Elesio M.

Maribao
EPS- II Regional Supervisor
MTBMLE Regional Coordinator


MTBMLE Rationale,
Principles & Purposes
Define the goals/purposes of education as
you see them.
prepares students to be responsible, mature,
and productive citizens who will uphold the
pride of the nation and their parents.

What do parents say about the purpose
of schooling?
I send my child to school to learn English.

How do teachers generally teach English?
Through teaching reading of English.
What is the number one stated difficulty
Filipino teachers find in the classroom today?
Comprehension lack of reading
comprehension.

Why do you think this is a difficulty?


Together read this paragraph
Melek aksara adalah kemampuan untuk
mengidentifikasi, mengerti, menerjemahkan,
membuat, mengkomunikasikan dan
mengolah isi dari rangkaian teks yang
terdapat pada bahan-bahan cetak dan tulisan
yang berkaitan dengan berbagai situasi.

Wikipedia
Learning a second language How
long does it take?

It takes at least 2 years to learn basic
communicative skills in a second language.

According to studies, it takes 5 7 years
minimum to learn a new language in order to
use that language for learning new content (ie
the curriculum).
What do you think happens if the
mother tongue is not used?
Childrens understanding of concepts is
limited or confused if learning only in L2.
It is a fallacy to think that children who are
immersed in L2 from the beginning learn L2
better. They do not.

Thomas and Collier 2001
Thomas and Collier Study

School is an alien place
failure to engage indigenous students in
meaningful ways results in classroom
experiences that are incomprehensible and
culturally invalidating. The result is that
indigenous children often lose interest, under-
perform and drop out, and remain trapped in
conditions of deprivation and marginalization.
(ICEF, 2006:22)
Mother Tongue Based Multilingual
Education what is it?
Mother tongue-based multilingual education
is education, formal or nonformal, in which
the childrens mother tongue and the national
language(s) are used in the classroom.
Children begin their education in a language
they understand, their mother tongue, and
develop a strong foundation in their mother
language.
SIL International, Philippines
What is the purpose of MTBMLE?

The purpose of a multilingual education program
is to develop appropriate cognitive and
reasoning skills enabling children to operate
equally in different languages - starting in the
mother tongue with transition to Filipino and
English.
SIL International, Philippines
MTBMLE
is a structured program of language learning and cognitive
development providing
a strong educational foundation in the first
language
successful bridging to one or more additional
languages
enabling the use of both/all languages for life-long
learning
is based in the childs own known environment and
bridges to the wider world.
SIL International, Philippines
Multilingual Education
maintains local language and culture while
providing state/national language acquisition
and instruction

promotes learners integration into the
national society without forcing them to
sacrifice their linguistic and cultural heritage.
Education in a Multilingual World
UNESCO Position Paper (2003)
UNESCO supports mother tongue instruction
as a means of improving educational quality
by building upon the knowledge and
experience of the learners and teachers.
UNESCO supports bilingual and/or multilingual
education at all levels of education as a
means of promoting both social and gender
equality and as a key element of linguistically
diverse societies.
The development of the childs
first language with its related
cognitive development is more
important than the mere length of
exposure to a second language;
development of the mother tongue
is critical for cognitive
development and as a basis for
learning the second language.
Tucker (1997)
Mother Tongue Based MLE
moving beyond the known
maintains local language and culture while
providing state/national language acquisition
and instruction

promotes learners integration into the
national society without forcing them to
sacrifice their linguistic and cultural heritage.
Building Blocks for a Successful MLE
Program
KNOWN
UNKNOWN
KNOWN UNKNOWN
KK
LANGUAGE:
CONCEPT:
UK
KU
UU
Language Learning
Academic Learning
Access to education
Learners whose mother
tongue is the language of
instruction and the
language of literacy.
Minority language
learners who do not
speak the language
used when they enter
school or an
education program
Why do we need to begin with
the mother tongue?
The level of development of children's
mother tongue is a strong predictor of
their second language development
Thomas and Collier, 2001
Childrenwith a solid foundation in
their mother tongue develop stronger
literacy abilities in the school language.

Children's knowledge and skills
transfer across languages from the
mother tongueto the school
language
Jim Cummins
(2000).

KNOWN
UNKNOWN
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W
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Greg Dekker, 1998
Build small childrens fluency and confidence in oral L1
Continue to build oral L1
Introduce reading and writing in L1
Continue to build oral and written L1
Introduce Oral L2
Continue to build oral and written L1 and oral L2
Introduce reading and writing in L2
Continue to build oral and written L1 & L2
Introduce oral L3
Continue to build fluency & confidence
in using L1, L2 and L3 for everyday
communication & for learning new
concepts
Introduce reading and writing in L3
ADD other languages
A strong foundation in the mother tongue is
necessary to learn L2
Never stop using the MT
Build a strong bridge to L2
Lubuagan, Kalinga MTBMLE
Program
Controls Experimentals
N Percentage N Percentage
Grade 1
73 53.47 69 75.87
Grade 2
94
[1]
56.9 42 77.8
Grade 3
60 53.9 56 75.1
Grade 1
Controls Experimentals
N
Percentage
N
Percentage
Reading
73 52.76 69 75.47
Math
73 48.94 70 82.12
Grade 2
Reading
94 54.9 42 78.3
Math
94 61.9
[1]
42 80.3
Grade 3
Reading
60 53.4 56 79.2
Math
60 49.5 56 76.2
Grade 1
Controls Experimentals
N Percentage N Percentage
Filipino 73 57.08 70 68.42
English 73 52.76 70 72.41
Grade 2
Filipino 94 51.9 42 81.4
English 94 54.9 42 62.1
Grade 3
Filipino 60 62.9 56 70.6
English 60 53.4 56 77.1
Conclusion
As evidenced, using the Mother Tongue
will not hinder the learning of second
and third languages. Rather, use of the
mother tongue strengthens the
acquisition of other languages while
respecting the learner.

MTBMLE Bridging Plan in a 12 year program
First Language as L1, Filipino as L2, English as L3
Grade III L1
Math Sci Sibika Fil Eng
Grade II L1
Math Sci Sibika Fil
LSRW
Oral then
RW Eng
Grade I L1 - L, S,
R, W, V
Math Sci Sibika Oral
Fil
Oral
Eng
K Mother Tongue - language, math, values etc.
6 Questions
MTBMLE what is the primary premise?
What will MTBMLE do for the problems of low
attendance, high drop out and low achievement? Why?
How can MTBMLE help schools be a child friendly
environment?
What will it do to help the Filipino childs learning
processes?
What are the steps of the bridging process?
List the principles of MTBMLE you gleaned this morning.