Hello people.. it's been a long time that nobody had read this blog. The administrator is busy. But for awhile, followers of this blog will read an article from a good friend and a prolific blogger, Jessie S. Flores. His articles can be read here: http://globalteachersnetwork.weebly.com/. Enjoy!

Mother Tongue Based Education and its weaknesses

Jessie S. Flores

So it is the opening of the school year 2012-2013, and everyone in the teaching field are astonished by the speed  of implementing the mother tongue-base d education in  public schools.

So what is this MTBMLE (Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education ) all about for the hoi poloi? MTBMLE is the use of mother-tongue or the first language of the child as a tool for instruction. We are used to English and Filipino as mediums of instructions here in the Philippines. 

This MTBMLE is based on the Executive Order No. 210, Strenthening ESTABLISHING THE POLICY TO STRENGTHEN THE USE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM signed by the then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. 

We have the legal basis, and we have the funds, but what are the weaknesses of its implementation this school year?

The very first weakness is that the new curricula for Kindergarten and Grade 1  First of all, the Kindergarten and Grade 1’s new curriculum integrates the first language learned by the child as subject and medium of instruction. The poblem with this is that teachers are gathered in mass trainings, who are trained by instructors who themselves are not much familiar with MTBMLE concepts. So far there was no systematic evaluation and assessment undertaken for the 921 MTBMLE pioneer schools.  

The risk that the Department of Education took in the willy-nilly approach in implementing MTBMLE hopefully can stand on its own. This MTBMLE will take time for sure to be implemented successfully. Preparation of materials alone should take at least a year and should be developed with the community, and not just by teachers alone. Lack of sufficient materials will hinder the success in the implementation of MTBMLE. 

If the purpose of of the grueling schedule that DepEd has imposed on itself in implementing MTBMLE is to show tangible developments during the term of office of President Aquino, then let us just hope for the best. 

In order to ensure success for MTBMLE, there should be an investment of research and campaigns on the part of the department. There should be a region-specific data on exam performance, dropout, retention before education programs are implemented. In the case of MTBMLE, the data should be credibly linked to highlights and sidelights of failures and successes of monolingual approach to learning.  Parents awareness should also be given focus. We should also learn from other third world countries that had used MTBMLE and let us learn from them.   

With the opening of the school year, we just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best that this  MTBMLE implementation will be a success, despite its weaknesses.

(The author is presently a Secondary School Principal in Aklan, Philippines. He describes himself as a writer, an educator, learner, professor, knowledge seeker. For comments and reactions, please connect to jefloprin143@yahoo.com.)