The Experiences of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Teachers

in Southern Leyte, Philippines

I. Introduction

In the Philippines, the Department of Education through the Republic Act 10533 or the

Basic Education Act of 2013 implemented the K-12 curriculum, which included the use

of mother tongue in the instruction from Pre-Elementary to Grade III (Bilbao 2018).

Mother Tongue Based – Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the Philippines is the use

of more than two languages for literacy and instruction in subjects like mathematics,

science, health and social studies (Nolasco, n.d.). Also, this program seeks to address

the “high functional illiteracy of Filipinos” (NOLASCO, n.d., p. 2) where language plays a

significant factor. The inclusion of MTB-MLE in the K to 12 curriculum is mandated by

Republic Act 10533. Republic Act 10533 explicitly states that “the curriculum shall

adhere to the principles and framework of MTB-MLE, which starts from where the

learners are and from what they already knew proceeding from the known to the

unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-MLE

curriculum shall be available”(R.A. 10533, 2013).

Walter (2011) argued that the use of mother tongue education is essential because it is

“capable of producing proficient readers in 2-3 years” (Walter, 2011, p. 24) and will

benefit learners who have average ability and potential. However, Walter (2011)

warned that not all sociolinguistic patterns are suitable for the use of mother tongue

education.
 II. Results and Discussions

Table 1 below presents the academic characteristics of the MTB-MLE teachers who

participated in the study.

Table 1. Academic Characteristics of the Participants

In addition, the average age of the participants was 32.5, the average years of teaching

was six years, and the mean number of years of teaching in MTB-MLE was 2.7.

Meanwhile, there were eight ranked as Teacher II and two were classified as Teacher

III. In the Philippines, teachers in Basic Education are ranked from Teacher I to

Teacher III and Master Teacher I to Master Teacher III with Teacher I as the entry

point position.

The data transpired from the questionnaire, personal interview and the queries via text

messaging generated five themes. The emerging themes included the use of more than

one vernacular as a medium of instruction in communication development, commitment

to being globally competitive, limited applicability due to the superiority of English and
inadequate materials, burden caused by the complexity of the vernacular, and optimism

in accepting the responsibility.

More than One Vernacular as a Medium of Instruction in Communication Development

The teachers acknowledged that MTB-MLE instruction is teaching with the use of the

vernacular or the language of the area where the learning process took place. However,

they emphasized that teaching in MTB-MLE does not use only one language but two or

more languages in the learning process. Moreover, the teachers believed that MTB-MLE

is a medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education of the children.

These implied that the teachers understood clearly the framework of the MTB-MLE as a

component of the K-12 program in the Philippines.

It is an education, formal or non-formal, using the learners’ mother tongue and

additional languages in the classroom (P5).

Mother tongue-based instruction for me is teaching the subjects like Math, Edukasyon

sa Pagpapakatao (Values Education), Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies), MTB-MLE and

Music, Art, Physical Education, and Health using the native dialect or the language in

that particular area (P8).

Besides, the teachers understood that MTB-MLE would lead to communication

development. It will build confidence in communication among the pupils because

when they start their primary education they can freely express their thoughts in

addition to being able to understand the concepts taught by the teachers. Teaching
through MTB-MLE will prepare the children to develop literacy abilities to be able to

succeed in school.

In school, Mother-tongue based instruction is used as the medium of instruction for

some subjects like Math, Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) and Edukasyon sa

Pagpapakatao (Values Education). The reason is to make children easily understand

the lessons, and to encourage them to participate actively during the English and

inadequate materials, burden caused by the complexity of the vernacular, and optimism

in accepting the responsibility.

More than One Vernacular as a Medium of Instruction in Communication Development

The teachers acknowledged that MTB-MLE instruction is teaching with the use of the

vernacular or the language of the area where the learning process took place. However,

they emphasized that teaching in MTB-MLE does not use only one language but two or

more languages in the learning process. Moreover, the teachers believed that MTB-MLE

is a medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education of the children.

These implied that the teachers understood clearly the framework of the MTB-MLE as a

component of the K-12 program in the Philippines.

It is an education, formal or non-formal, using the learners’ mother tongue and

additional languages in the classroom (P5).

Mother tongue-based instruction for me is teaching the subjects like Math, Edukasyon

sa Pagpapakatao (Values Education), Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies), MTB-MLE and

that particular area (P8).

Besides, the teachers understood that MTB-MLE would lead to communication

development. It will build confidence in communication among the pupils because

when they start their primary education they can freely express their thoughts in

addition to being able to understand the concepts taught by the teachers. Teaching

through MTB-MLE will prepare the children to develop literacy abilities to be able to

succeed in school.

In school, Mother-tongue based instruction is used as the medium of instruction for

some subjects like Math, Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies) and Edukasyon sa

Pagpapakatao (Values Education). The reason is to make children easily understand

the lessons, and to encourage them to participate actively during the discussion or in

the learning process. With the mother tongue-based instruction, the children or the

students can freely express their thoughts, and what they know already. They can

understand the discussion and what is being asked of them (P3).

It is clear that the teachers understood and had internalized the objectives of the

government in the inclusion of MTB-MLE in the first three years of education as

provided in the guidelines for the implementation of MTB-MLE enclosed in the

Department of Education order no 16 series of 2012 (DepEd, 2012). The teachers are

hopeful that the children will be able to acquire the foundational competencies, which

they can carry when they go on to higher learning skills in the intermediate and
secondary education. When the children have a strong foundation, they will be able to

transfer that base to higher learning.

The teachers also see the importance of being understood when it comes to teaching.

As implementers, they see that through MTB-MLE instruction, they are followed by the

children, and that connotes real learning; not just rote memorization. Hence, they are

eager and excited to teach because of the novelty of the instruction. As one teacher

put it “teaching MTB-MLE is fun because this is new to me.”

Commitment to Being Globally Competitive

The MTB-MLE teachers believed that they were the teachers of the 21st century

because they were the implementers of the new curriculum. This belief made them feel

they were becoming globally competitive teachers. The Department of Education

implemented the K-12 curriculum with the inclusion of the MTB-MLE instruction in the

first three years of primary education with the aim of uplifting the core education of the

Philippines to become at par with the rest of the world regarding skills and

competencies. This statement means that the teachers understood well the objectives

of the MTB-MLE instruction, and that is a good sign for the success of the program.

We are the teacher of the 21st century and globally competitive (P1).

But they emphasized that they are only guides. They do not transfer learning to the

pupils. They see themselves as partners in learning, acknowledging that they are on the
same path with their students regarding learning, which is an indicator that the

teachers do not possess a selfish attitude of having the monopoly of knowledge. It

further means that there is so much room for improvement because the teachers are

open for more inputs.

For me being a teacher in MTB this is very interesting to be part of my teaching

because it helps to the learners to easily catch-up knowledge. The teacher in MTB

instruction is guide of the learners only. The learner is the center of the MTB

instruction (P4).

We are considered as the implementer of new curriculum mandated by the Dep Ed

(P5).

Limited Applicability Due to the Superiority of English and Inadequate Materials

The teachers still look at English as a preferred language and a symbol of intellectual

and material superiority. They tend to undermine students who were not able to speak

or interact in English, which is an attitude not right for the success of the MTB-MLE

implementation.

Students don’t like to read English and can’t understand when the teacher using the

second language and third language (P1).

They are fluent in communicating but in the English instruction they are poor (P4).

Students do not know even simple English words (P5).

poor knowledge in English instruction in the sense that they are more focused on the

MTB-MLE rather than exposed in the foreign language (P8).

Pupils can interact the discussion, but they felt hard to understand especially in English

(P10).

The teachers also realized that there are limitations of the applicability of the MTB-MLE.

They noticed that not all concepts of mathematics and the natural sciences could be

taught through MTB-MLE. For example, the children do not use the vernacular versions

of number names. In, addition, there are concepts in mathematics and natural sciences

that have no equivalent terms in the vernacular hence, tough to translate.

The problems that I have experienced in MTB were during the preparation of lessons; I

noticed that there are words or terms in the guide that are hard to understand

especially in the Mathematics subject. I need to find the meaning of the word (P9).

Another problem is the fact that the vernaculars used in the geographic area are

complex. The teachers find it hard to connect the meanings of the words with different

varieties in the vernacular. These points toward a mother tongue with interchangeable

words and meanings. For example, the words “saya”, “sayal”, and “palda” mean the

same thing, which is skirt.

The teachers are feeling lost, alienated, and burdened. A term in the vernacular could

mean many things depending on the particular place where it is used. Many times these

differences are observed even between two different municipalities. It is more difficult
teaching mathematics or natural sciences because the concepts have to be translated

first into the vernacular then find out if the colloquial term fits the particular place

where the term is used. When the teacher cannot find a particular word used in the

place, things can get awkward because there are no other references except the

teaching guides provided by the Department of Education.

Most common problems I have experienced in teaching MTB-MLE is that students used

different terms of a thing for example, “saya” others call it “sayal” while others call it

“palda.” Students argue on this, my role as a teacher is to let them understand that

that all are the same. I will let them understand that even Bisayan dialect has many

varieties (P8).

When it comes to instructional materials, the teachers admitted that the program is not

ready. Learners’ materials and other textbooks are severely inadequate to provide

enough skills to educators and students. The teachers find it difficult to prepare and

conduct the lessons for the pupils. It is tough to acquire skills when they cannot

contextualize the concepts taught because there are no local equivalents of the

concepts.

Some problems I experienced in teaching MT-MLE are: (1) in the first year of

teaching/implementing the program; I have the difficulty of securing the teaching

materials like the curriculum guide, teaching guide, and the learners guide. All the

materials needed are not yet available; some instructional materials secured were not

complete; (2) it also take time for me to understand and adjust the new teaching
method; and to understand the whole concept of the new curriculum; (3) the pupils

also taking their time to adjust because MTB-MLE instruction is not yet connected to

their kindergarten lessons; (4) some parents have negative attitudes towards MTB-MLE

instruction; (5) some teaching and learners materials are confusion because the

available or the supplied guides are in Cebuano-Bisaya while in my school we use

Boholano-Bisaya; (6) there are also bisayan terms that are not familiar to the learners

and the teacher (P10).

Moreover, the curriculum is based on the vernacular. The teachers found it to be

difficult to implement in the classroom setting. As far as the learners’ modules and

teaching guides are concerned, the words used in the classroom are not the exact

words used by the children in their daily conversations. For example, the students do

not use the vernacular words for numbers inside the classroom, but they use English,

hence, the teachers dubbed it as an unusual program that needs unusual solutions.

There are words which are not suitable in the daily conversation (P1).

Burden Caused by the Complexity of the Vernacular

The teachers find it difficult to teach using the mother tongue because the nature of the

language itself is very complex. The teaching materials pegged the mother tongue to

“sinugbuanong binisaya,” which has many semantic nuances in the Visayan language.

This situation is also true in Southern Leyte, where the people do not speak entirely the

same version of the Sinugbuanong Binisaya language. Hence, in the actual classroom

instruction, there are terms used in the teaching material that are not understood by
the teachers. The burden is on the teachers since they are the ones who will find the

meaning of the words before they can teach them to the students.

Some of the words found in the references are too hard to understand particularly the

Sinugbuanong Binisaya words (P1).

Teachers have problems to translate (P3)

There are also bisayan terms that is unfamiliar to the learners and to the teacher (P5)

Some of the words are too hard to understand (P6)

There are words or terms in the guide that are hard to understand (P7)

Even binisaya dialect has many varieties (P10).

Optimism in Accepting the Responsibility

One important element is the commitment and confidence of the teachers. All the

stakeholders in primary education are new to the MTB-MLE instruction. There is,

therefore, the need for dedicated and optimistic teachers to make this work. Without

the teachers’ commitment and positive attitude, all the other stakeholders from the

students to the parents and the community will fail to see the importance of this

curriculum.

These positive experiences means to me: (1) success in the goal of the program,

despite of some problems of the implementation; (2) a measurement how good the

program implemented; (3) a strength/hope for the struggles towards effective and
quality education; (4) an output/results of the program implementation; (5)an

encouragement to do more to excel in implementing the program; (6) an

encouragement to the community to embrace the program (P8).

While the teachers already felt the success they achieved, they still sensed something

to be added to their skills. These positive experiences show that there is a lot to be

done. More effort is needed from all the stakeholders to achieve more.

The teachers emphasized that the success of the curriculum does not depend only on

the commitment and the acceptance of responsibilities on the part of the teachers. The

teachers need to be prepared regarding the competencies and skills as well as the

provision of the necessary faculties from training to learning and instructional materials.

The training that the teachers received from the national government is not enough,

and the instructional materials are inadequate to answer the learning needs of the

children. For example, being teachers in MTB-MLE, they emphasized the need to have a

mastery of the vocabulary of the first language and be able to translate it to the target

language. They also acknowledged that fluency and confidence in the vernacular is a

critical part of the teaching-learning process. The fluency and confidence are

accomplished through additional training and textbooks for teachers and students.

These problems mean challenge, challenge in my teaching career so that I will be more

flexible and innovating in my ways of teaching and to strive harder to grow

professionally as to deliver the needed educational services to all my diverse learners.

references) to the teachers and learners (P1).

III. Conclusions and Recommendations

The success of the implementation of the MTB-MLE curriculum in the Philippines is

difficult to attain but not impossible. As experienced by the teachers, progress in

mother tongue instruction is tough in an archipelago with complex and varied

vernaculars. But the MTB-MLE curriculum is a welcomed addition to the ever

challenging tasks of the teachers. As can be observed, the teachers understood their

roles and discerned the challenge resulting from the addition of MTB-MLE in the
curriculum. Moreover, the teachers accepted the challenge and realized their

importance to the success of the MTB-MLE.

Nevertheless, the success or failure of the MTB-MLE curriculum of the Department of

Education lies heavily on the support and prioritization of the national government and

the political will of the Department of Education in providing the needs of the teachers,

the classroom, and the learners. In the first three years of implementation, the teachers

have observed success. But it is not yet the end of the line. There are still a lot of things

to be done and to be provided.

Further studies on the experiences of MTB-MLE teachers are highly recommended to

gain a deeper understanding of how the teachers experience MTB-MLE.

IV. Reflection

The mother tongue based multilingual education is very important to our community as

a students and teacher. We know the the language is the best way to communicate and

in order to understand what they want to say. Mother tongue based multilingual

education is the best way of teaching the student with their own language inside the

classroom. For the purpose of the students, that can understand easily and can

articulates new ideas with their own language inside the classroom. English is not the

best language to a primary school like kinder, grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3. That's why

they implemented this new subject the Mother tongue based multilingual education to

students in primary school can understand easily inside the classroom. As a future
teacher this is a advantage to teach our own language. Mother tongue based

multilingual education can benefit the teacher especially to all students. We know that

language is very important when it comes to communicate with others. Communication

with our own language which is hiligaynon is the best way to express our feelings and

thoughts. Through using mother tongue based multilingual education students can

understanding easily what the teachers told them or what the teachers instructed them.

Students can adopt fast and think fast because they don't need to interpret those words

in their own language because mother tongue based multilingual education is use inside

the classroom with our own language in community. Therefore, Mother tongue based

multilingual education is very important to the student in primary school to understand

well and articulate new ideas using their mother tongue based multilingual education.

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