Lesson 4

Topics:
 Mother Tongue and Language Curriculum
 Mother Tongue and Language Teachers

Overview:
This lesson discusses the mother tongue and language curriculum. In its content you will learn
the scope, importance and objectives of language. In addition, you will know the competence aims of
language in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Further, the roles of language teacher will be
discussed.
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Lesson Outcome:
At the end of the lesson, the students must be able to:
 Defined mother tongue;
 Discussed briefly the language curriculum;
 Explained the roles of language teachers;
 Identified the focus and goals of language teachers.

Introduction:
Welcome to our fourth lesson, this time you will learn the scope, importance, objectives of language,
the competence aims of language in listening, speaking, reading and writing and roles of language teachers,
their focus and goals.

Lecture/Discussion:

Scope of Language
The scope of language is briefly explained below:
1. Self-maintaining: When the child protecting his own interest, justifying his claims or behavior, criticizing
or even threatening others.
2. Directing: When the child is monitoring his own actions or telling to someone else what to do.
3. Language in a trans-disciplinary programme: Language is involved in all learning that goes on in
school, in both the affective and effective domains. Learners listen, talk, read and write their way to
negotiating new meanings and understanding new concepts. Language provides a vehicle for inquiry. In an
inquiry-based classroom, teachers and students enjoy using language, appreciating it both functionally and
aesthetically.
a. Phonology: It studies the combination off sounds into organized units of speech, the information of
syllables and larger units. It describes the sound system of a particular language and combination and
distribution of sounds which occur in that language.
b. Syntax: it is the level at which we study how words combine to form of phrases, phrases combine to form
clauses and clause join to make sentence. The study of syntax also involves the description of the rules of
positioning of elements in the sentence such as the nouns/noun syntax phrases, verbs/verb phrase, adverbial
phrases etc. A sentence must be composed of these elements arrange arranged in a particular order. Syntax
also attempts to describe how these elements function in the sentence, i.e. what is their role in the sentence.
c. Semantics: It deals with the meaning in language. It attempts to analyze the structure of meaning in a
language, e.g. how words similar or different are related; it attempts to show these interrelationships through
forming “categories”. Semantics tries to give an account of both word and sentence meaning and attempts to
analyze and define that which is considered to be abstract. It may be easy to define the meanings of words
such as ‘tree’ but not so easy to define the meanings of of words such as ‘love’ or similar abstract things. This
is why semantics is one of less clearly definable areas of language study.

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MTB 101 I Content and Pedagogy for Mother Tongue Module No.4
d. Discourse: It is the study of chunks of language which are bigger than a single sentence. At this level, we
analyze inter sentential links that form a connected and cohesive text. Cohesion is the relation established in a
sentence between it and the sentences preceding and following it, by the use of connectives such as ‘and’,
‘though’, ‘also’, ‘but’ etc. and by the manner in which reference is made to other parts of the text by devices
such as repetition or by use of pronouns, definite articles etc. By studying the elements of cohesion, one can
understand how a piece of connected language can have greater meaning that is more than the sum of the
individual sentences it contains.
e. Sociology of Language: The sociology of language includes the study of attitudes to language held by
social groups, for instance, they may consider some languages or dialects as more (or less) important. It
includes the planning of language education: Example: Which languages should be the medium of instruction,
which language should be taught as second language and language policy, i.e. which languages are legally
and constitutionally recognized and what status they are given. The sociology of language is thus linked with
other aspects of our social world, the political, economic, educational, etc.
f. Language is a complex: Like human body, language is a complex system. A human body functions
because of different organs like the heart, lungs, brain etc. Similarly, the language system functions because
of words, structures, sounds, etc. These are the most important parts of a language. i.e., sounds, words of
structures. All these are interlinked.
4. Symbols: Language works through symbols, which are the words. Example: The word ”pen” is not a “pen”,
it stands for a “pen”. Therefore, the symbols used in a language must be known to the speaker, the listener,
the reader and the writer.
5. Fundamental Thing: In language learning speech is the fundamental thing. Reading and writing are
secondary.
6. Biological function of man: Language is not an inherent biological function of man. It is acquired
through meaning.
7. Practice and habit formation: Language is learnt through practice and habit formation. Rules and
definition of grammar cannot help for the development of language of a child.

Objectives of Language:
Following are the objectives of language:
1. Developing personality: Language aids in developing and grooming one’s personality as a whole. Since
learning a language is part of our knowledge, it becomes one of the key factors in competitiveness. In the
advanced industrial society of today, the basic knowledge of a single or more language has become
indispensible.
2. Way of Communication: Language has become a major tool of communication between countries,
cultural groups, various companies and organizations, communities and friends.
3. Moral Development: Language is also connected to the moral development in a child. The process begins
when the child is about 18 mounts old. The child learns the right and wrong by listening to what his parents or
adult authorities tell him. Imagine teaching the child the difference of right or wrong without the tool of
language.
4. Different Ways to Use: Language develop mainly through its purposeful use (domains to be broaden)
Learning (often) involves talking, writing, shaping and moving (normally in reaction to perceptions) Learning
often occurs through speaking or writing as much as through shaping and moving.
5. Cognitive Development: Language use contributes to a pre-requisite for cognitive development.
Language is the medium for reflecting on learning, for improving it, for becoming (more or less) autonomous
as learners.

Importance of Language:
Following are the importance of language:
1. Easy social contact: Firstly, it makes social contact easy. Society, as we have seen, is a web of social
relationships which imply development of social contacts among the individuals with language contacts
become easy to be established because men can easily exchange their ideas. According to E. H. Sturtevant, “A
language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by which members of a social group co-operate and interact.”
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2. Culture carrier: Secondly, language helps or hinders the spread of culture. Ideas require language.
Sometimes an idea or concept is hard to translate because the language has no words with which to express
it. We are facing this difficulty in our country because our national language does not possess terms for a
number of English words used in sciences.
3. Easy conveyance of ideas: Thirdly, language gives a capacity for conveying ideas about a great variety
of things. In times when there was no language the ideas were transmitted by signs or cries which were not
easy to interpret. Man felt great difficulty in the clear expression of states of emotion.
4. Medium of growth: Language is not merely the medium of instruction at all levels of education; it is the
medium of growth. It provides capacity for preservation and communication of intellectual life. At higher level,
language provides the medium of fresh and free thinking and research. In education it is pick up information.
We need language to learn, to retain and to recall our knowledge. It is the primary need of the child.
5. Development of society: Through language people make progress in the society and human
development can be divided into categories.
Here are the competence aims of language in listening and speaking, and reading and writing:

Competence Aims for Level 1

Listening and Speaking
The aims of the studies are enable students to
 express their own feelings and opinions
 listen to, understand and talk about the content of oral narratives and other texts
 speak coherently about their experiences related to their school day, their family and their community
 understand and use numbers in practical situations

Competence Aims for Level 2

Listening and Speaking
The aims of the studies are to enable students to
 give expression to their own thoughts, feelings and experiences
 listen to others and respond to other people’s stories, descriptions and messages
 converse with and pose questions to their fellow pupils about technical topics and everyday events
 talk about the content of films, computer games, literary texts and plays
 explain and use technical words and concepts

Reading and Writing

The aims of the studies are to enable students to
 read different types of text with an understanding of the content
 read and understand simple tables and graphic presentations
 repeat, in their own words, information from school texts
 structure their own texts with headings, an introduction and a conclusion
 write a coherent texts, stories and letters
 conduct information searches and create, store and retrieve texts with the aid of digital tools
 use dictionaries and digital aids

Roles of language Teachers

1. Personalized the Learning Environment
How do students respond to your lesson and educational activities? Do they give you any feedback?
What kind? Awesome language teachers are able to cater to the specific needs and preferences of each class
and manage each classroom by implementing adjustments that favor students’ language learning. A basic
example of this is discovering of what your students enjoy the most, whether it’s doing hands-on activities,
incorporating aps and tech, reading stories, practicing conversation or making a game out of conjugation drills.
They’re much more likely to learn and remember language vocabulary and patterns when they’re enjoying
themselves – as long as it’s a little challenging, of course.

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MTB 101 I Content and Pedagogy for Mother Tongue Module No.4
2. Infuse Hopefulness
Your level of hopefulness is contagious. It inspires students to learn and believe that they can pick up
the language! Try to use verbal, specific and intentional encouragement and praise (such as “Nice job!” “Great
point, can you further clarify?” “Stick with it!” You’ll get it!” “You learned that fast!” or “Well said!”). This is
what helps allay their frustration, doubt, insecurity and sometimes even mere lack of interest in the language.
In this sense, effective language teachers need to be sensitive enough to detect where students are
emotionally regarding the language and tailor their educational activities appropriately. This implies responding
emphatically to the language’s complexities.
3. Infuse Passion
Infusing passion, playfulness and creativity into your classes is essential as well. Classes have an
unfortunate tendency to feel drab or routine if you don’t use stimulating activities or if you do the same thing
every time, and that’s even truer if your students perceive their previous language teachers as boring,
uninspiring or too demanding. You most likely won’t get anywhere with those kinds of students if you don’t
spark their interest in the language beforehand.
To light the spark, both you and your students should consider and discuss the questions: Why is this
language so useful to learn? How can it benefit your lives? What’s so amazing about learning this language?
What are the tangible and non-tangible advantages of learning it?
Taking some time to infuse passion into language will help you appropriately challenge their knowledge
of the language and push them to learn.
4. Be Connectable
As previously mentioned, there is a schism between your knowledge of language and your teaching
skills. Therefore, your ability to connect and form relationships is a vital skill. Many of us have had
accomplished language teachers in high school or college who didn’t teach as much, despite their expert
status in the language.
This is likely because we felt that they didn’t understand or care about us. Or possibly we perceived
their classes as unstimulating or too challenging. Our job is to discard the specialized language and learn to
explain key language concepts, patterns and ideas in ways that students can relate to.
5. Elicit Student Participation Often
Effective teachers elicit student participation as much as possible. Studies show that student
participation is directly related to successfully learning a language. Passive, quiet students most likely aren’t
learning as much as those who participate actively and regularly. If you noticed a more reserved student,
there’s no need to panic; just make your approach more collaborative.
6. Be Hyper-Aware of your Students’ Development
A language learning classroom will look significantly different depending on a group’s developmental
stage. Remember those language teachers who went too fast for us? Or too slow? Remember how frustrating
it was? This doesn’t need to be us! We can be the ones students remember for decades to come. It’s all about
tailoring our classroom to our audience.
With younger students, for instance, language learning should integrate visual tools, playful activities
and less reading and writing (because they’re still learning to write with a pen). Development doesn’t only
refer to students’ chronological age, but also to their overall level of emotional maturity.
Language learning is a challenging endeavor, and students ideally should gradually learn to handle the
discomfort of feeling confused and needing you to clarify points along the way. The prior language knowledge
and experience, as well as their intellectual capacity, also especially matter.
As you learn where your students are in their development, you’ll get a better feeling for things like the
optimal amount of time to spend on each activity (which can usually range anywhere from 2 minutes to over
an hour), which activities don’t work well with which class, when it’s time to incorporate new activities and
which parts of the textbooks are too advanced.
7. Hold Students Accountable
I saved the most important tip for last. Remember that the most effective teachers can’t “make” a
student learn or pass the class if the student doesn’t focus, engage with the language and put in the effort.
Students should ideally always work hard too! Whether students learn, pass or take advantage of the
classroom is also a reflection of their effort, and not only your teaching abilities.
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 While this is comforting news, by no means does it nullify your role being the best teacher you can be,
in connecting with them, caring about them, tuning into their needs and catering your teaching activities
accordingly!
But ultimately, if your students don’t bring their focused brains, they can only learn so much!
Beyond your language skills, teaching well ultimately depends on your ability to connect personally with
students and encourage them to learn creatively and collaboratively in ways they enjoy, and to respond to
their unique preferences and needs!

Focus and Goals of Language Teachers

1. Be a Student Informant
An “informant” is a native speaker of a language who provides linguistic information to a person who is
studying the language.
a. Put language in context
b. Balance the role of informant with that of a teacher
c. Turn the tables and make your students informants
2. Put on the Coach Hat
One of the most important roles you’ll play in your classroom will be that of “coach”, not only in the modern
“improve yourself” interpretation, but like sports coach, someone who’s there to encourage and push team
members to their limits, to bring the individuals together to meeting common goals.
a. Allow students to discover their talents
b. Nurture student talent
c. Foster team spirit
3. Be a Cultural Ambassador
English, though, is a widely spoken language, both by natives and non-natives. Behind each English speaker
there’s a rich cultural heritage that makes their use of the language unique, yet part of the overall, world-wide
use of English. You as teacher will have reasons for speaking English as you do, and you should share those
reasons with your students.
a. Share your heritage
b. Share your experiences
c. Share what it means to be who you are
4. Animate Students to Become Agents of Change
Either in our personal lives, in our communities or in the world-at-large, each of us will participate in the
changes that will come. Being able to use English, being a speaker of the current global language, means
being able to actively participate in this change.
a. Open the world of communication for your students
b. Encourage human interchange
c. Demonstrate how changes is natural through language learning
5. Inspire Learning in your Students
Being a teacher is an integral, active part of learning. While motivated people pursue their own learning every
day, so many students look to teachers to help them in their quests for knowledge.
a. Help the students learn the “mission statement”
b. Give students’ tool for learning
c. Show the benefits of learning
6. Choose your “Niche” and Stick with It
Choosing a niche is actually choosing the personal filter through which you’ll be teaching everything. This
means that you may not focus so much on one aspect (grammar in role play or drama in sentence structure).
You’ll be leaving the aspect to the expertise of another teacher, while fully taking advantage of your own
strength that the other teacher may not have.
a. Carving out you niche/ choosing a focus
b. How will your expertise flesh out in the classroom?

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MTB 101 I Content and Pedagogy for Mother Tongue Module No.4
Summary
The language is always believed to play a central role in learning. No matter what the subject area, students
assimilate new concepts when they listen, talk, read and write about what they are learning. As teachers, we
need to think bigger. We need to teach students to think beyond common classroom tasks and awaken their
desire to excel. Teachers have to took at their own goals as a professional, as an authority in their field and as
a person capable of sharing and imparting knowledge.

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Reference:
https://studymaterial.unipune.ac.in:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/5091/7/Unit%207copy.pdf
https://www.curriculum-for-mother-tongue-teaching-for-language-minorities/
https://www.fluentu.com/educator/blog/mfl-teachingresources/
https://www.teachthoughts.com/pedagogy/

LESSON ACTIVITY
Activity 4.1
Enumerate all the objectives of language (1-5) and importance of language (6-10).

Activity 4.2
Identify each aim whether it belongs to Level 1 or Level 2.
1. Speak coherently about their experiences related to their school day, their family and their community
2. Understand and use numbers in practical situations
3. Give expression to their own thoughts, feelings and experiences
4. Listen to others and respond to other people’s stories, descriptions and messages
5. Repeat, in their own words, information from school texts
6. Structure their own texts with headings, an introduction and a conclusion
7. Write coherent texts, stories and letters
8. Understand and fill out simple forms with personal information
9. Write their own texts, digitally and in functional hand writing
10. Employ simple strategies for reading comprehension

Assessment:
Out of seven roles of language teachers, choose three and explained briefly.

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MTB 101 I Content and Pedagogy for Mother Tongue Module No.4