MOTHER TONGUE BASED-

MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION
(MTB-MLE)

Special Topics- Group 13 Presentation

UNIT 1: Overview of Language
Policy and Understanding the
Language
Language Policy and Planning
Language Policy in the Philippines
• Language Policy will means the legislation on and
practices pertaining to the use of languages in a
society– often a nation, whereas the phrase
language-in-education policy will be used to
describe the legislation on and practices pertaining
to languages or media of instruction and languages
of literacy used in basic education.
• Language Policy- its helpful to review the role of
language in society.
• Language- has many forms- for example, there is a written
form, a formal varieties and informal varieties.
 it has many function- it is used as medium of communication
in different places and as language for specific purposes.

 it is also given different value by different

people.
 Edwards (2009) emphasizes the fact that, in most parts of the
world, multilingualism is a reality, linked with geographical and
environmental factors as well as economic interests fueling
migration.
The role of power relations is also an important theme
associated with civil and international conflict as well as the
impact of colonization. When languages come into
contact with one another as people move for
social, economic or enforced purposes, the
power of a larger or dominant language
may cause a non-dominant
language in fewer domains.
Speakers of non-dominant languages may begin to feel ashamed of
their language, believing the dominant language to have greater
value.
Government policy can contribute both to the revitalization and
to the decline or death of a language. Robinson (2005:3) notes
“Linguistic diversity should not be seen as an insuperable
problem, but as a key factor in designing intervention
in literacy and other areas of development.
It is not unknown for linguistic diversity to
be lauded as an important and
valuable manifestation of
cultural diversity,
while being described in the same contact as an impossible
problem I terms of educational usage.”
The intention of this chapter is to view both
multilingualism and multiculturalism from an enabling
perspective, countering a deficit perspective on
multilingualism, and to acknowledge and affirm the
languages of ethnolinguistic communities as a dynamic
aspect of their identity.
Language Planning
and Policy
 National governments and regional agencies such as ASEAN
or the Europe Union, determine language policies, determined
which languages will be used for what purposes, including
deciding on the language-in-education policy. Tollefson and Tsui
(2004-2) note that it is common for the educational argument for a
specific language-in-education policy to be subservient to the
sociopolitical or economic
agenda of the nation, and that responses to
multilingualism within a nation can
result in a variety of responses from
political makers.
Ruiz (1984:17) identifies three perspectives on language
planning in multilingual situations

• Language can be seen as a problem

• Language as a right
• Language can be seen as a resource
Africa
 a group of linguist from nations in post-colonial Africa
and academics from around the world met to discuss the
impact of social change and national integration on
language use and language development.
Fishman( 1968:7)
 Who describe the challenges of the language policy issue
Language Policy
 States as tension between nationalism and nationism
Nationalism
 The cultivation of national identity
Nationism
 The development of operational efficiency in administration and
economic management for the maintenance of political stability.
Language Problems of Developing Nations
 This is titled volume which published in the Fishman, Ferguson and
Das Gupta(1968)
 In this context, it could be said that language planning was organized
around a European notion of the nation state in which citizen are
"unified around a common language".
 the assumption behind this title and their implications are worthy of
critical analysis
This led to multilingualism being perceived as inefficient and
having the potential to promote disunity in the early years of
independence when social cohesion and economic development
were core national goals.
1.2 Asia
India
The Ethnologue list more than 400 individual language for India
Hindi
Was written in Devanagri Script
English
Operate as official language for central government, but the
individual states are given the opportunity to decide what
language they will use for local administration and
education.
 Languages being recognized for official purposes
and supported through legislation.

 Requires states and local authorities for endeavor

to provide elementary education in the mother
tongue for all linguistic minorities, regardless of
whether their language is official in that state
“Europe”
Industrial Revolution
 the increased mechanization of production systems and the move
from agriculturally-based economic systems, was a major turning
point in social and political history.
 communities tended to be geographically isolated and the impact of
national culture on local ammunities' was limited (Cantwright 2009:
196)
 Celtic- speaking peoples of Britain
 Basques in Spain
 Frisians of the Netherlands
they adapted an assimilation approach to national
language, education and economic policy assigning
resources based on the potential of communities to
contribute to national development strategies.

“Wales”

Industrialization and the resultant internal economic

migration from more rural countries to south Wales is
identified as a key factor in the decline of the Welsh
language in the early
20th century (Ferguson 2006: 89)
Immigration from England to Wales dilated the traditional
Functions of the Welsh language in social life (Edwards
2009: 13)

 English speakers remained monolingual and Welsh speakers

were required to become bilingual
 The exclusion of the Welch language from formal
education, as determined by the 1870 Elementary Education
Act
 Welch Language Act of 1967
 gave official equality to Welch and English
 Welch language television channel (1982)
 Significant victory for activists
 Welch language was seen as a cultural
artifact

1960’s
 encroachment of English was addressed
 1993- Welsh and English were accorded
equal status in public life and in legal
domains
Luxembourg
 Language policy is strongly influenced by social and
economic concerns
 A small nation-state in Western Europe, the population are
already bilingual or multilingual.
Letzeburgesch
 established as the national language,
 to forge national and cultural cohesion
 to mitigate against the linguistic influences from
neighboring countries.
 as documented by Canagarajah (Ricento 2006: 160), the
move from an industrial economy to Luxembourg’s
development as a center for the international banking sector
has emphasized the need for its citizens to become
increasingly fluent in English and German.

Education includes more dominant regional languages from

early grades by the end of secondary school learners will be
sufficiently trilingual to use Letseburgesch, French and German
for a variety purposes.
 Language Policy in the Philippines
Bautista (1999: 113) offered a scene-setting Filipino perspective
on the challenges of language and education, who notes that,
“The language problem of the Philippines according to most
Filipino sociolinguistics, is the problem of reconciling the
competing demands of ethnicity (embodied in an individuals
mother tongue or vernacular), nationalism (manifested in
having and propagating a national language), and
modernization (seen to be synonymous with using an
international language).”
 Tollefson (1991: 142) and Rappa & Wee (2006: 72)
discuss the complementary roles of Filipino and English.
 English is seen as an instrumental language of
modernity, supporting economic progress.
 Filipino is viewed as a means of reinforcing the
ideological status of the Philippines as an independent
nation-state, facilitating inter-group communication.
 The design approaches to language education for learners in
the Philippines is a complex issue given the diversity of
languages, culture and pre-school experiences brought by
children in a nation of 7,000 islands in which more than 180
languages are spoken (Lewis et. al. 2015).
• The Philippine Education for All report (World Education
Forum 2000: Internet article) states that, Philippine has had
few problems or deficiencies with report to access the
participation in the primary education level.
 Understanding of language-in-education policy development
in the Philippines is best understood through awareness of both
international strategies associated with language policy and
practice.
 Concerns about all learners were focus both the Education for
All Strategies and Millennium Development Goals.
 Inclusive strategies address the needs of minority language
communities and multilingual contexts formed theme for
2015 World Education Forum in Korea (WEF 2015)
Language policy relates to education cannot be examined in
isolation from the community and the broader social, economic
and political context that impact improvision (Rassool &
Edwards 2010: 280)
• May (2001:167) notes that education is viewed as perhaps
“the key institution” in the development and maintenance of
the modern nation-state.
• more than 180 minority language communities (Lewis et. al.
2015) the Philippines rich and diverse linguistic and cultural
heritage.
 However, this communities face challenges of
marginalized identity on a national level. Thus, alternative
policy solution are required if equitable access to and
opportunity for education is to be achieved. The identities of
non-dominant language communities are undermined that
can result in social and economic inequalities giving those
who do not learn Filipino-they have fewer opportunities to
participate public life, access higher education, influence
political decisions and embrace economic opportunities.
Language Policy of the Department of Education (1974-1987)
 required the use of two languages of instruction
1. Filipino
2. English
 The other language were permitted only as “auxiliary”.

National Board on Education issued Resolution N0. 73-2, s. 1973

June 19th 1974
 official policy on bilingual education in the Philippines
 instituted by Department of Education and Culture and Sports
(DECS) Order No. 52 titled “Implementing Guidelines for the
Policy on Bilingual Education”.

 Teaching methodology- described in the 1974 language policy

prescribe that the teacher use either Filipino or English
depending on the subject.
English
 was defined as the language of instruction for the delivery of
communications, Arts, Mathematics, Science
Filipino
 medium of instruction for all subjects in the curriculum

Bilingual Education Policy was revised in 1987 by DECS

Order No. 525
 in this revised policy, the regional languages were
elevated to the role of “auxiliary language”.
2.1 The Role of English in the Philippines
 The rule of English, as a result, primarily, of the American
colonial legacy, has a considerable impact, particularly in the
education system, believing that it has damaged the self-esteem of
ethnolinguistic communities and the internal unity of those
communities.
 House Bill 4701 on “Strengthening and Enhancing the Use of
English as the Medium of Instruction in Philippine Schools”-was
passed in the House of Representative in 2006.
 President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo- certified the House Bill
 Acuna R. Miranda– stated that there is “Hardly any clamour”
 found that the English taught in the Philippine Schools has not
necessarily prepared migrant workers for the jobs that they
would prefer.
 In 1994, former President Ramos said,
“Since we have that comparative advantage in English, by
all means let us maintain the advantage so that we can be more
competitive in business and production and perhaps in proper
education in this past part of the globe.
 2:2 Towards s Multilingual Education Policy
• Jose D. Aguilar (Sibayan 1999c, 1999e,
Nolasco 2008:7)
 The First Iloilo Experiment was undertaken from 1948-
1954, who pioneered in the use of Hiligaynon as
medium of instruction in Grade 1 and 2.
 Hiligaynon taught children outperforming English-
taught children in reading, math and the social studies.
• (Nolasco 2008:7)
 The second Iloilo Language Experiment (1961-1964)
 The Rizal experiment (1960-1966) and the six year
First Language Component- Bridging program
(FLCBP) on “transitional” education in Ifugao
provinces;
 Lubuagan First Language Component (Walter and
Decker 2008)
• Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education
initially thought Department of Education No. 74s.
2009 (Department of Education 2009)

• Language-in-Education policy in the Philippines,

moved from a Bilingual Education Policy to a
multilingual approach.
• September 14, 2010
 The government-initiated Alternative Learning
Systems (ALS)
 It is a curriculum for Indigenous People (IPs)
Education was institutionalized through
DepEd Order No. 101
 Institutionalisation of MTB-MLE
In 2013, Philippine Education System through
Republic Act 10533, associated implementary
rules and regulation, in addition to mandating a 13
year, K-12 education system, specified (Section
10.2.f) that the curriculum for basic education in
the Philippines
“shall adhere to the principles and framework of
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE) which starts from where learners are
and from what may already know proceeding from
the known to unknown.”
 Kindergarten and the first three (3) years of
elementary education, instruction, teaching
materials and assessment shall be in the regional
or native language of the learners. DepEd
formulate a mother language transition program
from the mother/first language to subsequent
language of the curriculum that is appropriate to
the language capacity and needs of learners from
grade 4 to grade 6.
 Filipino and English shall be gradually
introduced as languages of instruction until such
time where this two (2) language become the
primary language of instruction at the secondary
level.
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
described in the Republic Act reflects best
practice in programme implementation aligned
with theoretical positions in programme design by
educators (Baker 2006, Dutcher 2004, Cummins
2000).
Summary
Multilingualism is viewed from many different
perspectives intentionally and the use of multiple languages
in education is assessed from historic, political, economic
and social perspectives. However, as noted in another
chapter in this volume, the psycholinguistic and learning
theories underpinning the use of the learner’s most familiar
language in initial literacy learning are irrefutable.
Throughout the world, different approaches to mother
tongue-based multilingual education are being implemented
to respond to differing context.
Mother tongue-based MLE is encouraged and
supported by international agencies and
development organizations.
In the Philippines, different approaches to the
use of the mother tongue in education have been
tried but currently, a strong multilingual education
policy is part of a Republic Act, requiring
compliance throughout the education system.
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