#mtb-mle

TCF releases its First Research Report on Mother Tongue based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in collaboration with the Thar Foundation

In a kindergarten classroom in Islamkot, a tehsil (township) in the Tharparkar Desert in Sindh, a child named Mehtab eagerly writes his name in English on the blackboard. He does a perfect job – carefully forming each letter of his name and then reading it loudly. However, it is not until the research team rubs off the last two letters of his name and asks him to read, that he gives them a blank…

Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) has carved its niche as a practical and effective approach in the educational landscape. It offers a plausible framework for preparing coming generations to become better adaptive and even rich contributors in the globalized and intercultural world. The gate to the new millennium has brought great zeal in and at the same time contestations around this educational alternative.

This study examined the stakeholders’ perspective on the implementation of MTB-MLE as a pedagogical approach. The stakeholders’ perspective were explored and analyzed through the results of the different focus group discussions among teachers, pupils, parents, local school board, parents-teachers and community association, non-government organization and local government unit.

Results from this study indicate four main benefits of MTB-MLE, namely: Expressing better ideas, building self-confidence, better retention, and promoting friendly environment.

Meanwhile, the challenges which hinder the implementation of MTB-MLE are grouped into four significant themes: Multilingual environment, difficulty in translation, inadequacy of instructional materials and mandatory compliance to the Department of Education (DepEd) order.

The implications of these findings revolve around the way in which the program can benefit Filipino pupils. Notably, rather than a top-down approach that does not consider the local stakeholders, the Department of Education (DepEd) order should be implemented through interactions between the top management and the local stakeholders. Involving them can undoubtedly contribute in the success of MTB-MLE.

Author(s) Details

John N. Cabansag College of Arts and Sciences, Isabela State University, Echague, Isabela, Philippines.

Parallel Session of DR. Diane Dekker.