example: b a m a l

Volunteers will come to the chalkboard and point to the

two letters in each row that are the same. They will explain
how they identified the two that are the same.
6 ask students to draw lines and circles and they will practice
drawing these shapes.
7 Encourage students to talk about a special event that has
taken place recently. Each student will create a picture that
shows what they remember best about the event. What
8 Practice students to draw five straight lines on the paper.
Go around to encourage and help them.

III. ABSTRACT
Below are some instructional strategies that you can use in teaching writing in the
mother tongue for your young learners. For each strategy, identify the competencies from
the Mother Tongue Curriculum Guide that is being addressed.
 Instructional strategy Competencies being Addressed
students will draw pictures of familiar
people. Then, students will explain the
picture to the class.
The teacher will choose an interesting
topic an embed the teaching of writing into
related art. The teacher will start drawing
some parts of an object and the students
will be asked to complete the drawing.
The teacher will teach the letters of the
alphabet. One letter will be thought per
day.
Students will be asked to create cards with
simple messages to their parents.
Students will play tic-tac-toe to develop
their skills in making a circle and an X.
students will be asked to keep a personal
journal.
Students will be taught on how to take
orders (e.g food orders)
Students will make and autograph book at
the end of the school year.

Compare your answers to your seatmate. Are there similarities and differences in the
competencies that you have identified? Take time to discuss and agree with your
seatmate as to which competency best fits the writing strategy.
IV. APPLY
Complete the template.

Instructional activity- Writing

Activity Title:________________________________________________
Target Grade Level:_____________ Time Required: _________________
Type of Student Work: individual, pair, or group work

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the activity, the students are expected to:
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________

Activity description:

Criteria for grading (if possible, include a rubric if necessary):

Process Questions:
1. Are the learning objectives clearly defined? If not, what suggestion do you have to
improve them?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Is the instructional activity well aligned with the learning objectives?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
3. Does the activity encourage active student engagement?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
4. If the student completes the activity, can the teacher determine whether or not
the student has met the stated learning objectives?
____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

UNIT SUMMARY
Congratulations! You are almost ready to prepare and execute your own lesson
for the mother tongue. This unit provided you with a detailed description of the side
macro skills of communication, with opportunities to examine the competences from the
mother tongue curriculum vis-à-vis the target macro skills, and with language teaching
and learning strategies that you can use for each language skill. Along with these
strategies were tips on how you should wisely choose and develop age- appropriate and
culturally relevant instructional materials that you can maximize in enhancing Mother
Tongue instruction. Always remember what you have learned from this unit because it
will come handy when you prepare for your final assessment for this course.

UNIT IV. ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING FOR THE MOTHER TONGUE

Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and
development of students. It is a process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting,
analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and
development (Huba, 1991). Like any other course, assessment is highly valued, given
that these are tools that would allow you to evaluate learning outcomes against pre-
identified standards and learning competencies in order to develop a better
understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as
a result of their education experiences; to improve students’ learning and development;
and to evaluate programs and make decisions on how to improve student learning.

In this unit, you will focus on the fundamental concepts behind language
assessment, especially in acquiring and learning the mother tongue. You will be
familiarized to the various assessment strategies and forms that can help you to
determine your students’ progress an achievement of your set learning goals.
Lesson 1 PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• explain the definition of assessment in education;
• differentiate between the five principles of language assessment;
• compare various models of language assessment;
• familiarize themselves with the traditional and non-traditional assessment
pertinent to mother tongue instruction; And
• analyze sample assessments in mother tongue instruction

I. ACTIVATE
In pairs, discuss the KWL chart on assessment.
What I know about assessment

What do I want to know about

assessment

What I learned about assessment

Assessment is a vital part in the teaching and learning process. Without which, the
process will be left hanging as the word the students are at, how the learners fared, and
how the learners soared after a given lesson. Assessment are forms of verification an
evidence that age the teacher in making informed decisions with regards to future plans
for the discussion and activities that are age and grade appropriate to the learners.
Assessment helps the teacher plan for the next steps to take if the learners have exhibited
proficiency already, or on the other hand, if there is a need to reteach because simply
the learners need it. Moreover, assessment provides the learners themselves with
feedback on how they manifested the understanding of concepts and their performance
tasks. This is to give the learners and parents/guardian the chance to monitor and act
upon their own improvement plans and be responsible for their own learning ladders to
be contributory the lifelong learning and success.

II. ANALYZE
Why do teachers need to assess learning?
Assessment in education provides concrete evidences that a student has learned
and experienced a certain process. It could prove that he or she is trained and skilled in
a certain competency or discipline. This evidences maybe in the form of reflection papers,
exemplars, self-assessment, diary or journal entry, photographs or images, etc. The
principles of language assessment are: (1) Validity, (2) Reliability, (3) Authenticity, (4)
Practicality, and (5) Impact (Lamb, 2018).

The goal of this activity is for you to identify the principles violated in each vignette.
Read each example carefully and tried to pinpoint the principles of language assessment
that is being violated. If you were the teacher in the examples, what would you change
to correct the situation? Write your answers on the space provided.

1. In an educational assessment, the teacher uses materials as an examples not

usually found in the children's local community.

2. Even though students got high scores in an assessment, the teacher found that
the students merely forgot what they have learned after the exam.

3. The teacher is measuring the students ability to pronounce words in the mother
tongue correctly. However, he or she also asked about the definition of the words
provided.

4. After the assessment, it was found out that the students scored differently in
similar items within the exam.

5. A teacher designed an educational assessment to take too much time and too
much money from the students.

III. ABSTRACT and APPLY

Listed below are the traditional and nontraditional assessment that can be used to
address the different language domains stipulated in the Mother Tongue curriculum.
Carefully read the description of each assessment.
1 Assessing Learners need to acquire and master basic concepts of print
Concepts about and literature to achieve mature reading and writing behaviors.
Print Book and print knowledge (concept of print) find us knowing
and being acquainted with books and how print works. Print
skills also refers to the ability of the readers to efficiently
translate printing symbols into spoken language or meaning. It
includes the proficient integration of word recognition and
identification with contextual information as the student
responds to prose. Young children learn concepts about print
as they observe written language in their environment, listen
to parent and teachers, read books aloud, and experiment with
reading and writing themselves. They learn basic concepts
about letters, words, and sentences on classroom charts.

May play open Princess (1985) developed the concepts about

print test to formally further assess young children's
understanding of written language concepts. The test has 24
items, and it is administered individually in 10 minutes. As the
teacher reads the story aloud, the child looks at the test
booklet with a story that has a picture of one facing the page
and text on the other period the child is asked to open the
book, turn pages, and point out particular features of the text,
including letters, words, sentences, and punctuation marks, as
the story is read.
2 Assessing Alphabetic knowledge is learners understanding that letters
Alphabet represent sounds so that words may be read by saying the
Knowledge sounds represented by the letters and words may be spelled by
(letter sounds writing the letters that represent the sounds in a word.
and letter
names)
3 Assessing Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness in
Phonemic which listeners are able to hear, identify, and manipulate
Awareness phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate
meaning period to test a learner’s phonemic awareness skills,
words have to be read aloud to him/her twice and make him/her
sound the initial sound for onset and rhymes and sound out all
the sounds for word sound segmentation.
4 Assessing Decoding is the ability to read words by translating written
Decoding Skills symbols into the sounds of spoken language (Mother Tongue,
 Filipino, and English). To test the learners decoding skills, they
should be given a stimulus to pseudo words which represent the
various orthographic rules of the language to be tested.
Pseudo words are to be used for this test so that we can really
isolate the decoding skills of our learner; otherwise, if we use
exciting or real words, students may be able to decode not
because they are using their decoding skills but because they
are already familiar with these words.
5 Assessing Word Word recognition is the ability of the learners to read words by
Recognition side with automaticity and not resort to blending. Administering
Dolch Basic Sight Words is one instrument to test your learners’
word recognition skills would be to create your own Site Word
List or High Frequency Word List.
6 Assessing Assessing comprehension of narrative texts differ very much
Comprehension from informational texts because of the elements. Narratives do
of Narrative not have topics, main ideas, and supporting details; instead,
Texts they have theme, setting, characters, plot, and point of view.
A narration is a retelling of a story, and, in general, a story is a
sequence of events (which may be historically true or false)
presented in such a way that the reader's imagination can
comprehend the action. The events used in the story must have
some relationship to one another; writers generally do not add
events to narration that have nothing to do with the story. For
students to understand narrative text, it is imperative that they
gain sense of the story.
7 Assessing Language learning must be contextualized not just in local
Interest settings where learners can see an immediate application of the
knowledge skills they are acquiring from class period teacher
must also assess learners’ interest to be able to get better
contextualized learning activities that will entice students to pay
more attention to the lessons.
8 Anecdotal Anecdotal records are descriptions of students’ action written as
Records they occur or soon afterwards. The goal is to briefly transcribe
what the student says or does and context in which the behavior
takes place. This accounts preserved in rich history of
information about how a student learns and interacts in the
school environment in combination with portfolios and
 checklists. Anecdotal records help teachers analyzes student’s
accomplishments and approach to learning overtime.
9 Portfolio Portfolio assessment is an assessment form where students and
Assessment teachers collaborate in collecting samples of student-learning
progress. This assessment form helps the learner monitor their
own learning. The represented materials are meaningful
collection of their work, gathered overtime, that reflect learning
with regard to instructional objectives. They represent their
efforts and achievements, as well as their personal, academic,
and linguistic growth.
10 Observation Student observations are done informally while monitoring
classroom work and participation. They can also be recorded on
checklists or anecdotal records. Watch students in terms of
English language-both quantity (fluency and amount of
language) and quality (complexity of language and use of
academic language)-and evidence of thinking and learning.

The purpose of observing young children is to carefully pay

attention to the details of the child's behavior, record this details
in a structured manner, and assess the implications of the child's
actions. Parents and teachers can work together as partners
significantly affect children’s success when they base their
understanding of children's growth and development on
thoughtful and careful observations that are accurate and
objective in nature. (Teaching and Learning Languages and
Multi literacies: Responding to the MTB-MLE challenge by
Roderick M. Aguire, MAT 2016)

Lesson synthesis:
Complete the last column of the KWL chart in activate activity. what did you learn
about assessment after this lesson?
LESSON 2 LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• differentiate between various methods of assessment and its sustainability to
different learning objectives; and
• Formulate a language assessment scheme based on various learning objectives.

I. ACTIVATE
“most schools and most of our learning stops at knowing and we need to move
that and broaden it to the doing and the reflecting,” says Bob Lenz. He is a co-founder
and the chief executive officer of Envision Schools, a university that uses portfolio defense
as its means of assessment.

What does this quote mean to you? Reflect on it and prepared to share your thoughts to
the class.

II. ANALYZE
Assessment in education must have a variety. This signifies the need to utilize
different types of evidence to prove a student's development. In addition, teachers
usually follow five steps in providing instructions and in scoring different assessments in
education. These steps are (1) Purpose, (2) Content and Procedures, (3) Criteria, (4)
Monitoring, and (5) Evaluation (Lam, 2018).

The goal of this activity is for each group to create a short drama or skit. Each
group will be assigned a vignette from the items below. Each scene is unfinished.

Proceed to your assigned groups and read this story assigned to you. Your task is
to produce a short creative skit about the said vignette. Encourage every member to
share their thoughts. How would you finish the story? How would you resolve the conflict?
1. After providing a few lectures, the teacher wants to know if he is or her students
can critically reflect about a certain topic using the mother tongue. How would the
teacher go about accomplishing this?

2. The teacher wants to know if a student can use idioms from the mother tongue in
an actual conversation. How would the teacher go about accomplishing this?
3. The teacher wants to observe whether the students can perform actional
competencies like greeting, making introductions, saying goodbye, etc. How would
the teacher go about accomplishing this?
 4. The teacher wants to collect all the learning highlights of the students in one folder
as proof that they have learned many things about the mother tongue. How would
the teacher go about accomplishing this?

III. ABSTRACT and APPLY

How would you assess students’ learning? Is there a most correct method of
assessment better than other methods? Assessment in education must reflect reality an
have accurate measure of a student’s knowledge, skills, and values (Lewin & Shoemaker,
2011). In relation to this, classroom assessment may be classified into four. These are:
1. Selected-Response Assessment;
2. Essay Assessment;
3. Performance Assessment; and
4. Personal Communication (Stiggins, 1997).
Finally, assessment may take in the form of quizzes, exams, performance task,
learning portfolios, reflection papers, exemplars, self-assessment, diary or journal entries,
and photographs or images (Lam, 2018).

Lesson Synthesis:
Can you distinguish between and among the different methods of assessment in
education? Explain. How would you measure intangible objects like knowledge and
values? What assessment method would you use? Why?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
LESSON 3 DESIGNING PERFORMANCE TASKS

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Explain the definition of a performance task assessment and identify its four
integral parts;
• differentiate the various types of performing task assessment; and
• formulate a strategy to use performance task assessment to gauge student
learning.

I. ACTIVATE
Assessment in the MTB-MLE is fully grounded on the measurable performance
standards that is interpreted into a more detailed and task specific learning competency
based on the identified non-negotiable content standards. The performance standards
provide the baseline for the frequency of assessments. Consequently, plans for instruction
is integral to a full cycle learning experience of the learner and plan for assessment is
intrinsic to meaningful learning.

At this point, you are very familiar with performing tasks or assessments. With
your seatmate, discuss how you understand a performance assessment.

A performance assessment is
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

One of the most effective means of measuring meaningful learning in the

classroom is to design and provide perform on task to young learners that would allow
them to demonstrate their learning. From Mother Tongue, it is crucial that learners are
given opportunities to demonstrate what they can do at their appropriate level. They
should be given ample chances to interact or socialize and use the target language, in
this case, their mother tongue, as frequent as possible.

II. ANALYZE
John B Watson, the father of Behaviorism, was quoted saying, “psychology… is a
purely objective, experimental branch of natural science… the position is taken here that
the behavior of a man… must be considered…” In this reference, Watson is saying that
in order for psychology to be scientific, it must focus on a person's observable behavior.
It must provide measurable evidence just signify an individual's thoughts, beliefs, and
learnings. In effect, he is indirectly saying that a person must repeatedly perform a
behavior before one can say that learning has occurred.
The goal of this activity is to discuss your thoughts about performance tasks to
your groupmates. Choose one sample instructional plan to read and analyze by focusing
on the performance task designed by the teacher.
 Now, proceed to your assigned groups and discuss your answers to the following
questions:
1. In your opinion, why do you think John B. Watson said the quotation above? Why
is observable behavior important for him?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. In your own words, how would you define observable behavior? How would you
define performance?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. What do you think are the crucial elements for a behavior to be performed? Why?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

4. In your opinion, what are the advantages of using performance tasks assessment?
What are the disadvantages?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

III. ABSTRACT and APPLY

It is helpful to think of performing tasks as mini, midi, and maxi task when
considering the length of time and amount of effort for each task. Mini assessments are
quick task that are designed only for a single class period. It helps students to acquire
important information while providing teachers with crucial feedback. One example of
these are quick dialogues with the teacher. Midi assessments are performance tasks that
require two to three class periods to complete. some examples of this are writing an
revising articles, drawing comic strips, etc. lastly, maxi assessments our performance task
that require more than three class periods to complete. Usually, these are culminating
projects of what the students have learned in a specific amount of time. Some examples
of this are rehearsing and performing short plays or scenes, writing a short story, creating
scrapbooks, etc. (Johnson, Penny, and Gordon, 2009).

Performance task assessment may be in the form of (1) Visual Presentation tasks
(i.e Comic strips, graphic organizers, electronic presentations, etc.) (2) written task, (3)
Oral presentation task, and (4) Large-scale project or performances (Lewin and
Shoemaker, 2011).

Lesson synthesis:
1. In your own words, how would you define a performance task?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

2. If there were no observable behaviors, how would the teacher grade his or her
students?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

3. what would happen to the class if there were no performance tasks?

_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
LESSON 4 GRADING PERFORMANCE TASKS

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
• Describe the five principles of language assessment;
• recite the definition of a rubric, identify its parts, and discuss its advantages and
disadvantages;
• compare and contrast an analytic and holistic rubric; And
• construct your own rubric with the appropriate characteristic of each criterion and
each description.

I. ACTIVATE
The Center for American progress advocates the use of competency rubrics to
encourage student- centered learning and give voices to the students (Benner, Brown, &
Jeffrey 2019). This means that they support the utilization of rubrics in their nation’s
educational system. What do you think are the reasons for these? What are rubrics? How
are rubrics defined?

II. ANALYZE
You will examine the sample rubric for oral presentation/reporting. From the
sample, how would you define a rubric? What are its parts? What are the advantages of
using a rubric? Use the checklist and guide questions provided on the next page.

Category 1 2 3
Poor Satisfactory Excellent
1 No appropriate amount Appropriate amount of Appropriate
Content of material was material was amount of material
(25%) prepared. The prepared. However, is prepared, and
argument stated did the argument stated the argument
not reflect each topic’s did not reflect each stated reflected
relative importance. topic's relative each topics relative
importance. importance.
2 Lesson is not well Lesson is well Lesson is well
Objective prepared. prepared but there is prepared and there
(25%) no congruence is congruence
between the between the
objectives and the objectives and the
subject matter. subject matter.
 3 Group did not present Group presents Group presents
Organization information in a logical information in a logical information in a
(20%) and interesting and interesting logical an
sequence, therefore the sequence but interesting
presentation cannot be occasionally strays sequence which
understood. from the topic. audience can
follow.
4 Methods used were not Methods used were Methods used
Method/ suited for the subjectslightly suited for the were suited for the
approach and not suited for thesubject and slightly subject and suited
(20%) capabilities of the target
suited for the for the capabilities
audience. capabilities of the of the target
target audience. audience. Bing
5 Student utilized very Student utilized unique Student utilized
Creativity little unique ideas. ideas but did not unique ideas in an
(10%) integrate it. integrated manner
Total

Checklist for Evaluating a Rubric

Features of a Quality Rubric Present Absent

1. Has clear essential criteria
2. Criteria are aligned with the standards or competences in the
instructional slash academic plan
3. Has realistic number of criteria
4. Has explicit observable indicators
5. Has no overlaps in levels
6. Has real world criteria
7. Has high inter judge reliability
8. Tested out with students
9. Avoids degree modifiers
10. Written in a way that can be understood by the students

Guided Questions:
1. In your own opinion, what is rubric? How would you define a rubric?
2. From your observation, what are the parts of a rubric? What are the functions of
each part?
3. What are the advantages of using a rubric? What are its disadvantages?
 4. III. ABSTRACT
Rubrics are often organized in a table or matrix format. Teachers may use this to
grade students while pupils may use it to plan their work (Dawson, 2017). When used as
a tool for formative assessment, these have been proven to have a positive effect on
students’ learning (Panadero & Johnson, 2013).

There are two types of rubrics: holistic an analytic rubrics. The goal of this activity
is for you to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between a holistic and
an analytic rubric. Proceed to your assigned groups. Look at the sample rubrics below.
Discuss with your group the similarities and differences between the two. Use the guide
questions below. Encourage every member to share their thoughts and opinions.

ANALYTIC RUBRIC

Sample Rubric for Reflection Paper

Instructions: Each student will write a reflection paper about pre-selected topic.

Category 1 2 3 Score
Poor Satisfactory Excellent
1 student does not Student discuss is Student
Thoughts/ discuss prior prior knowledge, discusses prior
Opinion knowledge, opinions, and beliefs knowledge,
opinions, and beliefs but not directly opinions, and
(25%) related to the topic. related to the topic. beliefs related
to the topic.
2 Lesson is not well Lesson is well Lesson is well
Objective prepared. prepared but there is prepared and
(25%) no congruence there is
between the congruence
objectives and the between the
subject matter. objectives and
the subject
matter.
3 group did not Group presents Group presents
Organizati present information information in a information in
on in a logical an logical and interesting a logical an
(20%) interesting sequence but interesting
sequence, therefore sequence
 the presentation occasionally strays which audience
cannot be from the topic. can follow.
understood.
4 Methods used were Methods used were Methods used
Method/ not suited for the slightly suited for the were suited for
approach subject and not subject and slightly the subject and
(20%) suited for the suited for the suited for the
capabilities of the capabilities of the capabilities of
target audience. target audience. the target
audience. Bing
5 Students utilized Student utilized Student utilized
Creativity very little unique unique ideas but did unique ideas in
(10%) ideas. not integrate it. an integrated
manner.
Total

HOLISTIC RUBRIC

Sample Rubric for Reflection Paper

Instructions: Each student will write a reflection paper about pre-selected topic.

Score Description
Excellent Student discusses prior knowledge, opinions, and beliefs related to the
(86-100%) topic.

Identify student’s feelings related to the topic. Have a clear and

supported hypothesis about the said emotions’ origins, development,
and connection to course.

Student presents information in a logical and interesting sequence.

Student discuss is important global an international issues in relation

to the topic.

Student utilizes unique ideas in an integrated manner.

Satisfactory Student discuss is prior knowledge, opinions, and beliefs but not
(61-85%) directly related to the topic.
 Identifies student’s feelings related to the topic. However, there is no
clear and supported hypothesis about the said emotions’ origins,
development, and connection to course.

Student presents information in a logical sequence but not interesting.

Student discuss is important global an international issues but not

directly related to the topic.

Student utilizes unique ideas but not integrated.

Poor Student does not discuss prior knowledge, opinions, and beliefs related
(0-60%) to the topic.

Does not identify student’s feeling related to the topic.

Student does not present information in a logical an interesting

sequence.

Student does not discuss important global and international issues in

relation to the topic.

Student does not utilize unique ideas.

Guided Questions:
1. Are there similar parts between an analytic and holistic rubric? What are these?

2. What are the differences between an analytic and a holistic rubric?

3. What are the advantages of using an analytic rubric and what are its
disadvantages?

4. What are the advantages of using a holistic rubric and what are its disadvantages?

IV. APPLY
For a rubric to be reliable, each criterion should have the following characteristics:
(1) Appropriate, (2) Definable, (3) Observable, (4) Distinct from one another, (5)
Complete, and (6) Able to support descriptions along a continuum of quality.
 In addition, the description for each criterion should have the following
characteristics: (1) Descriptive, (2) Clear, (3) Cover the whole range of performance, (4)
Distinguish among levels, (5) Center the target performance of the appropriate level, and
(6) Feature parallel descriptions from level to level (Brookhart, 2013).

Lessons Synthesis:
What are the common concerns of students in relation to grading? How do you
think these should be addressed?

UNIT SUMMARY
Finally, you have reached the end of the course! You are not yet done though
because it is time for you to prepare for your final assessment. In a nutshell for this unit,
you have learned the significance of a well-developed, clear, and sound assessment that
will measure student learning. Various assessment forms and strategies were provided to
give you more ideas on how to develop and grade assessments. Hopefully, you will find
all these useful when it is time for you to design your assessment for your mother tongue
class.