1

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

The Philippines as a multilingual country has a different scene setting when it

comes to the institutionalization of a national policy requiring mother tongue-based

multilingual education (MTB-MLE) in the primary school years (Burton, 2019). With

regards to such implementation, many studies have long supported the use of

mother tongue as the language of instruction. However, these researches have

primarily been conducted in the community rather than national settings

This linguistic and cultural diversity in the Philippines brings much complexity

to the issue of language policy in education. With more than 7000 islands and 181

distinct languages (Lewis, Simons, & Fennig, 2018), the Philippines offers a

challenging environment for implementing a language policy that can serve the whole

country. Consequently, language policies for Philippines ‘schools have fluctuated

greatly over the last century with a different policy for nearly every generation. Until

recently, the 1974 and 1987 Bilingual Education Policies determined the language of

instruction in schools to be Filipino and English. This is despite the fact that about

80% of the population does not speak either of these as a first language.

In 2009, the Department of Education (DepEd) challenged the Bilingual

Education Policy by issuing an order that called for institutionalization of mother

tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE). This order requires use of the

learners ‘first language as the medium of instruction for all subject areas in pre-

kindergarten through grade three with Filipino and English being taught as separate

subjects (Philippines Department of Education, 2009). Another order was issued in

2012 that offered more specific guidelines for MTB-MLE and embedded the reform in

the newly adopted ―K to 12 Basic Education Program‖ (Philippines Department of

Education, 2012). This order shifted from the original mother tongue approach by
 2

specifying twelve major regional languages to be used as the languages of

instruction. Under this order, teachers are provided government-issued materials in

their regional languages but are expected to adapt them to reflect the students ‘first

languages.

MTB-MLE refers to “first-language-first” education that is, schooling which

begins in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages particularly

Filipino and English. It is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Filipinos

where language plays a significant factor. Since the child’s own language enables

her/him to express him/herself easily, then, there is no fear of making mistakes. It

encourages active participation by children in the learning process because they

understand what is being discussed and what is being asked of them. They can

immediately use their tongue to construct and explain their world, articulate their

thoughts and add new concept to what they already know.

This shift in language policy is part of a growing trend around the world to

support mother tongue instruction in the early years of a child‘s education. In

Southeast Asia, this is apparent in a rising number of educational programs that

utilize a mother tongue approach. Examples can be found in Cambodia, Indonesia,

Malaysia, Thailand, Timor L‘Este and Vietnam (Kosonen, in press; Taylor-Leech,

2013; UNESCO, 2007). In all of these cases, the programs are being piloted at the

community level with support from international non-governmental agencies (INGOs).

While the use of non-dominant languages in education is allowed in each of these

countries, the Philippines is the single country to institute a national policy requiring

their inclusion in the early grades. As a result, the implementation of MTB-MLE in the

Philippines is being looked at as an example for the rest of the region.

The move by DepEd and Congress to adopt MTB-MLE was based on the

outcomes of previous quantitative, longitudinal studies that highlighted the benefits of

using the mother tongue as the language of instruction. Two studies in the
 3

Philippines (Walter & Dekker, 2021) concluded that minority language students who

gained literacy in their first language experienced higher academic achievement than

students who learned in a second or third language. They suggested that second and

third languages can be acquired more easily if a foundation in the first language is

established early.1 In addition, these studies pointed to the importance of late-exit

programs in which the mother tongue is utilized until grade six with other languages

taught as separate subjects.

In the year 2012, the department of education (DEPED) implemented the use

of mother tongue-based Multilingual Education in all public schools, specifically in

grade 1,2 and 3. At first, there are 12 languages selected to use in different regions

such as; Tagalog, Kapangpangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon,

Waray, Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao and Chabacano. However, in the year 2013,

7 more languages are added in the MTB-MLE such as Ybanag, Ivatan, Sambal,

Aklanon, Kiraray-a, Yakan and Surigaonon.

However, the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) policy

gives complex form of different perspectives. The policy poses challenges of

instructional materials development, teacher training, and language instruction; just

to name a few. Instructional materials are available in few languages. Each

classroom has the representation of several linguistic backgrounds. Classroom

teachers are split on whether or not MTB-MLE is right for them and their students.

While exciting promises have been made about the great value of MTB-MLE, many

questions remain unanswered.

Further, results of a long- term observational research conducted among first

grade to third grade pupils in Lubuagan, an outskirt village of Cordillera

Administrative Region in the Philippines on mother tongue based multi-lingual

education bolstered its inception and usage in its educational system. This maiden

study commenced in one school in 1999 and it was successfully started in 2005 with
 4

three schools in the experimental group and three in the control group. Evaluation

was made after three years and it yielded consistent advantages in the learners in

the mother tongue. They performed better than the learners in the control schools in

English, Filipino, Reading, and Math (Walter & Dekker, 2021).

In a recent SWOT Analysis study of the current state of affairs of Teaching

English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) in the Philippines, results showed

that the MTB-MLE policy is also creating quite a number of challenges for English

teachers (Wa-Mbaleka, 2019). While excellence in English has been reported about

the Philippines, both academically and from business perspective, the MTB-MLE

policy seems to cause some concern to English language experts.

The Mother Tongue-Based and Multilingual Education is therefore simple and

powerful: Children learn best in a language that is familiar to them. Although children

can learn a language other than their mother tongue, they learn best—especially in

the early years— in an environment in which the language used to teach is also one

they speak in their home, with their parents, their siblings, and friends. This is

especially true in environments where children have little or no exposure to a second

or foreign language. Moreover, since the school is a new social environment to

children starting their education, learning in a mother tongue language also helps to

ease this transition, providing a bridge from the “known” to the “unknown.”

The goal of mother tongue-based, bilingual and multilingual programs is to

make children literate in their first language, as well as to help children acquire

fluency in a second language. This does not have to be an either/or scenario—

indeed, children who learn to read their first language first are more likely to acquire a

second language. This is one important argument behind making the case for MTB-

MLE.
 5

From this point the researcher will attempt to investigate on mother tongue

based (MTB) instruction and the pupil’s performance in technology and livelihood

education.

Statement of the Problem

This research will investigate mother tongue based (MTB) instruction

and the pupil’s performance in technology and livelihood education.

Specifically, this study will seek to answer the following questions:

1. What is the oral skills level in mother tongue of Grade VI pupils?

2. What is the academic performance of pupils in TLE?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the oral skills level in mother

tongue and academic performance of pupils in TLE?

Significance of the Study

The outcome of this study will hopefully contribute and add knowledge to the

following individuals:

To the Teachers. Teachers are the frontliners of education, it is one of their

major responsibilities to deliver quality education to the learners in any form whatever

it takes, the result this study may help them prepare a good parent learning guide as

the first language of the learners are their language at home.

To the Researchers. That the output of this study may provide them

additional enlightenment on the pursuit of their educational endeavor.

To Curriculum Writer. That they may recognize the important role of the

education frontliners nowadays and consider their coping skills in the material/s that

they write for reference.

 6

To the School Administrators. Their main role is to craft memorandums on

how to deliver quality education to the clienteles (the learners), that they may give

emphasis the kind of parents their school has.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will focus on mother tongue based (MTB) instruction and the

pupil’s performance in technology and livelihood education. This study will be limited

to grade VI pupils who were enrolled during the school year 2022-2023. The method

that will be used in this study will be descriptive correlational survey wherein

questionnaires will be utilized and distributed in order to collect data from the

respondents.

Definition of terms

The following terms will be defined conceptually and operationally for clear

and easy understanding of this study.

Accuracy. how correct learners' use of the language system is, including

their use of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. (www.rit.edu, 2023)

Comprehensibility. encompasses both speech intelligibility and language

proficiency, which involves competence with the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic

aspects of language use. (www.rit.edu, 2023)

Fluency. is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.

Fluent reading builds stamina for reading lengthy or complex texts. (www.rit.edu,

2023)

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE). This refers to

an approach employed to primary graders as one of their major subjects at school

which employs the dialect, they first use at home.

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MTB Teachers. A teacher is a person, who provides education for people;

one who teaches or instructs. In this study these are the courier of modular-based

system of teaching and learning handling MTB at Guiuan East District.

Oral Level Skill. are the syntactic, vocabulary, morphological, phonetic and

pragmatic aspects of language that make up verbal speech, or oral language.

(www.study.com, 2023)
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CHAPTER II

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The content of this chapter will provide review of related literature and

studies which will be very useful in the acquisition of insights on the implementation

of MTB-MLE in Guiuan East District

A. Related Literature and Studies

According to UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Article 30 "

Children have a right to learn and use the language and customs of their families ,

whether these are shared by the majority of people in the country or not." Although

the right to use the language and customs are there , in many countries where ethnic

minorities live their right to education in mother tongue is sometimes over looked. The

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) policy is complex from

different perspectives. The policy poses challenges of instructional materials

development, teacher training, and language instruction; just to name a few.

Instructional materials are available in few languages. Each classroom has the

representation of several linguistic backgrounds. Classroom teachers are split on

whether or not MTB-MLE is right for them and their students. While exciting promises

have been made about the great value of MTB-MLE, many questions remain

unanswered.

In Southeast Asia, a rising number of educational programs encourages a

mother tongue approach in teaching and learning different core areas. Cambodia,

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Timor L‘Este and Vietnam are among the countries in
 9

the region which adhere to the emerging language-in-education policy (UNESCO,

2007). In line with this, the programs are being utilized at the community level with

support from international non-governmental agencies. While the use of non-

dominant languages in education is allowed in each of these countries, the

Philippines is the single country to institute a national policy requiring their inclusion

in the early grades.

It was 2009 when the Department of Education (DepEd) challenged the

Bilingual Education Policy through the issuance of an order requiring different

educational institutions to implement mother tongue-based multilingual education or

MTB-MLE for brevity (Department Order No. 28, s. 2013). This order requires the first

language of the learners to be used as the medium of instruction in all subject areas

from pre-kindergarten through grade three with Filipino and English. being taught as

separate subjects (Department Order No. 74, s. 2009). In 2012, another order was

issued that offered more specific guidelines for MTB-MLE and embedded the reform

in the newly adopted ―K to 12 Basic Education Program‖ (Department Order No.

16, s. 2012). This order shifted from the original mother tongue approach by

specifying twelve major regional languages or lingua franca to be used as the

languages of instruction and offered as a learning area. Under this order, teachers

are provided government-issued materials in their regional languages but are

expected to adapt them to reflect the students ‘first languages. Until recently, the

MTB-MLE policy resided solely within DepEd.

MTB-MLE in the Global Context

Both advantages and disadvantages of learning foreign languages at early

years have been presented in many studies. Early introduction of a foreign language

distorts the accumulated vocal and verbal facility, thought process and cognitive

equilibrium and this accounts for a good proportion of primary school dropouts in

Nigeria and India (Mahanlal, 2018). lyamu and Oglegbaen (2019) suggest that
 10

MBTMLE supports children to perform better in society. Yet, in most of African

countries, formal education is offered in a language that is foreign to the child.

Researchers find foreign language (English) constitutes a barrier of effective teaching

and learning in Africa. Iyamu and Oglegbaen (2019) calls this situation is

`unfortunate'. Early education in the mother tongue expands the verbal facility and

cognitive realm of the child (lyamu and Oglegbaen,2019).

Child studies have shown that children's first experiences in school are

traumatic largely because they do not see the school experiences as a continuation

of home experiences (Iyamu & Oglebaen, 2019). A large body of international

research has demonstrated the importance of instruction in the mother tongue in the

early years of a child's schooling, particularly for language and cognitive

development. However, depending on several studies and experiments shows that

bilingual schooling also can improve basic education in developing countries.

In spite of the attention paid by scholars on the importance of learning in

mother tongue during early years, there are examples to show that native parents

prefer education in national languages to their mother tongue. A study conducted on

Mhlanga in Africa showed that illiterate parents in the study felt that English which is

not the mother tongue should be used as the language of teaching. A study

conducted by Echu (2018) in Cameroon found that parents want their children to start

learning English and French (the two official languages of the country) rather than

their mother tongue as early as possible. This may be due to the advantages offered

by learning an international language such as English . It is also interesting to note

that there are instances where even intellectuals and scholars support such notions

(Bado, 2017). In contrast, Diallo (2015) reports that Senegalese people are loyal to

their mother tongue and wanted their children to be given the education in mother

tongue at elementary level but not at the expense of French.

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UNESCO Beijing Office and the China Education Association for International

Exchanges (CEAIE) organized the IMLD in China for the first time in 2006; the

understanding of Chinese educators and policy makers about bilingual education

was rather mixed. The Chinese organizers and participants used to put strong

emphasis on the teaching of Chinese and English languages in the name of bilingual

education and teaching and learning of Mandarin as mother tongue education. The

Beijing Office has been one of the few organizations advocating for cultural and

linguistic diversity. With several years of consistent efforts, policy makers,

administrators, researchers and teachers are open to discuss all aspects of mother

tongue and multilingual education, and have realized the importance of mother.

tongue and multilingual education in improving education quality and protecting

cultural diversity. The Beijing Office and its Chinese counterparts will continue to

organize this event in different areas in China in the future, in particular the ethnic

minority areas, to reach more audience and increase the impact.

Researches indicate that multilingual based education could possibly

minimize the gap between main stream language and mother tongue of other ethnic

groups. According to organizational Vietnam reporter Bich and Thao (2016) "Vietnam

has 54 ethnic minority groups with different languages, making up about 13% of the

population. Education enrolment and completion rates are lower for these groups, as

are their performance results. This article outlines Save the Children UK's (SCUK)

work to promote to increased use of mother tongue based multilingual teaching

approach to give ethnic minority groups a better chance in education." In same article

showed that in Vietnam the overall primary completion rate in 2006 were 89.7% for

Kinh but only 67.9% for children from ethnic minority groups.

An Indian study by Malekar (2020) points out that many languages spoken by

adivasis and dalits in India are endangered because of government policies,

particularly in education, as well as the constant external cultural assault via

 12

television, films and the ubiquity of media of all kinds in mainstream language. And

also says there are only 69-72 languages that are taught in school in India in some

capacity, but radio networks beam programs in 146 languages and dialects across

the country.

MTB-MLE: Aims and Implementation Strategies

The aim of MTBMLE is to initiate education in the learners' first language with

the deliberate and prolonged use of that language in order to further develop

linguistic and cognitive skills of the learner (Department of Education, Philippines,

Durnnian, 2017). According to Malone (2019) there are four steps in developing MLE

at pre-primary and primary levels.

Step 1- Oral preparation through building confidence in mother tongue

Step 2- Begins reading and writing in mother tongue while continuing oral mother

tongue

Step 3- Reading, writing and speaking in mother tongue is continued while oral

Bangla language is introduced

Step 4- Begin reading and writing in Bangla while continuing to develop writing,

reading, speaking in mother tongue and oral Bangla (Durnnian, 2018).

According to Durnnian, (2018), the proper implementation of MTBMLE

involves many different approaches and strategies since there are many different

languages, schools, and communities. These strategies are guided by common and

sound foundational principles of teaching and learning. A successful MTBMLE

program requires highly motivated, strong-willed and creative classroom teachers

and school heads who are convinced about the importance of mother tongues in

literacy development, and truly knowledgeable about the developmental stages of

learning and their consequent applications to teaching.

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To implement MTBMLE successfully a great deal of teaching learning

materials is also needed. According to MTBMLE Network, for successful

implementation of the MTBMLE, schools need early literacy materials, a variety of on

grade reading materials and possibly subject area materials in the mother tongue.

Along with these materials, schools also need relevant materials for successful to

transition from mother tongue into the second language. However, in relation to many

countries in Asia concerns about resistance to change, teacher accountability

challenges and concerns about multiple mother tongues are identified as constraints

to successful implementation of MTBMLE (Pinnock, 2019).

Thus, stakeholders spoke of conformity and presented honest statements of

support for the policy, they also expressed skepticism about the significance of the

program to the pupils. Their inner beliefs and actions of renitence in the classroom

and homes appeared in contrast to the apparent compliance to the policy guidelines.

This exhibits a difference between the inner and apparent nature of policy. There is

no assurance that a policy will be implemented successfully by the mere issuance of

a directive. It then creates a challenge among outsiders to sincerely grasp the real

scenario at the ground level because teachers and parents are accustomed to

presenting an image of compliance. The involvement of local stakeholders in the

planning process can reduce the vagueness the actual implementation of a national

policy at the ground level.

Related Studies

The conceptualization of this study is launched from the researcher’s

readings of prior conducted studies dealing with mother tongue-based instruction and

its general effects to pupils’ academic performance and second language learning,

specifically in English. One such study is that of Wyk et al (2018) which investigated

the effect of mother tongue instruction and gender on second language acquisition

using a causal-comparative quantitative research design. The two distinguishing

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groups compared were: (a) learners that were taught in their mother tongue (i.e.

Afrikaans); and (b) learners that were not taught in their mother tongue but in

English, from grades 1 to 3. The dependent variable was the second language

acquisition that was accounted for by the learners’ performance in grade 5 in three

tests, i.e. on vocabulary, on syntax, and on oral communication tests. The sample

included 2 schools in Windhoek and a total of 70 learners, with 35 learners that had

Afrikaans as medium of instruction, and 35 learners that had English as medium of

instruction from grades 1 to 3. The study aimed to shed some light on the ongoing

debate as to whether mother tongue instruction or immersion in L2 is more beneficial

for the child’s second language acquisition and competence. The above mentioned

study has extreme parallelisms to the study conducted in terms of the type of

respondents, i.e. Grades 1, 2 and 3 pupils. However, Wyk et al’s study involved an

experimental approach that investigated learning conditions of students who were

exposed to mother tongue-based education and those who were immediately taught

using English. This set-up diverts from this study since in the Philippine setting, the

MTB medium of instruction is implemented in Grades 1, 2, and 3 adjacent the use of

English as instructional medium in the other subjects. This means that the

respondents of this study were simultaneously exposed to MTB instruction and

English language based instruction contrary to the conditions in Wyk et al’s study.

Likewise, the research design adopted by Wyk et al paves for a highly

conclusive investigation as to the effects of MTB instruction on second language

acquisition. Conversely, this proposed study presupposes a more modest

investigation. This study will correlate the academic performance of pupils in their

mother tongue subject and in their English subject, wherein the pupils are

concurrently taking up the said courses. A specially prepared proficiency test will also

identify the difficulty index to help determine the specific areas of difficulty among the

pupils in terms of English-related skills. The difficulty index will be analyzed and
 15

interpreted alongside the linguistic features of their mother tongue to verify if any L1-

L2 interference exists and which may be conditioned by their simultaneous

instruction using the mother tongue and English. Although such analyses may

generate findings as to the possible implications of MTB medium of instruction to

pupils’ development of English skills; nevertheless, the theory that such an impact

exists can only be inferred from this study’s prospective findings or which may ignite

subsequent research that will employ a research design that can, more or less,

establish greater certainty as to the causal relationship between the variables.

Another significant study is that of Ong’uti et al (2019) that dealt on the

“Factors affecting teaching and learning in the mother tongue in Public Lower

Elementary Schools in Kenya”. Based on their findings, both teachers and learners

had negative attitudes towards teaching and learning in mother tongue. It was also

deduced that poor attitude of teachers towards mother tongue and preference of

foreign languages as a mode of communication, could be attributed to lack of proper

training among the teachers and the unavailability of resources for teaching and

learning in mother tongue, while learners’ preference for English and Kiswahili could

be attributed to their prominence as languages of education and greater

communication.

The abovementioned study reinforced the researcher’s insight about the

negative attitudes or perceptions that teachers have over the use of the mother

tongue as an instructional medium or the teaching of the mother tongue as a subject

in itself. However, the study of Ong’uti (2019) was designed to obtain the general

reasons behind teachers’ negative perceptions about MTB medium of instruction or

MTB course instruction. In contrast, this proposed study narrows the investigation to

teachers’ perception about MTB medium of instruction in relation to the development

of English skills by pupils who are concurrently taking up subjects in their mother

tongue and in English.

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Moreover, the research of Zergani (2019) dealt on the “Effects of Using and

Teaching with Mother Tongue Language in Primary School”. The latter concluded

that teaching the mother tongue alongside the second language allows the sounds

and structures of the language to be transferred more easily. The child builds on

what is already known and understood. Even if the written structures of the

languages are different, literacy strategies, sensory motor skills and coordination are

more easily transferred. As the language development progresses, concepts already

understood in the first language are more easily transferred into the second

language. The transition, however, shifts from reliance on the mother tongue to the

second language. Thus, the research conclusively established that simultaneous

mother tongue language and second language learners have enhanced linguistic and

educational development. They develop a deeper understanding and are able to

compare, contrast and use multiple linguistic systems, giving greater depth of

understanding. Moreover, it was found that success and ability in the mother tongue

is a strong predictor of success in the second language. The learners with strong first

language foundation performed better in second language exams and education.

The above quoted findings of Zergani (2019) were very programmatic and

definitive. His study presupposed on the simultaneous exposure of students to MTB

medium of instruction and English language instruction (i.e. English being the

students’ second language). On such account, Zergani found that the use of the

mother tongue facilitated the acquisition of second language rules. However, the

study was conducted in a setting outside the Philippines and presupposed a mother

tongue based in another country. His findings at this point may be contingent to a

possible semblance in the linguistic structures across a mother tongue and a second

language which helped pave the complementation of learning two languages

simultaneously. On the other hand, this study would like to find out if the linguistic

features of the students’ mother tongue (i.e. a regional language in the Philippines)
 17

can indeed facilitate second language acquisition in English. This is the reason that

this study engaged in analyzing the difficulties of pupils along the different English

skills with the anticipation that such difficulties might cue on possible interlanguage

transference experienced by the pupils in

The findings in the study of Burton (2019) entitled “Mother Tongue-Based

Multilingual Education in the Philippines: Studying Top-Down Policy Implementation

from the Bottom Up” indicated that teachers‘ and parents‘ views of MTB-MLE

focused on the short-term benefits of the policy and the long-term disadvantages.

While both groups were overwhelmingly satisfied with the increase in student

understanding, they expressed concern about the future implications for learning in

Bikol rather than in English. Though supportive of the policy, they remain to be tact in

words and actions especially in demonstrating their full adherence. The results of her

previous study bear a significant implication on how a language policy is being

managed especially among educational institutions. The advent of such policy holds

true to the fact that it is delivered from the top to bottom approach rather than

considering ground level stakeholders. Based on the above gist of Burton’s study,

perceptions of teachers and parents on the MTB-MLE implementation were obtained.

Accordingly, the parents and the teachers perceived MTB-MLE as having both

benefits and disadvantages. Such level of investigation served as the basis in the

proposed study to assert the ethical possibility of looking into teachers’ perceptions

on the mother tongue-based medium of instruction. This research query is thus valid

and ethical, having been a verified item of analysis in previous scholarly works.

However, contrary to Burton’s study, this proposed research delimits such query on

perception only to the English language teachers. Burton’s research population

comprehensively covered a wide range of respondents which include teachers,

regardless of what subjects they teach and regardless of whatever vantage points
 18

they can draw their perceptions on the MTB-MLE policy. Burton also included the

parents of students as respondents.

Additionally, the study of Valerio (2019) reveals that teachers were not yet

confidently certain whether the instructional materials they presently have can assure

that they can really appreciate the MTBE due to the unavailability of localized

translation along the instructional materials. The study also provided empirical

evidences to show that the mother tongue based instruction cannot really elevate the

learners’ academic performances. Several other factors can be considered in dealing

with MTB instruction. Teaching materials and assessment have not been transcribed

into the regional or native languages of the learners. Results also showed that the

respondents believed that MTB-MLE policy must consider the development of graded

transcribed reading materials in the learners’ home language. Significant differences

existed when the respondents were grouped according to their ethnicity and

according to the number of years of teaching experience. This implies that linguistic

background or their ethnicity has caused variations or differences on the way they

perceived the mother tongue based education. There were also significant

differences on their perceptions when they were grouped according to the number of

years they have been teaching. This implies that the way they perceive the mother

tongue based instruction differs based on their teaching experiences. The use of the

mother tongue in its pedagogic aspect reflects the desire of learners to promote

national identity, however the teachers seemed to be unprepared yet with the

mandate of the new curriculum on the use of mother tongue based instruction.

Indeed, the use of local dialects along instruction is clearly a complex process that is

continually being redefined by the bilingual and multilingual system of education.

Lastly, Fiel (2023) in her study that there is a significant relationship between

the extent of mother tongue-based instruction in terms of language learning and

academic achievement of key stage 1 pupils in Math. This implies that using mother
 19

tongue as medium of instruction in teaching Math, the key stage 1 pupils were able to

understand the lesson conveyed during the teaching-learning process which results

to an improve academic achievement in the subject.

All literatures and studies incorporated herein will deal on the Mother Tongue

Based instruction (MTB) and academic performance of grade VI pupils, though the

different studies might vary from the result that this study may yield. These will still be

very useful in providing them a thorough understanding and sufficient insights on

several aspects pertaining to this study, and more importantly a sense of direction in

its conceptualization

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Figure 1, will be a the schematic diagram of the conceptual framework of the

study. It will be composed of independent variable and dependent variable. The

pupils Oral Level Skill in terms of accuracy, fluency and comprehensibility, will be the

independent while the pupil’s English academic performance in TLE will be the

dependent variable.
 20

Pupils Oral Level Skill

Pupils’ Academic
a. Accuracy Performance in TLE.
b. Fluency
c. Comprehensibility
 21

Figure 1: Schematic diagram showing the conceptual framework of the study.

Theoretical Framework

For a thorough justification of this study the researcher will used the

following theories as their guide in the determination of the implementation of MTB-

MLE in Mercedes Central Elementary School

First was the cognitive theory of Jean Piaget, he believes that the cognitive

development of children undertakes several stages, as Sensorimotor, Pre-

operational, and Concrete-Operational Stages, and Formal-Operational stage.

Cognitive level of children depends on their ages. Piaget considered the concrete

stage a major turning point in the child's cognitive development because it marks the

beginning of logical or operational thought. This means the child can work things out

internally in their head if they understood everything about their environment and that

they can think logically and much more successfully if they are familiar and can

manipulate real (concrete) materials or pictures of them.

Furthermore, Vygotsky in his Socio-cultural Theory believes that interaction is

important. This theory specifically stresses the interaction between the developing

people. The culture in which they live sociocultural theory also suggests that human

learning is largely a social process. Sociocultural theory focuses not only how adults
 22

and peers influence individual learning but also on how cultural beliefs and attitudes

affect how learning takes place. Vygotsky stated that children should be taught in the

ZPD and Scaffolding, this occurs when they can almost perform a task, but not quite

on their own without assistance. With the right kind of guidance, however, they can

accomplish it successfully. A good teacher identifies a child’s ZPD and helps the

child stretch beyond it. Then the adult (teacher) gradually withdraws support until the

child can then perform the task unaided. Scaffolding however is a temporary support

that parents could provide to their children in their learning process.

These theories proves that child’s learning development is a collective effort

of both teachers’ and parents’ primary to learning materials specially on the recent

system of education adapted by all schools in the country.

Therefore, this study will be conducted to find out the significant difference on

the implementation of MTB-MLE based on the teachers’ and parents’ perspectives.

Hypothesis

To further answer the questions, the researcher will test the hypothesis

below:

1. There is no significant relationship between the oral skills level in mother

tongue and Academic performance of pupils in TLE.

 23

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter will present and discuss the research design, research locale,

research respondents, locale of the study, research instruments, data gathering

procedures, methods of scoring and interpretation and the statistical treatment of

data.

Research Design

The researcher will employ a descriptive-survey research design. A

descriptive design is solely interested in describing the situation or case under their

research study. It is a theory-based design method which is created by gathering,

analyzing, and presenting collected data. This will allows a researcher to provide

insights into the why and how of research, and survey because this study will use a

survey questionnaire in order to gather data about this study.

Research Locale

This study will be conducted in the Districts of Salcedo to Guiuan, Eastern

Samar during the School Year 2023-2024.

 24

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study will be Grade VI pupils from the district of

Salcedo to Guiuan. The population of this study are 1,020 pupils. To get the desired

number of respondents the researcher employs Slovins Fromula n= N/1+Ne2. From

the 1,020 pupils population, the computation of the samples is shown below:

n= 1,020/1+ 1020(0.05)2

= 1,020/ 3.55

= 287

Therefore, there is a total of 287 pupils respondents broken down into:

Districts Population Sample Size

Salcedo 1 170 40

Salcedo 2 100 17

Mercedes 200 65

Guiuan East 200 65

Guiuan North 150 35

Guiuan South 200 65

Total 1,020 287

Table 1: Distribution of Respondents

Sampling Procedure
 25

In this study the researchers will use stratified random sampling to identify the

parent respondents. Samples will be taken from grade VI pupils in the central schools

of Salcedo to Guiuan Districts. The first strata will be grouping of population into

Districts, then listing of names in alphabetical order will be the next strata. By

fishbowl method the number of pupil respondents will be drawn, by which the number

of respondents of each level will depend on its desired sample size.

Research Instrument

The researcher uses a survey questionnaire on the oral level skill of grade VI

pupils adapted and modified from the study of Tanskul, 2018.

The survey questionnaire is composed of statements on assessing the oral

level skill of grade VI pupils as to, accuracy, fluency and comprehensibility, for the

data on the academic performance the researcher uses the recent grades of the

pupils respondent in TLE.

Instrument Validation

Prior to the conduct of the study, the researcher will conduct a dry run of

questionnaire to 30 grade VI pupils who are non-respondents of the study, this is for

the researcher to determine if there will be a need to revise the questionnaire. The

instrument will be pre-tested in October 2023.

Data Gathering Procedures

The respondents will be the main data source for this study. For the collection

of data, the researchers will made three (3) letters: an authorization letter to the

School to the School Division Superintendent permitting the researcher to conduct

the study, letter to the principal of the school, and letter to the respondents.
 26

To ensure a hundred percent retrieval, the researcher will administer the

questionnaire personally and to respond immediately if there will be items in the

questionnaire that may not be clear to respondents.

The researchers will ensure the confidentiality of the data sources. It will be

firmly implemented that no information on the respondents and their records will

illegally be leaked to the public. All data that will be gathered will be used solely for

the purposes of this research.

Analysis of Data

The researchers will employ the following statistical tools in this study: the

frequency counts, the percentage, the weighted mean, and the Pearson Product-

Moment Correlation Coefficient, also known as Pearson’s r, invented by the British

mathematician, Karl Pearson.

According to Manikandan (2021), frequency counts allow the researcher to

have a glance at the entire data conveniently. It shows whether the observations are

high or low and whether they are concentrated in one area or spread out across the

entire scale. On the other hand, percentage is reported when the responses have

discrete categories, which means that the responses fall in different categories (Korb,

2020). The frequency counts and percentage were used for analyzing the profile of

the respondents, the perception of teachers on MTB as medium of instruction and

the English language performance of MTB learners.

The weighted mean is a type of arithmetic mean, which is calculated by

multiplying each value in a data set by a weight and then adding up the results. The

weight can be thought of as a measure of the importance of each value in the data

set (Infinity Learn, 2022). The formula for the weighted mean was used the

perception of teachers on MTB as medium of instruction and the English language

performance of MTB learners.The Pearson’s r is a statistic that is used to measure

 27

the relationship between two different variables. Once two variables have been

shown to be related, the correlation coefficient is also utilized for evaluating the

strength of the relationship (Hartin & McCallister, 2021). The formula for the Pearson

r was used in correlating the mother tongue based (MTB): medium of Instruction and

difficulties and English language performance.

Measurement of Variables

For better understanding of the variables used in this study, the scale

measurement below will be used.

In terms of Teachers perception, the following scaling will be used.

Code Range Interpretation

1 1.00-1.80 Poor

2 1.81-2.60 Unsatisfactory

3 2.61-3.40 Satisfactory

4 3.41-4.20 Very Satisfactory

5 4.21-5.0 Outstanding
 28

Chapter IV
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the findings as well as the tables on the study on

mother tongue based (MTB) instruction and the pupil’s performance in technology

and livelihood education.

Profile of the Oral level Skills of Grade VI Pupils

Table 2 shows the data on the oral level skill of the pupil respondents it can

be observed in the table that from the three focuses of oral level, the accuracy,

fluency and comprehensibility. It can be deemed from the table that from the 30

statements covering the three are it was question number 29 “In a conversation,

word what I want to say comes easily in my mind.” that was less agreed with a mean

of 3. 76 while statement number 12,” I make a good deal of effort on this oral reading

fluency” under fluency was the most rated with a mean value of 4.23. Furthermore,

from the three aspect of oral reading skill grade VI learners ahs to focus on improving
 29

their comprehensive skill as it the area where they less give poor ratings which has

the obtain mean value of 4.0082.

Table 2: Profile of the Oral level Skills of Grade VI Pupils

Indicators Mean Description Interpretation
Accuracy
1. I summarizes the things I want to say before I start talking. 4.05 Always Outstanding
2. I express my thought with the exact idea. 4.04 Always Outstanding
3. I go directly to the point without adlibs. 3.90 Always Outstanding
4. I am aware of how my tone of voice affects others. 3.95 Always Outstanding
5. I am concern of making clear of the main ideas and its 3.88 Always Outstanding
details.
6. It is easy for me to find the word when I must speak formally. 3.98 Always Outstanding
7. I explain where I take my information from. 4.06 Always Outstanding
8. I use expressions or phrases to mark the end of my thoughts. 4.10 Always Outstanding
9. I care for my words, so it won’t annoy others. 4.08 Always Outstanding
10. I back-up what I want to say with reasons, and arguments 4.17 Always Outstanding
from other references.
Total 4.02 Always Outstanding
Fluency
1. Doing well on an oral reading fluency test is important to me. 4.19 Always Outstanding
2. I make a good deal of effort on this oral reading fluency. 4.23 Always Outstanding
3. I am not curious about how I did in this oral reading fluency 4.10 Always Outstanding
relative to others.
4. I am not concerned about my score in the oral reading 4.08 Always Outstanding
fluency test.
5. This Oral Reading Fluency is important to me. 4.10 Always Outstanding
6. While working on English reading fluency I could have 4.14 Always Outstanding
worked harder on it.
7. I give this oral reading fluency my best effort. 4.08 Always Outstanding
8. I would like to know how well I did in oral reading fluency. 4.07 Always Outstanding
9. I make mistake on easy comprehension questions or put 4.18 Always Outstanding
answers on a wrong place.
10. I was able to persist in completing oral reading Fluency. 4.15 Always Outstanding
Total 4.13 Always Outstanding
Comprehensibility
1. I pay attention when others are speaking. 4.18 Always Outstanding
2. Other people clearly interpret the message I want to express 4.19 Always Outstanding
in my gestures.
3. I sometimes pause so that they can follow better what I want 4.07 Always Outstanding
to say.
4. I think of order of the things I want to say before I speak. 4.18 Always Outstanding
5. When I explain something, I make it clear whether I am 4.09 Always Outstanding
changing the subject or continuing with the same one.
6. When I speaks, I connect phrases with words so it would be 4.15 Always Outstanding
easy to follow and understand.
7. I exerts a lot of efforts to make clear what I want to express. 3.85 Always Outstanding
8. When I explains, I includes others point of view or information 3.83 Always Outstanding
contrary to my own.
9. In a conversation, word what I want to say comes easily in my 3.76 Always Outstanding
mind.
10. At the end of my contributions, I summarizes the most 3.79 Always Outstanding
important points of what I said.
Total 4.01 Always Outstanding

Oral Level Skill of Grade Six (VI) Pupils

Table 3, shows the oral level skill of grade VI pupils from the districts of

Salcedo to Guiuan, based on the table it can be observed that out of 287 pupil

respondents 195 or 67.9% has an outstanding oral level skill, while 26 or 9.1% has
 30

an average oral level skill, none of the grade six respondents has low or very low oral

level skill.

Table 3: Oral Level Skill of Grade Six (VI) Pupils

Oral Level Skill Frequency Percentage
Excellent 66 23.00%

Outstanding 165 67.90%

Average 28 9.1%

Low 0 0

Very Low 0 0

Total 287 100

Academic Performance in TLE

Below is a table showing the level of academic performance of the

respondents in TLE. Looking into the data it can be observed that of the 287

respondents, 121 or 42.16 % has a very satisfactory academic performance, 75 or

26.13% are outstanding while 8 or 2.79% still falls under fairly satisfactory level of

academic performance, however none from the respondents obtained a rating under

did not meet expectation.

Table 4: Academic Performance of Grade VI in TLE

Level of Academic Frequency Percentage
Performance

Outstanding 75 26.13%

Very Satisfactory 121 42.16%

Satisfactory 83 28.92

Fairly Satisfactory 8 2.79%

Did not meet Expectation 0 0

Total 287 10

Relationship between Oral Level Skills in Mother Tongue and Pupils Academic

Performance in TLE
 31

Table 5, reflects the computation of the correlation between the oral level skill

of grade VI pupils and their academic performance in TLE. It can be seen from the

table that the computed r is equal to .122 which shows a negligible correlation which

implies that there is a slight correlation between the variables involved. Moreover, the

computed p-value of .041 is less than 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis of tis study

which says “There is no significant relationship between the oral skills level in mother

tongue and Academic performance of pupils in TLE.” Is rejected, which means that

the oral level skill of grade VI pupils has a great bearing over their academic

performance.

Fiel (2023) in her study found out that there is a significant relationship between the

extent of mother tongue-based instruction in terms of language learning and

academic achievement of key stage 1 pupils in Math. This implies that using mother

tongue as medium of instruction in teaching Math, the key stage 1 pupils were able to

understand the lesson conveyed during the teaching-learning process which results

to an improve academic achievement in the subject.

Table 5: Relationship between Oral Level Skills in Mother Tongue and Pupils
Academic Performance in TLE
Variable 1 Variable 2 Correlation Interpretation P-Value Significant

Oral Level Academic Negligible

Skill in MTB Performance .122 Correlation .041 Significant
in TLE
 32

Chapter V

SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter summarizes the results of the study; this also includes the

conclusion and the proposed recommendations.

Summary

1. What is the oral skills level in mother tongue of Grade VI pupils?

2. What is the academic performance of pupils in TLE?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the oral skills level in mother

tongue and academic performance of pupils in TLE?

 33

The data collected are statistically treated using mean and percentage

for the

Oral level skill and the academic performance. To determine the extent of

relationship between the variables the researcher uses Pearson’s r.

On the bases of the data and results presented and discussed the

findings of the study is the following:

Oral Level Skills in MTB

From the data it is found out that out of 287 pupil respondents 195 or

67.9% has an outstanding oral level skill, while 26 or 9.1% has an average

oral level skill, and none of the grade six respondents has low or very low oral

level skill. However based on the result it was determined that from the

different factors contributing to the oral level of the pupils, they must work on

improving their comprehensive skill.

Academic Performance in TLE

As to the academic performance of the 287 respondents, 121 or 42.16

% has a very satisfactory academic performance, 75 or 26.13% are

outstanding while 8 or 2.79% still falls under fairly satisfactory level of

academic performance, thus none from the respondents obtained a rating

under did not meet expectation.

Relationship between Oral Level Skills in Mother Tongue and Pupils

Academic Performance in TLE

This study found out that there is no significant relationship between

the oral level skill in MTB of grade six pupils on their academic performance in
 34

TLE. The computed correlation coefficient was 0.122 which tells a negligible

correlation between the variables and a p-value of 0.041 which implies a

significant value, however since the computed p value is less than the 5%

level of significance set on this study, the null hypothesis of the study is

rejected.

Conclusions

Based on the findings of the study the following conclusions are

drawn:

Most of the respondents of this study has an outstanding oral level skill,

and none of them has a low and very low oral level skill, while as to their

academic performance 121 or 42.16 % has a very satisfactory academic

performance and non from them obtained a grade falling under did meet

expectation which implies that none of the respondents obtained grade that is

almost failing. Moreover, the oral level skill of the respondents on mother

tongue as correlated to their academic performance this study rejected the

null hypothesis seeing the importance of MTB in the improvement of the

learner’s academic performance.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusion derive. The researcher would like

to recommend the following:

1. Intensify the use of mother tongue in other areas of discipline so as

to improve the performance the learners in other subject.

2. Encourage teachers to sustain and improve the performance of the

learners not just in TLE but in other subjects as well.

 35

3. Encourage other researchers to conduct studies related to the use

of mother tongue on the improvement of performance of the

learners in secondary level.

Chapter VI

REFERENCES

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Teachers Stand?

Bich, N. T., Thao, D. P. (2006). "Save the Children UK's report on Multilingual
condition of Vietnam

Diallo, I. (2015). Language planning, language-in-education policy and attitudes

towards languages in Senegal [PhD dissertation]. Brisbane, Australia

Durnnian, T. (2018). Mother Language First, Shishur Khamatayan Project, Save the
Children, Bangladesh

Echu, G. (2018). The language question in Cameroon. Linguistik Online.

 36

Feil, G (2023). Implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Instruction and Academic

Achievement of Key Stage 1 Pupils in Math

Iyamu, E., & Ogiegbaen, S. E. A. (2019). Parents and teachers‘ perceptions of

mothertongue medium of instruction policy in Nigerian primary schools.
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Igboanusi, H. (2018) Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education in Nigeria: Attitudes

and Practice. Access online 9 August 2011. www. World health organization.

Lewis, P., Simons, G. & Fennig, C. (Eds.). (2018). Ethnologue: Languages of the
World. (17 th ed.) Dallas, Texas

Malekar, A.(2018 ). "Indian article on Multilingual democracy". India

Malone, S. E. (2019). Planning mother tongue-based education programs in minority

language communities.SIL Internationa

McCarty, T. (2019). Introducing ethnography and language policy. In T. McCarty

(Ed.), Ethnography and language policy (pp. 1-28). New York: Routledge.

Mohanlal,S. (2018) Mother tongue education and psycho- social involvement in tribal
communities; A case study of Paniyi tribal Language in India 1(3)

Philippines Department of Education. (2012). Guidelines on the implementation of

the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) (Order no.
16). Pasig City

Pinnock, H. (2019) Reflectingg language diversity in children 's schooling: moving

from Why multilingual education ' to `How? CFBT Education Trust and
Save the Children

Shohamy, E. G. (2016). Language policy: Hidden agendas and new approaches.

New York:

Spolsky, B. (2018). Language management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Stone, R. P. (2019). A professional development program for the mother tongue-

based teacher: Addressing teacher knowledge and attitudes about
MTBMLE. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of
Massachusetts, Amherst

Taylor-Leech, K. (2018). Finding space for non-dominant languages in education:

language policy and medium of instruction in Timor-Leste 2000–2012.
Current Issues in Language Planning, DOI:10.1080/14664208.2013.76678
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Walter, S. and Dekker, D. (2021) Mother tongue instruction in Lubuagan. In

publication.

Wa-Mbaleka, S. (2019). Teaching English to speakers of other languages: The case

of the Philippines. International Journal of Academic Research in
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UNESCO. (2007). Mother tongue-based literacy programmes: Case studies of good

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Zergani, M. (2019). Effects of using and teaching with mother tongue language in
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.
 38

APPENDICES
39
 40

QUESTIONNAIRE ON LEVEL OF ORAL LEVEL SKILLS OF GRADE VI PUPILS

Name: (Optional)_________________________________________

Part I. Questionnaire on Oral Level Skills of Grade Six Pupils

Direction: Please answer each statement below by checking the columns

that best reflects your degree of agreement or disagreement with each

 41

statement. There are no wrong or right answers, answer them honestly

and carefully. Please refer to the legend below on your state of agreement

or disagreement.

5-Strongly Agree

4-Agree

3-Undecided

2- Disagree

1-Strongly Disagree

ACCURACY

1. I summarizes the things I want to say 5 4 3 2 1

before I start talking.
2. I express my thought with the exact 5 4 3 2 1
idea.
3. I go directly to the point without adlibs. 5 4 3 2 1
4. I am aware of how my tone of voice 5 4 3 2 1
affects others.
5. I am concern of making clear of the 5 4 3 2 1
main ideas and its details.
6. It is easy for me to find the word when I 5 4 3 2 1
must speak formally.
7. I explain where I take my information 5 4 3 2 1
from.
8. I use expressions or phrases to mark 5 4 3 2 1
the end of my thoughts.
9. I care for my words, so it won’t annoy 5 4 3 2 1
others.
10. I back-up what I want to say with 5 4 3 2 1
reasons, and arguments from other
references.

FLUENCY

1. Doing well on an oral reading fluency 5 4 3 2 1

 42

test is important to me.

2. I make a good deal of effort on this oral 5 4 3 2 1
reading fluency.
3. I am not curious about how I did in this 5 4 3 2 1
oral reading fluency relative to others.
4. I am not concerned about my score in 5 4 3 2 1
the oral reading fluency test.
5. This Oral Reading Fluency is important 5 4 3 2 1
to me.
6. While working on English reading 5 4 3 2 1
fluency I could have worked harder on it.
7. I give this oral reading fluency my best 5 4 3 2 1
effort.
8. I would like to know how well I did in 5 4 3 2 1
oral reading fluency.
9. I make mistake on easy comprehension 5 4 3 2 1
questions or put answers on a wrong place.
10. I was able to persist in completing oral 5 4 3 2 1
reading Fluency.

COMPREHENSIBILITY

1. I pay attention when others are 5 4 3 2 1

speaking.
2. Other people clearly interpret the 5 4 3 2 1
message I want to express in my gestures.
3. I sometimes pause so that they can 5 4 3 2 1
follow better what I want to say.
4. I think of order of the things I want to 5 4 3 2 1
say before I speak.
5. When I explain something, I make it 5 4 3 2 1
clear whether I am changing the subject or
continuing with the same one.
6. When I speaks, I connect phrases with 5 4 3 2 1
words so it would be easy to follow and
understand.
7. I exerts a lot of efforts to make clear 5 4 3 2 1
what I want to express.
8. When I explains, I includes others point 5 4 3 2 1
of view or information contrary to my own.
9. In a conversation, word what I want to 5 4 3 2 1
say comes easily in my mind.
10. At the end of my contributions, I 5 4 3 2 1
 43

summarizes the most important points of what

I said.