Importance of Mother Tounge

8/13/2019 Importance of Mother Tounge

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1

The importance of mother tongue-based schooling for educational quality Commissioned study

for EFA Global Monitoring Report !!"

Carol #enson$ %h&'&

Centre for Research on #ilingualism

(toc)holm *ni+ersity

1, April !!,

%art A .+er+ie/

0hile there are many factors in+ol+ed in deli+ering quality basic education$ language is

clearly the )ey to communication and understanding in the classroom& Many de+eloping

countries are characteried by indi+idual as /ell as societal multilingualism$ yet continue

to allo/ a single foreign language to dominate the education sector& 2nstruction through a

language that learners do not spea) has been called 3submersion4 5()utnabb-6angas

!!!7 because it is analogous to holding learners under /ater /ithout teaching them ho/

to s/im& Compounded by chronic difficulties such as lo/ le+els of teacher education$

poorly designed$ inappropriate curricula and lac) of adequate school facilities$

submersion ma)es both learning and teaching e8tremely difficult$ particularly /hen the

language of instruction is also foreign to the teacher&

Mother tongue-based bilingual programs use the learner9s first language$ )no/n as the

:1$ to teach beginning reading and /riting s)ills along /ith academic content&1

The

second or foreign language$ )no/n as the :$ should be taught systematically so that

learners can gradually transfer s)ills from the familiar language to the unfamiliar one&

#ilingual models and practices +ary as do their results$ but /hat they ha+e in common is

their use of the mother tongue at least in the early years so that students can acquire and

de+elop literacy s)ills in addition to understanding and participating in the classroom&

#ilingual as opposed to monolingual schooling offers significant pedagogical ad+antages


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/hich ha+e been reported consistently in the academic literature 5see re+ie/s in #a)er

!!1; Cummins !!!; CA: !!17

1

2n cases /here t/o or more languages are spo)en in the home or locality$ schooling may bepro+ided in

one of the learner9s home languages$ in another local language$ or in a lingua franca; for lac) of

a better

term for these conte8ts$ this paper uses 3mother tongue4 or :1 to refer to any language in /hich

schoolaged children are competent&

2n


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together$ creating participatory learning en+ironments that are conduci+e to cogniti+e

as /ell as linguistic de+elopment&

= E8plicit teaching of the : beginning /ith oral s)ills allo/s students to learn the ne/

language through communication rather than memoriation& 2n submersion schooling

teachers are often forced to translate or code-s/itch>

to con+ey meaning$ ma)ing

concept learning inefficient and e+en impeding language learning$ /hile bilingual

programs allo/ for systematic teaching of the :&

= Transfer of linguistic and cogniti+e s)ills is facilitated in bilingual programs& .nce

students ha+e basic literacy s)ills in the :1 and communicati+e s)ills in the :$ they

can begin reading and /riting in the :$ efficiently transferring the literacy s)ills they

ha+e acquired in the familiar language& The pedagogical principles behind this

positi+e transfer of s)ills are Cummins9 51??1$ 1???7 interdependence theory and the

concept of common underlying proficiency$ /hereby the )no/ledge of language$

literacy and concepts learned in the :1 can be accessed and used in the second

language once oral : s)ills are de+eloped$ and no re-learning is required&,

Consistent /ith these principles$ it is possible for children schooled only in the : to

transfer their )no/ledge and s)ills to the :1$ but the process is highly inefficient as

/ell as being unnecessarily difficult&

>

Code-s/itching and code-mi8ing in+ol+e alternation bet/een languages$ and are common

communication

strategies in bi- and multilingual conte8ts& Code alternation functions best /hen all parties arecompetent

spea)ers of the languages in+ol+ed$ but in submersion classrooms it is more of a coping

strategy for dealing

/ith a foreign instructional medium and does not necessarily contribute to second language

learning&


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,

As specialists :anaue @ (no/ e8plain$ transfer means that 3language s)ills acquired in a first

language

can$ at least if de+eloped beyond a certain point in :1$ be recruited at relati+ely early stages of

:

acquisition for relati+ely s)illed performance in :$ thus shortcutting the normal de+elopmental

progression in :4 51?? >>B7&>

= (tudent learning can be accurately assessed in bilingual classrooms& 0hen students

can e8press themsel+es$ teachers can diagnose /hat has been learned$ /hat remains

to be taught and /hich students need further assistance& 2n submersion schooling

cogniti+e learning and language learning are confounded$ ma)ing it difficult for

teachers to determine /hether students ha+e difficulty understanding the concept

itself$ the language of instruction$ or the language of the test&

= The affecti+e domain$ in+ol+ing confidence$ self-esteem and identity$ is strengthened

by use of the :1$ increasing moti+ation and initiati+e as /ell as creati+ity& :1

classrooms allo/ children to be themsel+es and de+elop their personalities as /ell as

their intellects$ unli)e submersion classrooms /here they are forced to sit silently or

repeat mechanically$ leading to frustration and ultimately repetition$ failure and

dropout&

= (tudents become bilingual and biliterate& #ilingual programs encourage learners to

understand$ spea)$ read and /rite in more than one language& 2n contrast$ submersion

programs attempt to promote s)ills in a ne/ language by eliminating them from a

)no/n language$ /hich may actually limit learner competence in both&

All of these ad+antages are based on t/o assumptions one$ that basic human needs are

being met so that schooling can ta)e place; and t/o$ that mother tongue-based bilingual

schooling can be properly implemented& (imply changing the language of instruction

/ithout resol+ing other pressing social and political issues is not li)ely to result in


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significant impro+ement in educational ser+ices& o/e+er$ because language cross-cuts

race$ ethnicity$ gender$ and po+erty$ e+en minimally implemented bilingual programs

ha+e the potential to reach those /ho ha+e traditionally been left behind by :

submersion schooling& This paper /ill discuss ho/ choosing an appropriate language of

instruction has positi+e implications for education in terms of both increasing access and

impro+ing quality&

%art # %olicy de+elopment and implementation of bilingual programs

1& 0hy bilingual policies ha+e been introduced

The introduction of mother tongue-based policies and programs normally goes beyond

pedagogical moti+ations to address social and political aims& 0hile it should be

remembered that any one program represents a combination of aims$ the follo/ing

illustrate a sampling

istorical precedents& There ha+e been a fe/ historical precedents for use of the :1 in

de+eloping countries$ /ith both positi+e and negati+e implications for current practice&

For e8ample many e8-#ritish colonies inherited mother tongue schooling as part of

separate and unequal de+elopment& 2n the case of 2ndia this meant marginaliation of

2ndian languages /ith regard to po/er$ yet 3contact /ith English triggered renaissance in

the maDor 2ndian languages and set in process their moderniation4 5Annamalai 1??" ,

17; in the case of (outh Africa unequal de+elopment e+ol+ed into #antu education

during apartheid$ /hich furthered racist goals yet de+eloped methods and materials for

mother tongue instruction that can be applied today to more equitable schooling 5eugh

!!>7& Another historical precedent is missionary use of local languages throughout the

/orld /hich$ /hile focusing on communication of religious messages$ has contributed to

the de+elopment of orthographies$ grammars and basic literacy materials and s)ills in

many of the /orld9s languages 5see e&g& Grimes !!!7& (ome initiati+es ha+e come more

recently as reactions to colonial systems$ /ith results such as the gro/th of 6is/ahili in


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Tanania under


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perhaps less united but increasingly acti+eJby original peoples for appropriate cultural

and educational policies 5+on Gleich$ !!>7& (ome Asian countries ha+e e8plicitly

+alued linguistic and cultural pluralism$ as demonstrated in the constitutions of Myanmar$

Thailand and ietnam$ and the 2ndonesian constitution goes further to guarantee the use

and de+elopment of local languages in education$ though in most cases implementation is

far from meeting stated goals 56osonen !!,7&

Educational de+elopment obDecti+es& There are bilingual schooling programs /ith clear

de+elopment goals; for e8ample$ e8perimentation in Moambique began follo/ing a

conference on ho/ to reduce the high repetition$ failure and dropout rates plaguing basic "

education& This /as also a principal moti+ation in the /ell-documented (i8-Kear

%rimary %roDect in $ cited in 6osonen !!,7 and

/hich %apua ; 6osonen !!,7& (uch initiati+es ha+e recei+ed more attention and support in

recent years from donor agencies interested in impro+ing educational quality and equity

/hile promoting democracy 5see e&g& (ida !!17&

& o/ programs ha+e been introduced

&1Forms of introduction

(mall-scale to large-scale introduction through e8perimentation& E8perimentation is a

common means for introducing mother tongue-based schooling& (uch piloting is useful

for determining ho/ a bilingual model can be implemented gi+en local conditions$ and

/hat types of technical and material input are required to ma)e the program successful

before going to scale& E8perimentation has led to /ider-scale implementation in

countries li)e #oli+ia$ Guatemala and


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stagnation and deterioration of models in countries li)e 7 despite ha+ing met /ith relati+e success& The gap bet/een

e8perimentation and implementation is often deepened due to unreasonable e8pectations

for pilot studies to pro+e or dispro+e the effecti+eness of bilingual schooling$ and this

based solely on test scores 5#enson !!,a7; as Fishman 51??17 notes$ this misguided

recourse to 3scientific proof4 is simply a delay tactic for authorities /ho /ish to seem

sympathetic to language issues /ithout committing themsel+es to establishing policies or

allocating resources& 2n more supporti+e political climates$ e8perimentation has pa+ed

the /ay for official decision-ma)ing&

Top-do/n introduction through legislation& 2n some conte8ts mother tongue-based

programs ha+e been introduced on a national scale by top-do/n methods$ /here

go+ernment has legislated change and e8pected the education sector to implement it$

/hether or not piloting has been done and /hether or not adequate resources ha+e been

mobilied& (uch /as the case of the original imposition of Chiche/a-English bilingual

schooling on all Mala/ians$ /hich fa+ored Chiche/a spea)ers o+er spea)ers of other

languages$ and again in 1?? /hen the policy changed to include all mother tongues

/ithout regard for teacher training and posting or materials de+elopment 5MtenDe @

Mchaime !!17& Tanania9s implementation of 6is/ahili-English schooling /as more

successful because it reached both first- and second-language spea)ers of 6is/ahili and

/as part of an ideological mo+ement under a respected leader$ yet the policy appears to

be deteriorating from both endsJfailure to use mother tongues and the pressure of global

EnglishJas /ell as from the middle$ because 6is/ahili has not been used as planned at

the secondary or tertiary le+els 5Abdulai !!>; Rubagumya 1??1; .uane !!>7& 2n the

case of #oli+ia$ legislation /as passed and implementation begun before the support of

all the actors had been secured$ so the early years /ere marred by resistance on the part

of teachers9 unions and communities$ requiring +igorous local indigenous group efforts as


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/ell as national public relations campaigns to e+entually con+ince those concerned 5AlbH

@ Anaya !!>7&

#ottom-up introduction through nonformal education practices& 2ntroducing mother

tongue schooling from the grassroots le+el is not easy from a large-scale organiational

standpoint$ yet it is the most promising in terms of community commitment and

sustainability& #ecause communities and 7 that helps grassroots organiations lobby for more coherent language

policy and practice in (outh African schools& ornberger /ould agree 3


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dimensions at once4 51??, 7& ornberger adds that increasing numbers of mother

tongue readers and /riters /ill ine+itably lead to fuller social participation as /ell as

facilitating progress in implementation of mother tongue schooling$ especially in terms of

a+ailable teachers and /ritten materials&

& Challenges and ho/ they ha+e been confronted

Mother tongue-based bilingual schooling is seldom disputed on the basis of its

pedagogical reasoning$ and if decision-ma)ing /ere to be based solely on ho/ to pro+ide

the highest quality education for the learner many more of the /orld9s languages /ould

be used in education today& The structural challenges to implementation related to

political decision-ma)ing ha+e Dust been discussed; this section begins /ith some /idely

belie+ed myths$ then ta)es up more practical aspects of implementation& B

The follo/ing myths and attitudes are regularly used to challenge use of mother tongues

in education$ yet their false arguments are easily re+ealed

= The one nationJone language myth& The colonial concept that a nation-state requires

a single unifying language has influenced policy-ma)ers in many parts of the /orld$

yet imposition of a so-called 3neutral4 foreign language has not necessarily resulted

in unity$ nor ha+e relati+ely monolingual countries li)e (omalia$ #urundi or R/anda

been guaranteed stability& 2n fact$ go+ernment failure to accept ethnolinguistic

di+ersity has been a maDor destabiliing force in countries li)e #angladesh$ %a)istan$

Myanmar and (ri :an)a 5.uane !!>7&

= The myth that local languages cannot e8press modern concepts& Another colonial

concept is the supposed inherent /orth of European languages in contrast to others$

but all human languages are equally able to e8press their spea)ers9 thoughts and can

de+elop ne/ terms and structures as needed& :opold (enghor once illustrated this by

translating Einstein9s Theory of Relati+ity into 0olof$ a lingua franca of (enegal&

The difference lies in /hich languages ha+e historically been chosen for


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3intellectualiation$4 or de+elopment$ through /riting and publishing 5Ale8ander

!!>7&

= The either-or myth& This myth holds that bilingualism causes confusion and that the

first language must be pushed aside so that the second language can be learned& The

research e+idence to date sho/s the opposite to be true the more highly de+eloped

the first language s)ills$ the better the results in the second language$ because

language and cognition in the second build on the first 5Cummins 1???$ !!!;

Ramire et al& 1??1; Thomas @ Collier !!7& Further$ there is no e+idence that the

: must be a medium of instruction to be learned /ell; countries li)e (/eden

achie+e high le+els of : competence by teaching it as a subDect and preser+ing the

:1 for instruction&

= The : as global language myth& The foreign : is often seen as necessary for

further education$ /or) and other opportunities$ yet as %hillipson 51??7 points out

this has not happened in a political +acuum but is the result of deliberate promotion

by po/erful countries or groups of their respecti+e languages& Mean/hile$

employment in the informal sector of lo/-income countries in+ol+es "! percent or

more of the population and is increasing$ and primary schooling is still terminal for

most& The +ast maDority /ill not be integrated into the global mar)etplace and /ill

ha+e little use for the : 5#ruthiau8 !!7&

= The myth that parents /ant :-only schooling& The poorest and most marginalied

are acutely a/are that their access both to education and to the high-status language

has been limited$ and they ha+e a right to e8pect the school to teach their children the

same language that has benefited the elite& *ndoubtedly parents /ill choose the :

/hen presented /ith an either-or proposition; ho/e+er$ studies 5see e&g& eugh

!!7 ha+e sho/n that /hen parents are allo/ed to ma)e an educated choice from

appropriate options$ they o+er/helmingly opt for bilingual rather than all-:


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programs$ and most bilingual program e+aluations report high le+els of community

support 5CA: !!17&

The attitudes reflected by these myths pro+ide a bac)ground for understanding other

more practical challenges of implementing mother tongue-based bilingual schooling&

The logistics of school reform in economically disad+antaged countries are admittedly

daunting no matter /hich inno+ations are being considered$ and the use of pre+iously

underde+eloped languages raises special issues& 0hile these issues continue to challenge

use of the mother tongue in school$ as ornberger points out$ 3


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consideration for inser+ice 5especially in the short run7 and preser+ice training 5in the

long run7& %ro+ision of short inser+ice trainings during school +acations often lea+es

bilingual teachers /ith limited language s)ills"

and inadequate understanding of the

bilingual teaching methodologies required by the adopted model& An added challenge is

to find or train teachers proficient in the :& The challenge gro/s e8ponentially /hen

policy dictates nation/ide implementation before there has been adequate in+estment of

time and resources in teacher training& This ta8es systems beyond their capability$

resulting in e+en less training$ the hiring of unqualified teachers$ inappropriate linguistic

placement of teachers$ and so on$ undermining implementation of the model and limiting

the degree to /hich it can demonstrate results& The follo/ing measures ha+e been ta)en

to remedy this situation

= #ilingual intercultural education in #oli+ia /as implemented in stages$ /here schools

/ere considered 3traditional$4 3in transformation4 or 3under the reform4 depending

"

E+en trained teachers ha+e traditionally had fe/ opportunities to become proficient in the :1 in

/ritten

form or the : in spo)en form$ so these s)ills require further de+elopment through instruction

and practice&?

on the degree to /hich teacher training had been done and materials had been

distributed 5ETARE 1??>7&

= 'esigned to meet acute personnel needs$ #oli+ia has a bachillerato pedagHgico

program that pro+ides indigenous youth 5currently all female7 /ith secondary

schooling along /ith : s)ills and pedagogical training$ preparing them to be

bilingual teachers in their o/n communities& Another measure instituted in !!1 /as

to pay financial incenti+es for teachers /or)ing in bilingual classrooms$ in remote

areas$ and in multi-grade classrooms$ all of /hich benefited bilingual teachers as


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intended

5AlbH @ Anaya !!>7&

= 2nser+ice training for


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2mplementation is often challenged by

decision-ma)ers9 failure to allocate resources to these efforts$ but other obstacles are

created by failure of linguists to reach agreement$ or imposition of decisions on the

linguistic community /ithout ha+ing in+ol+ed them in the process& To meet the demands

for educational materials$ most programs do not /ait for all of the linguistic decisions to

be made but become part of the process by in+ol+ing communities

E+en though this policy helped )eep bilingual teachers in remote areas$ it /as opposed by non-

bilingual

teachers and had to be abandoned t/o years later 5AlbH @ Anaya !!>7&

B

2n the case of less de+eloped languages$ all of these corpus planning efforts must be

underta)en in a

relati+ely short period of time$ /hereas more pri+ileged languages li)e Mandarin$ Arabic or

English ha+e

had centuries to de+elop in different domains of usage&1!

= :ocally-produced materials are ine8pensi+e and can be done in many languages$ as

demonstrated by efforts in %apua 7$ the Ri+ers Readers

proDect in


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and publishes a /ide +ariety of literature in 6reol and #hoDpuri; they also play a

leading role in efforts to reach agreement on orthographies 5Ah-ee !!17&

= A GTN-supported field test in Ghana published te8tboo)s$ teacher9s guides and

readers in t/o national languages and documented positi+e results in terms of synergy

among donors$ impro+ed educational practices$ complementary policy decisions and

economic benefits to the local publishing industry 56omare) !!17&

Educational decision-ma)ing in countries /ith linguistically di+erse regions& Centralied

decision-ma)ing creates conflict if it contemplates only one language-in-education model

for all /ithout considering +ariation in language use& 0hile rural areas are often

relati+ely homogeneous /ith only one :1 to deal /ith in a bilingual program$ urban or

suburban areas may require more creati+e classroom organiation models&

The

educational language policy needs to be fle8ible enough to allo/ for decentralied

decision-ma)ing& This /ay$ implementation of mother tongue-based bilingual schooling

in linguistically homogeneous areasJ/here it is most urgently needed and most easily

operationaliedJ/ill not be postponed indefinitely because the same model might not

/or) else/here& (ome /ays that ha+e been found to address this issue are

= %RAE(A$ an


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by #enson 5!!,b7 as one /ay to deal /ith mi8ed classes and limited teacher s)ills$

among other options such as team teaching$ trading classes and using

paraprofessionals from the community&

2t should not be assumed that urban areas are so di+erse as to render mother tongue programs

unmanageable; for e8ample$ many African cities ha+e remar)ably homogeneous neighborhoods

/ith their

o/n schools&11

Allocation of material resources& Education ministries often obDect to the percei+ed cost

of changing the language of instruction$ contemplating the large in+estments needed

particularly in teacher preparation and materials de+elopment& This may pre+ent

decision-ma)ers from considering large-scale implementation$ allo/ing them to maintain

submersion programs or minimal use of the mother tongue 5in preschool programs or

only oral use in early primary7$ or it may limit the effects of other/ise /ell designed

policies& Resource allocation is essential to any educational inno+ation$ but bilingual

programs are initially more costly than others$ due primarily to the need for

intellectualiation of pre+iously unde+eloped languages and production of instructional

and supplemental materials in those languages& 2n places characteried by e8treme

linguistic di+ersity$ this may mean small print runs for minority languages$ ma)ing them

less attracti+e to commercial publishers&?

(ome of the strategies for producing materials

cheaply ha+e already been mentioned; the follo/ing are strategies for balancing the costs

/ith the benefits of implementing bilingual education

= (ome 0orld #an) scholars 5Chis/ic) et al& 1??; a/da @ %atrinos 1??7 ha+e

been /or)ing on cost-benefit analyses that relate the costs of status quo schooling

5repetition and dropout as con+erted into per-pupil e8penditure7 to the costs of

implementing bilingual schooling 5teacher training and materials de+elopment7$ gi+en


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that bilingual schooling greatly reduces student /astage& Applied to bilingual

education in Guatemala$ they ha+e found that the initially higher costs of

implementing mother tongue programs are out/eighed by the sa+ings due to more

efficient schooling after only t/o years 5%atrinos @ ele 1??7&

&>EffectsLimpact on quality of schooling

0ell-documented empirical studies of mother tongue-based bilingual programs in

de+eloping countries began appearing in the 1?B!s and still form the basis of /hat is

done in the field today& (ome of the benchmar) studies are these

= Modiano9s 51?B>7 study in the Chiapas highlands of Me8ico found that indigenous

children efficiently transferred literacy s)ills from the :1 to the : and out-performed

monolingual (panish spea)ers& Modiano also qualitati+ely e8plored ho/ teachers

from the same linguistic and cultural communities as their students /ere uniquely

suited for their /or)&

= The (i8-Kear Koruba Medium %rimary %roDect 5Fafun/a et al& 1?B"; A)innaso

1??>; see Adegbiya !!> for other references7 demonstrated unequi+ocally that a full

si8-year primary education in the mother tongue /ith the : taught as a subDect /as

not only +iable but ga+e better results than all-English schooling& 2t also suggested

that teachers should be allo/ed to specialie in : instruction&

?

2t should ne+ertheless be remembered that 3minority4 groups can number in the hundreds of

thousands$ so

linguistic sur+eying is important to this effort&1

= The Ri+ers Readers %roDect$ also in


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= :arge-scale research on Filipino-English bilingual schooling in the %hilippines

5Gonale @ (ibayan$ 1?7 found a positi+e relationship bet/een achie+ement in the

t/o languages$ and found that lo/ student performance o+erall /as not an effect of

bilingual education but of other factors$ especially the lo/ quality of teacher training

5see also 'utcher 1??"7&

More recent /or) demonstrates similar findings and goes beyond these to illustrate the

positi+e aspects of mother tongue-based bilingual programs listed abo+e$ specifically

Facilitated bilingualism and biliteracy& 2n an effecti+e bilingual program students

become bilingual$ or communicati+ely competent$ in the : as /ell as the :1$ and

biliterate$ or able to read$ /rite and learn in both languages& (ince these s)ills ta)e some

time to de+elop$ /hat is noticeable in the early years is the ease at /hich children learn

beginning literacy and content through the mother tongue; this is a common obser+ation

among teachers 5.uane !!>7& After three to four years the effects of biliteracy are more

measurable 5see re+ie/s in 6omare) 1??B; 'utcher 1??"7$ /hich is consistent /ith

findings from


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/ho did best /ere bilingual students tested in the :1$ /hile those /ho did least /ell /ere

non-bilingual students tested in the :&

&

Classroom participation$ positi+e affect and increased self-esteem& .bser+ational data

confirm differences bet/een bilingual and non-bilingual classrooms /orld/ide& 2n

contrast to students in submersion programs /ho sit listening or reciting$ bilingual

students participate more often in the classroom and demonstrate greater self-confidence

and higher moti+ation 5A'AE$ 1??; 'alby$ 1?"; 'utcher$ 1??"7& The :1 allo/s

children to e8press their full range of )no/ledge and e8perience and demonstrate their

competence$ /hich pedagogical approaches li)e those of %iaget and ygots)y /ould

support as producti+e for learning 5Richardson !!17& Further$ positi+e classroom affect 1>

is essential to good second language learning$ as 6rashen 51???7 has established&


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/idely-cited factor in successful bilingual programs 5Cummins !!!; 'utcher 1??"7&

2ncreased participation of girls& 0hile the mechanisms remain to be e8plored$ a number

of studies 5#enson !!; o+ens !!>7 ha+e found that bilingual schooling has positi+e

effects on girls9 schooling in terms of higher enrolment and passing rates and lo/er

dropout rates 5see also CA: !!17& 2nternational research indicates that girls ne+er get to

school$ or stop attending after only one to three years$ due to +arious factors such as

perceptions that they are less able than boys$ or lac) of trust in male teachers 5Cho/dhury

1??>7& #enson 5!!7 proposes that both internal and e8ternal impediments to girls9

participation may be eliminated by use of the :1$ because increased student-teacher

communication allo/s girls to demonstrate their competence and teachers to see it$ and

increased parent-teacher communication increases trust in the teacher /hile e8posing him

to more social control&

,& o/ programs ha+e been structured

,&1 Managing languages in the classroom models

The most common model of bilingual schooling is transitional$ /hich #a)er 5!!17

considers a /ea) form because the :1 is used only as a bridge to the :& 0ea) models

ta)e a subtracti+e approach to the mother tongue$ under+aluing the first language and

culture and prioritiing the second language& Transitional programs range from shortterm oral

use of the :1 during the preschool andLor early primary years to de+elopment of

:1 literacy s)ills o+er three to fi+e years before transitioning$ or changing the language of

literacy 5and usually instruction7 to the :& The : is taught first orally and then phased

in gradually as a language of instruction& (tudies ha+e demonstrated that 3late-e8it4

transitional programs$ i&e& those that de+elop the :1 for four to fi+e years$ ha+e much 1,

better results in terms of student performance than other models that do not in+est in :1

de+elopment 5Ramire et al& 1??1; Thomas @ Collier !!7&

A /ea) form made /ea)er %rograms in economically disad+antaged countries often

attempt to transition to the : after only one or t/o years$ /ithout consolidating :1


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literacy or : communication s)ills& 3(hort cut4 transitions try to do too much too fast

and fail to produce optimal results$ gi+ing parents and teachers the mista)en impression

that the :1 has caused the confusion& Teachers may go bac) to submerging students in

the : /hen /hat /ould actually help students is deeper de+elopment of :1 s)ills on

/hich to base second language literacy and learning& Early-e8it programs are +ery /ea)$

but e+en some time spent in the :1 is preferable to submersion because there are so many

affecti+e benefits associated /ith +alidation of the first language and culture$ and teacherstudent

interaction is automatically facilitated to some degree by :1 use&

(trong models ta)e an additi+e approach$ adding a second language to competence in the

first and building on the learner9s s)ills and )no/ledge in the :1 /hile teaching the : in

an understandable /ay$ /ith more positi+e academic and affecti+e results& T/o )no/n

strong forms function only in particular conte8ts and are not readily applicable here& The

first$ immersion education$ /as de+eloped in Canada /here the :1 and : are both

relati+ely prestigious and /here formally educated parents /ho can assist their children

choose for their children to become bilingual and biliterate& The other$ t/o-/ay bilingual

education$ combines nati+e spea)ers of t/o different language groups in one classroom

so that they learn from each other&


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primary schooling 5#a)er !!17&

All of the abo+e models dra/ on the literature from the 7 describes the situation in 2ndia$ /hich has a trilingual schooling policy in+ol+ing a

regional 5state7 language$ a national language 5indi7 and an international one 5English7

but these do not necessarily include the student9s mother tongue$ raising difficulties if the

regional language is taught as if it is the :1& Considering many African conte8ts$

#amgbose 51??17 e8plores the alternati+es in terms of three types of languageJthe

mother tongue$ a lingua franca or regional language$ and an international languageJand

according to ho/ each is usedJas the language of literacy$ studied as a subDect$ and used

as a medium of instruction& The (i8-Kear Koruba Medium %rimary %roDect$ as /ell as the

findings of


24/35

conte8ts are special and that ne/$ more creati+e solutions need to be generated in the

(outh& o/e+er$ it is clear from research in both ; the better +ersions of these /ould be the ones that begin at

preschool le+el$ and the ones that pro+ide for continued study of the :1 through the end

of primary schooling 5see e&g& TadadDeu @ Mba 1??7&

2n terms of bilingual education policy consistent /ith good models$ #oli+ia is clearly the

most ad+anced$ /ith its maintenance and de+elopment model for long-term continuous

study of the mother tongue and (panish taught as a second language throughout$ ha+ing

arri+ed at a "!"! model around grade four 5ETARE 1??>7& :ogistical difficulties li)e

trained teacher shortages$ failure to )eep bilingual teachers in the most remote areas$ and

delays related to the de+elopment$ supply and distribution of :1 and : materials ha+e

meant that many schools can only pro+ide a fe/ years of mother tongue schooling to

those /ho most need it 5AlbH @ Anaya !!>; 6ing @ #enson !!,7& 2n addition$ the

most inno+ati+e elementsJinterculturalism$ :1 study through secondary schooling and

indigenous language instruction for the monolingual (panish-spea)ing eliteJha+e yet to

be put into practice in /ays that can be e+aluated& E+en so$ this educational reform has

sur+i+ed o+er ten years and through a fe/ go+ernments$ so it is a case to be /atched&1

A final point /hen discussing models is that it may be instructi+e to loo) more at nonformal

education 5


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/ell as more inno+ation& This is probably because there is simultaneously more

grassroots in+ol+ement from communities and 7$ %apua

7$ and Cambodia 56osonen !!,7& *ragaste 51???7 has

reported creati+e interactions bet/een bilingual primary and adult literacy classes in

Quechua-spea)ing regions of #oli+ia that could pro+ide a model&

"& 6ey lessons learned

The follo/ing summaries the points made in the te8t and )ey lessons learned from o+er

thirty years of e8perience in de+eloping countries as /ell as research in the


26/35

therefore ha+e the greatest potential to impro+e : de+elopment and content learning&

Conclusion

0hat EFA means for people in de+eloping countries is access to basic literacy and

numeracy as /ell as other s)ills that /ill impro+e their li+es& Mother tongue-based

bilingual education not only increases access to s)ills but also raises the quality of basic

education by facilitating classroom interaction and integration of prior )no/ledge and

e8periences /ith ne/ learning& The effects of bilingual schooling mentioned abo+e

depict the progress made by traditionally marginalied students in the process of1B

S #ecoming literate in a familiar language

S Gaining access to communication and literacy s)ills in the :

S a+ing a language and culture that are +alued by formal institutions li)e the

school

S Feeling good about the school and the teacher

S #eing able and e+en encouraged to demonstrate /hat they )no/

S %articipating in their o/n learning

S a+ing the courage to as) questions in class 5students7 or as) the teacher /hat is

being done 5parents7

S Attending school and ha+ing an impro+ed chance of succeeding 5all children and

especially girls7

S


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#iliterate Ability to spea)$ read and /rite t/o 5or more7 languages

Empo/erment (pecific efforts to gi+e learners the )no/ledge$ strategies and selfconfidence to

act to impro+e their o/n situations and those of

others

Foreign language A language that is not spo)en in the immediate en+ironment of the

learner

2mmersion Focused use of a second language for instruction$ using second

language teaching methods 5/ith :1 support at school andLor at

home7

2nterculturalism %romotion of mutual understanding and tolerance bet/een cultural

groups

:1 First language$ mother tongue

:


28/35

(ubmersion *se of an instructional language that is not spo)en by the learner

nor taught as a language

Transfer Cummins9 concept that /hat is learned in the :1 contributes to

one9s competence in other languages

Transition (hift in the medium of instruction from :1 to :$ or shift in the

language of literacy

Transitional (chooling that shifts sooner or later from the :1 to the : 1?

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29/35

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30/35

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31/35

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ornberger$


32/35

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o+ens$ M& 5!!7 #ilingual education in 0est Africa 'oes it /or)[ 2nternational

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>>-,&


33/35

Modiano$ 7 2ndian Education in the Chiapas ighlands&

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34/35

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#ilingUe& V#aseline sur+ey #ilingual 2ntercultural Education&W :a %a *

Documents

Importance of Mother Tounge