PM SHRI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA

AFS OJHAR

English ASL
Project
Session : 2023-2024

A Project Report On
"Mother Tongue-
The Last Lesson"

Submitted by Akshat Raj

Class – XIIth B (Science)
Roll no. (cbse) – ______

Under the Guidance of

Mr. Nandkumar sagar
PGT (English)

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PM SHRI KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA OJHAR
Certificate
This is to certify that AKSHAT RAJ student
of class XIIth B has successfully prepared the report on the
Project entitled “MOTHER TONGUE-THE LAST
LESSON” under the guidance of

Mr. Nandkumar Sagar (PGT English).

The report is the result of his efforts & endeavours.
The report is found worthy of acceptance as final
Project report for the subject English
of class XIIth B.

Signature of English Teacher Signature of External Examiner

--------------------------- --------------------------

Signature of Principal

-----------------------------

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 Acknowledgement
I would like to express a deep sense of thanks and gratitude
to my project guide Mr. N B Sagar for guiding me immensely
through the course of the project. He always envinced keen
intrest in my project. His constructive advice & constant
motivation have been responsible for the successful completion
of his project.

My sincere thank goes to our principal sir for his co-ordination

in extending every possible support for the completion
of this project.

I must thanks to my classmates for their timely help and support

for completion of this project.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank all those who had
helped directly or indirectly towards the
completion of this project.

Akshat Raj
Class-XIIth B

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 Table of Contents
 Certificate
 Acknowledgement
 Action Plan
 Statement of Purpose
 About the Author
 The Last Lesson
 Mother Tongue
 Importance of Native language
 Need to preserve
 Questionnaire
 Conclusion
 Bibliography

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 "Action plan "
The entire project has been fulfilled following different
steps and consultations with teachers, experts and peers
and with reference to print and visual media. The project
aims at achieving a clear understanding of the present
scenario of diminishing the importance of mother tongue
in our life. For the project, I read and critically
evaluated our lesson "The Last Lesson" and took out the
theme of "Mother Language". I made a questionnaire
using google form, and sent it to my friends and family
through WhatsApp and Instagram, and collected their
opinions about the topic. Along with that, I have
acquired a good proficiency in general English speaking
and methods of interacting with people. For the project,
I carried out several researches especially the Education
Policy of India that suggests the importance of mother
tongue learning and communication to know about the
steps we have to take to protect our own regional
language. Then I analysed the data collected from the
questionnaire and came up to a conclusion.

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 "Statement of Purpose"
To learn about importance of mother language drawing a
conclusion from a survey. This data can be utilized to
know about the opinion of people on mother language in
a country , and take certain steps to preserve it .

(a). to enable the learner to communicate effectively and

appropriately in real life situation
(b). to use English effectively for study purpose across the
curriculum.
(c). to develop interest in and appreciation of Literature
(d). to develop and integrate the use of the four language
skills i.e. Reading, Listening, speaking.
Material Required :-
NCERT flamingo book class 12
Google forms
Youtube

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About the Author
Alphonse Daudet was a French
short-story writer and novelist,
now remembered chiefly as the
author of sentimental tales of
provincial life in the south of
France. He was born on May 13,
1840 at Nimes in France. He was
the son of a silk manufacturer. In
1849 his father had to sell his
factory and move to Lyon.
Alphonse wrote his first poems and
his first novel at age of 14. He died
on Dec. 16, 1897 in Paris, France.

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 The Last Lesson
The story "The Last Lesson" converses the theme of mother
language. Here the French language of the people of Alsace
and Lorraine was forcefully taken away by the conquerors,
the Germans and enforced their language, German on them. So
the lesson discusses the importance and value of mother
language to the citizens of a country.
The lesson raises many questions about one's language, culture
and individual freedoms. We can hear silent protests and
attempts of repressions through out the story against the
hijacking of their mother language and imposing a foreign
language to them. The Prussians in the story have declared
through the order from Berlin that their whole purpose was
not only to rule the territory but also to reign over the mind of
the people by imposing their language on them. The story
enforces the fact that we value something more when we lose
it. That is what we see here with the people of Alsace and
Lorraine. They assembled in the last class of M. Hamel to pay
tribute to their language which is no more
theirs.

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 Present Scenario In Our Life
The present situation existing around us is something like
what has been discussed in the story. The mother tongue of
ours is getting forgotten even at the primary stage of our
education then no need of thinking about the higher
education sectors. Even though human brain is capable of
learning multiple languages, our educational system ignores
to extend the due respect to our own mother tongues.

The language imposed on us through educational

medium, technology, science, commerce and
globalisation started overpowering us even in our
domestic situations. I fear one day it will thrash our
mother tongue so the need of the hour is it should be
protected among ourselves because it is part of our
culture and parcel of our life.

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 Mother Tongue
To suffice human's social need for more effective
communication the language was created. The
extremely complex or versatile code, i.e. language, is
used to express our thoughts and experiences to other
people. This makes language a natural phenomenon
that is learnt by a human at an early age for the desire
to express themselves to others. The mother language is
an essential aspect in one's upbringing as it shapes the
way they perceive the world and the way one expresses
themselves to others. Babies tend to imitate what they
see or hear. Infants are fast learners as they acquire
their mother language by imitating their parents. t is
easier for children to learn languages in their growing
years than in comparison to adults learning a new
language. Having a strong grip on one's mother
language also helps in creating a strong foundation for
learning additional languages. Children are capable of
learning languages other than their native language
while they are young by transferring the different
structure of a language to other languages. If a child
learns the grammar of their mother language well , then
they will be able to guess the meaning of the words in
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different languages. easily. Since people from different
regions have varying mother languuages, that is why
many institutions and parents teach a second language
to children so that they can communicate with more
people, without any language barriers. A person might
be able to converse in multiple languages, but if they
are spoken to in their mother language, then a sense of
familiarity prevails over them.
One's mother language is a very potent tool that helps
in advancing the learning skill in people. Children
develop the skill of communication by conversing with
their parents in their native language. And this skill of
communication becomes paramount in school or
institutional level setting for participating in class.
Learning in school plays an important role in
accentuating the use of mother language. Similarly,
when parents spend time communicating in the native
language for discussing matters and telling stories to
children, it helps in developing their terminology and
concepts. Thus, children are able to follow instructions
and can learn effortlessly, resulting in educational
success.

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Importance of Mother language
1.Our Mother Tongue is the language
we use to think, dream and feel
emotion
2.The level of development of children's
Mother Tongue is a strong predictor of
their second language development.
3.Mother Tongue provides the basis for
learning another language.
4.If the Mother Tongue is promoted in
school (e.g. in a bilingual education
program), the concepts, language, and
literacy skills that children are learning
in the majority language can transfer
to the home language.
5.Bilingual children seem to "pick up"
conversational skills very quickly in
the majority language in the early years
at school.
6.Abilities in the two languages are
significantly related or interdependent.
7.The child will get familiarized with
the nuances of a language, how to
learn it and use it, and this will enable
him or her to learn other languages as
well.
8.Both languages nurture each other
when the educational environment
permits children access to both lang

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International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language

Day is observed annually on
21st February to promote
linguistic and cultural diversity
and to protect endangered
languages. The day was
proclaimed by the General
Conference of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in 1999. The day
aims to promote the preservation
and protection of all languages
used by peoples of the world, as
well as to encourage
multilingualism and the spread
of knowledge and
understanding about language
diversity.

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Scientific research has shown that learning a child's mother
language can positively impact her overall cognitive
development and academic success. Here are some key findings
that highlight the importance of education in one's mother
language:

1-Improved cognitive development: Studies have shown that

children who learn in their mother language have better
cognitive development and increased critical thinking skills,
compared to those who learn in a foreign language.
2-Improved literacy: Research indicates that children who are
taught to read and write in their mother language are more
likely to develop strong literacy skills and have higher academic
achievement, compared to those who are taught in a second
language.
3-Better engagement and motivation: When children are taught
in their mother language, they are more likely to be engaged and
motivated in the learning process. This is because they can
understand the material better, which leads to increased self-
esteem and academic confidence.
4-Cultural preservation: Learning in a mother language can
help to preserve a child's cultural heritage and identity. When
children can connect with their culture through language, they
are more likely to feel a sense of belonging and develop a
positive self-image.

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Need To Preserve Mother Tongue
Preserving and using one's
mother tongue helps individuals
maintain a strong sense of self
and connection to their roots.
Effective Communication:
Proficiency in one's mother
tongue enhances effective
communication within families,
communities, and local contexts.

It is the foundation for learning

other languages. It helps you to
better understand your own
culture and identity. It allows
you to communicate with your
family and community members
who may not speak other
languages. It can give you a
competitive edge in the job

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 Inference
As per the opinions of different people, I have inferred and noted
some points as follows:-
• As per question 2, 3 and 4, we can see that 54% of the people
want to speak their mother language, but with family, 64%
people always and 23 percent most of the time speak in their
mother language, showing that families support speaking of
mother language. On the other hand, only 10% people speak their
mother language in their offices/schools/etc. showing that
English has overtaken all other languages as a world formal
language. We also see that 18% never and 13% occasionally
speak their mother language in the professional space, which is a
great concern. After further research, I found that these 31%
people are mostly children and teenagers, which shows that the
current older generations still have affection for their mother
language, whereas the present generation is shifting more towards
English.
• The above inference shows that there is huge amount of societal
pressure on us to show ourselves as good than we actually are in
front of the society. And, from question 8, we get that 44% of
people face societal pressure, because of which they have to speak
English, even if they wish to speak their mother language. Due to
this, many of us cannot express ourselves properly and cannot be
ourselves. Question 5 shows that most of us are not inferior to
converse in their mother language, but 18% do, rather we should
be proud of speaking our mother language even on international
television, to which 82% of people agrees to as per question 6.

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•From question 9, we get that when people are thinking or
speaking completely emotionally, then their true self reflects and
54% of people chose their mother language, which clearly tells
us that even if we speak English in professional spaces, we will
originally be, who we really are. And, question 10 tell us that
82%of people are very strongly connected to their mother
language.
•We can clearly see that since a digital boom has taken place,
everyone is being shifted to online work/learning which leads to
further ignorance of our mother language. Majority of the
people agree to this as we can see in question 11.
•According to question 12, one half of the people think that the
status of their mother language is appropriate in their country,
while the other half thinks opposite. But regardless, 85% of all
people think that we should preserve our mother language, as
per question 13.

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 Conclusion
From all this data, we can conclude that people have
different opinions when asked about their mother
language. Most of them love their mother language, some
of them doesn't. Some of them fear that their mother
language is not being respected to the extent it language.
Some steps can be taken to preserve our mother language;
teaching and learning in mother language, using digital
and social media outlets in mother language and insisting
on and insisting on
speaking our mother language. This data can be utilized to
know about the opinion of people on mother language in a
country, and take certain steps to preserve it.

In conclusion, I observed that it is too late that we take

certain fruitful steps to protect our own mother languages.
For that we have to protect our own mother language from
now. For that we have to take certain steps like the
suggestions in the NEP 2020 compulsory primary
education in one's mother language, providing even
complex science and technological texts in one's own
language. People should not be inferior to converse in their
mother language, our mother language is our pride.

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 Bibliography
1. Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia
2. http://www.google.com/
3. http://en.wikipedia.org
4. www.icbse.com
5. Comprehensive English
6. Flamingo NCERT Class XIIth

Thank you!!

-Akshat Raj

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