MOTHER LANGUAGE

[LAST LESSON]
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled MOTHER
LANGUAGE is a bonafide record of the original project
work done by (Reg.no: ) during her senior
secondary study in the academic year 2023-2024 under
my supervision and guidance .

EXTERNAL EXAMINER
Smt. SUMAN CIPSON
PGT ENGLISH
VIDHY
A NIKETAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

PRINCIPAL
GROUP MEMEBRS
 ACTION PLAN
The entire project has been fulfilled following different
steps and consultations with features, expert and pears
and with reference to print and visual media.
The project aims at achieving a clear understanding of
the present scenario of diminishing the importance of
mother tongue in our life. For the project, I read and
critically evaluated our lesson “The Last Lesson” and
took out the theme of mother language.
I made a questionnaire using Google form and sent it to
my friends and family through WhatsApp and Instagram,
and collected their opinions about the topic.Along with
that, I have acquired a good proficiency in general
English speaking and methods of interacting with people.
For the project I carried out several researches especially
the Education policy of India that suggests the importance
of mother tongue learning and communication to know
about the steps we have to take to protect our own
regional language. Then I analyzed the data collection
from the questionnaire and came up to a conclusion.
 DRIVING QUESTION
“Do people understand the importance of mother tongue.”
Reflect on it

OBJECTIVE:
To learn about the importance of mother tongue by
drawing a conclusion from a survey.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
NCERT flamingo book class 12, google forms, YouTube.
 MOTHER
LANGUAGE
THE LAST LESSON

The story " The Last lesson " converses the theme of
mother language. Here the French language of the people
of Alsace and Lorraine was forcefully taken away by the
conquerors the Germans and enforced their language,
German on them.
So, the lesson discusses the importance and value of
mother tongue to the citizens of a country.
The lesson rises many questions about one's language,
culture and individual freedoms.
We can hear silent protests and attempts of repression
throughout the history against the hijacking of their
mother language and imposing a foreign language on
them.
The Prussians in the story have declared through the order
from Berlin that their whole purpose was not only to rule
the territory but also to reign over the mind of the people
by imposing their language on them.
The story enforces the fact that we value something more
when we lose it. That is what we see here with the people
of Alsace and Lorraine.
 PRESENT SCENARIO
The present situation existing around us is something like
what has been discussed in the story.
The mother tongue of ours is getting forgotten even at the
primary stage of our education then no need of thinking
about the higher education sectors.
Even though human brain is capable of learning multiple
languages, our education system ignores to extend the due
respect to our own mother tongues.
The language imposed on us through educational
medium, technology, science, commerce and
globalization started over powering our domestic
situation.
I fear one day it will thrash our mother tongue, so the
need of the hour is it should be protected among ourselves
because it’s a part of our culture and heritage of our lives.
People must come to together to uphold the pride and
wealth of their own mother tongue in order to pass down
this legacy to our future generations.
 To suffice human's social need for more effective
communication the language was created. The
extremely complex or versatile code, i.e. language, is
used to express our thoughts and experiences to other
people. This makes language a natural phenomenon
that is learnt by a human at an early age for the desire
to express themselves to others.

 The mother language is an essential aspect in one's

upbringing as it shapes the way they perceive the
world and the way one expresses themselves to
others.

 Babies tend to imitate what they see or hear. Infants

are fast learners as they acquire their mother
language by imitating their parents. It is easier for
children to learn languages in their growing years
than in comparison to adults learning a new language.

 Having a strong grip on one's mother language also

helps in creating a strong foundation for learning
additional languages. Children are capable of
learning languages other than their native language
while they are young by transferring the different
structure of a language to other languages.
 If a child learns the grammar of their mother
language well, then they will be able to guess the
meaning of the words in different languages easily.
Since people from different regions have varying
mother languages, that is why many institutions and
parents teach a second language to children so that
they can communicate with more people, without any
language barriers.

 A person might be able to converse in multiple

languages, but if they are spoken to in their mother
language, then a sense of familiarity prevails over
them.

 One's mother language is a very potent tool that helps

in advancing the learning skill in people. Children
develop the skill of communication by conversing
with their parents in their native language. And this
skill of communication becomes paramount in school
or institutional level setting for participating in class.

 Learning in school plays an important role in

accentuating the use of mother language.
 Similarly, when parents spend time communicating
in the native language for discussing matters and
telling stories to children, it helps in developing their
terminology and concepts. Thus, children are able to
follow instructions and can learn effortlessly,
resulting in educational success.

 The native language starts shaping a person's

thoughts and emotions soon after they are born in
their subconscious because a person first hears it in
their womb. The personal and cultural identity of an
individual is developed because of their mother
language.

 By understanding oneself, their surroundings and

their history, personal identity can be built. It is sad
to see that mother language is losing its importance in
comparison to some popularly used languages like
English. Since in education as well as international
business, English is used, that is why people are more
encouraged to learn it because of the existing
competition.

 However, the mother language remains an

inseparable part of one's existence as it is said to be
 one's true vehicle of wit. To preserve the cultural
fabric, people must always strive to preserve their
mother language at any cost.

INFERENCE
As per the opinions of different people, I have inferred
and noted some points as follows:-
 As per question 2, 3 and 4, we can see that 54% of
the people want to speak their mother language, but
with family, 64% people always and 23 percent most
of the time speak in their mother language, showing
that families support speaking of mother language.

 On the other hand, only 10% people speak their

mother language in their offices/schools/etc. showing
that English has overtaken all other languages as a
world formal language. We also see that 18% never
and 13% occasionally speak their mother language in
the professional space, which is a great concern.

 After further research, I found that these 31% people

are mostly children and teenagers, which shows that
the current older generations still have affection for
their mother language, whereas the present
generation is shifting more towards English.
 The above inference shows that there is huge amount
of societal pressure on us to show ourselves as good
than we actually are in front of the society. And, from
question 8, we get that 44% of people face societal
pressure, because of which they have to speak
English, even if they wish to speak their mother
language.

 Due to this, many of us cannot express ourselves

properly and cannot be ourselves. Question 5 shows
that most of us are not inferior to converse in their
mother language, but 18% do, rather we should be
proud of speaking our mother language even on
international television, to which 82% of people
agrees to as per question 6.
 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we observed that it is too late that we take

certain fruitful steps to protect our own mother languages.
For that we have to protect our own mother language
from now.
For that we have to take certain steps like the suggestions
in the NEP 2020 compulsory primary education in one's
mother language providing even complex science and
technological texts in one's own language.
People should not be inferior to converse in their mother
language, our mother language is our pride.
The following steps could also be taken:
 Train teachers in local languages and support for
multi-language acquisition
 Ignite the flame of the legacy of your language in
the hearts of your future generations.
  Train secondary school students to assist in local
early learning programs using the mother tongue
 Create and authorize language – sensitive
pedagogy.
 Raise awareness about linguistic diversity in
curriculum.

STUDENTS
REFLECTION

So, for my project, I totally dove into the story and

analyzed it like a pro! I even went the extra mile and
interviewed my awesome friends and family to get their
thoughts on mother language. It was super interesting to
hear their different perspectives and how it relates to real-
life situations. This project has really helped me
understand the theme of the story on a deeper level. I've
put together a detailed report and I'm feeling confident for
the viva. Can't wait to share my findings with everyone.
-AKAHSYA SHREE
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
•YouTube
• Reference project of NCERT Flamingo book Class XII
•Google forms