Jodesa P.

Sorolla 12-07-2022
BSED 2-A
Task 2b Analyzing the details of the research study
Analyze the details of the components of the research study entitled, “Mother Tongue
Instruction in Lubuagan: A Case Study from the Philippines” by S. Walter & D. Dekker.

Research Basis
Research Details
Components
Rationale The Lubuagan MLE programme teaches the Filipino and English
languages through the mother tongue rather than through immersion
in these two languages. Using the learners’ first language to teach
them Filipino and English provides the comprehensible input
necessary for learning second languages (Krashen 1991, 2000). After
oral proficiency is developed in Filipino and English, literacy in these
second languages is introduced, bridging from literacy in the first
language.

Additionally, the programme does not change any of the standard

governmental competencies for all subjects. Rather the focus is on
using the first language as the medium of instruction to ensure
comprehension of curriculum content for mastery. Reading and
writing are taught first in the learners’ mother tongue. Basic fluency
in reading is developed in the first language first, while Filipino and
English language lessons develop oral communication skills before
reading in those languages is introduced. Teachers had to learn to
read and write their own language first before they were competent to
teach first language literacy. This was done in a series of writer’s
workshops where teachers were bridged from reading and writing the
national language to their own language. Because their own language
has only recently been standardised to written form, spelling is often
difficult. This will change as more and more print literature is made
available in the language and people become accustomed to seeing
their language in written form.

In the traditional classroom, curriculum content is taught through

Filipino for social studies and Filipino language and English for
maths, science and English. This creates a scenario in which young
learners must learn a language at the same time they are learning new
concepts taught in that language.

The Lubuagan MLE programme incorporates cultural content in

order to optimise learning of the curriculum content (Dekker and
Dumatog 2004). This is done by beginning each lesson with what is
familiar to the learner, related to his or her everyday experiences, and
building on that to introduce the new content. All beginners’ reading
material consists of stories familiar in content to the learner so that
the focus is on the process of reading rather than distracting him or
her with new situations and unfamiliar people and places. Teachers
incorporate oral literature, local history, local arts, craft and music in
the curriculum as well to support the learners’ home culture. This
strategy provides a link between what the learner knows, his or her
first language and culture, and the unknown, or what they need to
learn – Filipino, English and the curriculum content.

Beyond the more local concerns about educational efficiency and

culture preservation lies a broader national debate about educational
policy and strategy. Will the country achieve its Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) in education? Does the country have in
place appropriate educational strategies for the 21st century? What
language or languages should be used for instructional purposes to
achieve national goals for educational development? Dalisay
Maligalig and Jose ́ Ramon Albert (2008, p. 23) report data suggesting
that the country has actually regressed slightly during the last 15 years
on several key indicators of the MDG in education. In a national case
 study prepared for the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring
Report, Rhona Caoli-Rodriguez (2007) similarly reports that national
initiatives (such as decentralisation) undertaken as part of the EFA
initiative show little evidence of having raised key educational
indicators in the Philippines. Ricardo Nolasco (2008) suggests that
national educational policy with respect to language(s) of instruction
additionally constrains educational effectiveness for many Philippine
children, especially those living in rural areas and in regions of the
country where neither English nor Filipino – the official languages of
instruction – is widely known.
Research • Does participation in a programme in which there is heavy usage of
Questions the first language (L1) as a language of instruction compromise the
development of proficiency in L2 (the language of jobs)?

• Does participation in a programme in which there is heavy usage of

the first language as a language of instruction compromise mastery of
overall curricular content?

• Does participation in a programme in which there is heavy usage of

the first language as a language of instruction compromise the
development of proficiency in such key areas as maths, science and
reading?
Findings Findings

Table 2 summarises the overall results of the testing by grade and

experimental grouping. The score reported in the ‘‘Mean’’ column is
the average raw score for all students tested on all tests for that grade.
The score in the ‘‘Percentage’’ column is simply the mean score
converted to a percentage based on the total number of test items in
all tests combined. Several points stand out in Table 2. First, the
(percentage) scores across grades are quite uniform suggesting
appropriate scaling of the test items in the test instruments. Secondly,
the Experimental group consistently scored 21 to 22 percentage points
higher than the Control group. And third, the level of statistical
significance (of the difference) is high.

Since the test instruments were designed as criterion-referenced

tests, the data suggest that children in the control schools are
consistently
mastering only
a little over 50
per cent of the
content while
those in the
experimental schools are consistently mastering 75 to 80 percent of
the curricular content.

Maths and reading

Reading and maths are normally considered the most fundamental

of the basic skills to be taught and mastered in early basic education.
Therefore, performance in these areas is of critical interest to all
stakeholders in basic education as students will not be capable of
working successfully at the higher grades if they do not master these
skills. Table 3 presents the results of testing done in maths and
reading.
 The results for reading and maths mimic the overall scores quite
closely. Apart from grade two, maths is the subject for which there is
the greatest difference between control and experimental groups with
a 27–33 per cent differential. The differential in reading is relatively
constant at 23–24 percentage points. Looking at the experimental
schools, we note a very slight tendency for the reading scores to be
improving through the three grades along with a slight tendency for
the maths
scores to be
decreasing.
It will take
more years
of testing to
determine
whether
this is a genuine trend or a statistical accident.

Second language acquisition

One of the most persistent objections to the use of mother-tongue

instruction is the assertion – or the assumption – that when children
are being taught by means of their first language, valuable time is
being lost in learning the second language which is commonly the
language of higher education, commercial activity and the political
world. In most Philippine schools, two second languages are being
taught – Filipino and English – making ‘‘the language issue’’ even
more critical in terms of policy. Table 4 compares the performance of
control and experimental groups of children on tests of their ability in
these two languages.
 Table 4 provides clear evidence that the use of the primary
language as a language of instruction is not compromising children in
learning the second language. Contrary to popular belief, the children
who are receiving most or all of their instruction via English did
consistently worse on a test of knowledge of English than did the
experimental children. Furthermore, the difference was even greater
in grade three than in grade one though there is not sufficient evidence
to claim that the differential has been increasing through the grades.
The same advantage
exists for learning
Filipino, though the
difference is much
less pronounced
between the two
programmes (the
result in grade two is
probably a chance anomaly).

Conclusion The testing done in 2008 found an approximate gain of 40 per

cent in educational outcomes (test scores). Several major questions
present themselves in response to this finding. How significant is this
level of improvement? How does this finding compare to gains (or
losses) in similar programmes in similar countries? Will this gain
persist? Are further gains possible with additional tweaks to the
existing educational system?

In a similar study being carried out in Cameroon, Walter and

Trammell (2008) found average gains of over 200 per cent for grade
one children being instructed in the local language. In 2009 the
reported gains were approximately 125 per cent for grade one and
60 per cent for grade two. Gains were the greatest in reading and
maths and less in mastery of the second language (the language of
instruction in the control schools).
 In Jacob Cohen’s classic work on power and effect size in
statistical analysis, an effect size of 0.8 is considered to be large
(Cohen 1988). The effect sizes observed in the Lubuagan
programme range from 1.31 to 1.61, indicating very large effect sizes
for the mother tongue innovation.

A striking feature of the Lubuagan research data is the variation

in teacher quality. The students of high-performing teachers
outscored those of low- performing teachers by as much as 70 per
cent (within each of the instructional models). In the Cameroonian
research (Walter and Trammell 2008), the differences were even
greater – as much as 100 per cent – again with similar levels of
variation observed within instructional models. Comparable results
were found in research done in Eritrea (Walter and Davis 2005).

A tentative emerging hypothesis is that the greatest effect size for

L1 instruction in the early grades is to be realised in those contexts
in which the existing quality of educational delivery is the weakest.
Only further and broader research will confirm or disconfirm this
hypothesis and the larger ones which motivated the Lubuagan
experiment in education.