EFFECTIVENESS OF MOTHER TONGUE BASED MULTILINGUAL

EDUCATION: THE USE OF EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE FOR

INSTRUCTION

Submitted to

MR. MAXIMINO R. ABEJO III

Professor
Cebu Technological University
San Francisco Campus
San Francisco, Cebu

Submitted by:

Roxanne Ouano
QueenzelOpon
Mapette Loon
Eleonor Senor
Nhelsy Ann Donaire
Mary Jean Plenos
CloudeniEstrera
Flora Mae Senor
Nur-in Celeste
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the following

persons who have contributed much to the success of this study:

Our parents who always backed them up in the many aspects of life
especially the moral support and financial matters;

Our Lord God in heaven for showering us with blessings of good

health, patience and guidance so that we may be able to finish this study
and all other educational endeavor that we wish to accomplish;

Our group mates who shared ideas and ways on how to achieve
the objectives of this study;

To our understanding and patient adviser, Mr. Maximino R. Abejo

III for believing in our potential and the enlightenment that we may need
throughout the study;

To the Campus Director, Dr. Serapion N. Tanduyan for being able

to appraise and upgrade the instructors on their professional development
so that they may impart to us the quality education that we ought to have;
 To the School Librarian, Mrs. Mary Ann Badilla for assisting us on
the books and good readings needed for the study;

And to all others who we may not be able to print thy names here
but were also able to help us in some ways.

The Researchers
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS
PAGE

TITLE PAGE ------------------------------------------------------i

APPROVAL SHEET -----------------------------------------------------ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ----------------------------------------------------- iii

DEDICATION ------------------------------------------------------iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------v

LIST OF FIGURES ----------------------------------------------------vi

LIST OF TABLES -----------------------------------------------------vii

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS RESEARCH DESIGN

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study -----------------------------------------------

Theoretical Background --------------------------------------------

THE PROBLEM -------------------------------------------------------------------

Statement of the Problem -----------------------------------------

Null Hypothesis -------------------------------------------------------

Significance of the Study -------------------------------------------

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ---------------------------------------------------

 Flow of the Study ----------------------------------------------------

Environment ---------------------------------------------------------

Respondents --------------------------------------------------------

Instrument ----------------------------------------------------------

Statistical Instruments ---------------------------------------------

Scoring Procedure ------------------------------------------------

DEFINITION OF TERMS -----------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER II

SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Findings ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusions ------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommendations ---------------------------------------------------------

BIBLIOGRAPHY -------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPENDICES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

CURRICULUM VITAE ------------------------------------------------------------------

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Theoritical Framework ---------------------------------------------------------

 2. Flow of the Study ----------------------------------------------------------------
3. Map of Cebu ----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Map of Camotes Island --------------------------------------------------------
5. Conceptual Framework --------------------------------------------------------

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. The Respondents of the Study

2.
 Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE

INTRODUCTION

Rationale of the Study

This chapter presents the problem of the researchers sought after

the foundation for which to base the study.

“Language is not everything in education, but without language,

everything is nothing in education. “(Wolff,2006).

The foundation of every state or country is the education of its youth.

The failure of education represents the inability of society to properly
perpetuate itself through succeeding generations.

Many years ago Filipinos dwell on the notion that the best way to
learn reading and writing fast is through the use of a foreign language. This
may be one of the reasons why the country adopted English as medium of
instruction in all levels of the education ladder. In 1987, Policy on Bilingual
Education was first introduced by the department of Education, Culture
and Sports. This was followed by the implementation of the Lingua Franca
Education Project which have then 16 regions to choose from the three
widely spoken languages- Tagalog, Ilocano and Cebuano (Morada, 2009).
 The Philippines is lagging behind Asian countries in terms of
education. This is due to same factors, which include lack of instructional
materials and devices which greatly affect the quality of education. It has
been the objective of the government particularly the Department of
Education (DepEd) to improve the quality of education in the Philippines. It
is understood that the quality of educational system, the educational
program and effectiveness of any teaching is gauged by the input, the way
the teacher performs, the process of teaching, the output and the quality of
pupils achievement.

Leysa further revealed that taking these into consideration, national

and international researches have been conducted and studies have been
made to trace the ground of mediocrity. A study made by the Summer
Institute of Linguistics has found that although good teachers play an
important part in good early education, the use of the mother tongue has
been proven effective in making the students understand the lesson better.
It says that vital to good early education is a mother tongue teaching and
development of reading skills to enable students to have strong knowledge
in English, Science and Math.

The mother tongue or lingua franca (the common language used by

a region) is used as the soul of instruction during the first three grades of
elementary schools. In fourth grade, students start to use Filipino to all
subjects except English, Math and Science for which English is used the
order extends the use of the mother tongue beyond the first three years of
elementary schools.

According to DepEd Secretary Lapus (2009), the findings of various

local initiatives and international studies in basic education have validated
the superiority of these of the learners’ first language in improving learning
outcomes and promoting Education for all.

Thus, the researchers come up with the study of determining the

Effectiveness of Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education in Poro
Municipality Elementary Schools, specifically Cagcagan Elementary
School, Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes Elementary School and
Teguis Elementary School.
Theoretical Background

Education is the process of facilitating learning, or the acquisition

of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, and habits. Educational methods
include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and directed research.
Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, but
learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place
in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative
effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational.
The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

Education commonly is divided formally into such stages

as preschool or kindergarten, primary school, secondary school and
then college, university, or apprenticeship.

A right to education has been recognized by some governments,

including at the global level: Article 13 of the United Nations'
1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights recognizes a universal right to education. In most regions education
is compulsory up to a certain age.

Education began in prehistory, as adults trained the young in the

knowledge and skills deemed necessary in their society. In pre-literate
 societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling
passed knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to the next. As
cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond skills that could be
BASICS IN EDUCATION

RELATED STUDIES
EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPING CO

THE PROS AND CONS OF THE APPROACH

THE CURRICULUM AND ITS HIGHLIGHTS

MTB-MLE AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

ENGLISH AS A MEDIUM OF TEACHING

THE MULTILINGUAL APPROACH

 Figure 1

Theoretical Framework

readily learned through imitation, formal education developed.

Schools existed in Egypt at the time of the Middle Kingdom.

Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving

access to education for people living in impoverished areas
and developing countries. Charities like One Laptop per Child are
dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged
may access educational materials.

The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported

by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100
laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely
available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on
donations.

In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

has launched an "e-school program" to provide all 600,000 primary and
high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet
access within 10 years. An International Development Agency project
called nabuur.com, started with the support of former American
President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals
on issues of social development.
 India is developing technologies that will bypass land-
based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance
learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research
Organization launched EDUSAT, a communications satellite providing
access to educational materials that can reach more of the country's
population at a greatly reduced cost.

In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their

content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from
the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and
experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A
curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which
merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to
achieve a particular grade or standard.

An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally

taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each
discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and
distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of
broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural
sciences, mathematics, computer science, social
sciences, humanities and applied sciences.

Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12

grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives.
The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[66]
 Over the years, attempts to raise pupils’ or students’ proficiency in
the English language have never been achieved, much more in their
propensity in Science and Math. DepEd data indicated dismal performance
of students despite innumerable measures and interventions carried out by
the department to improve learning outcomes. Results of the National
Achievement Tests show how inadequate the pupils are exceedingly
alarming. In 2004, the Trends in International Math and Science conducted
in 28 countries placed the Philippines second from the bottom. In a high
school proficiency examination conducted in 45 countries, Philippines
ranked 41st. And on elementary proficiency, out of 25 countries tested, this
country placed 23rd (Leysa, 2009).

By the bilingual education policy adopted in 1974, Filipino is the

medium of instruction in school for all subjects except Natural Science and
Mathematics for which English is used. There is, however, a reported
move to replace English with Filipino for teaching the two subjects,
whereby English will be relegated to a foreign language in the curriculum.
The possible adoption of this scheme has intensified the controversy over
Filipino, not only as medium of instruction but also as the national
language. This is the situation as of 1994.

The idea of a mother tongue is purely cultural a way of making our

identity. A mother language can be powerful, which I why government
sometimes try to suppress, even eradicate, the use of minority languages,
which is often done because of the notion that the national identity
depends on having only one language throughout the country. The
Department of Education (DepEd) will use 12major local dialects as
medium of instruction in school years to develop well-rounded and life-long
learners under K to 12 education program. These are Tagalog,
Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Waray,
Tausug, Maguindanao, Maranao and Chavacano.

Multilingual Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), out of

57.59 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years old, there were: 5.24 million
Filipinos who could not read and write; 7.83 million Filipinos who could not
read, write and compute; 18.37 million who could not read, write, compute
and comprehend. Inability to read and understand largely explains poor
performance, low retention, and low learning outcomes in the high schools.
For instance, from 2004 to 2006, the performance with marginal gains in
Science and Mathematics and a drop of two percentage points for English.
(Maligalig and Albert, p. 33).

Study made by the Summer Institute of Linguistics has found that

although good teachers play an important part in good early education, the
use of the mother tongue has been proven effective in making the students
understand the lesson better.

Earlier this year the Department of Education released a Department

order providing for the implementation of Mother Tongue-based
Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) on kindergarten and grades 1 to 3 in all
public schools as part of the new Administration’s education reforms. The
said order provides for the use of the students’ mother tongues both as a
subject matter and as a medium of instruction.
 The positive effect of using the first language as a medium of
instruction has been consistently backed by linguistic studies, so there is
little dispute with regards to this reform’s benefit. Using the first language
will invariably make access to the body of knowledge in a particular
science much easier for an individual. But it must be pointed out that the
Philippines has a rather complicated linguistic situation. While the Tagalog
language serves as backbone to a national language in the making (called
Filipino), there is a multitude of languages being spoken as mother
tongues in the Archipelago. There are areas with a dominant L1 (mainly
homelands of the language, the Tagalog area for Tagalog, Cebu and
Negros Oriental for Cebuano, Iloilo and Bacolod for Hiligaynon, etc.), but
there are areas with a great degree of linguistic diversity (Davao, Iligan,
etc.), and application of the program on the latter will prove to be difficult.
While the Mode 2  of the DepEd order provides for the use of the Lingua
Franca of the area (which is among eight major languages identified by the
order),  the Mode is only in the event that the L1s being used do not have
an orthography (or simply when the L1s used are not among the eight
identified major languages). There will be a theoretical complication when
the situation is to be applied on an area with such linguistic diversity that
there are more than one of the eight major languages being used (i.e. in
Davao, Cebuano only outnumbers Tagalog by a small margin; in M’lang,
North Cotabato, Hiligaynon barely outnumbers Cebuano).

In practice of course, this doesn’t cause much of a problem. The

emphasis on “multilingual education” will entail that the teacher will end up
using a combination of the languages. In Davao for instance, the teacher
will end up using both Tagalog and Cebuano. But this, however, opens up
another complication. Though this is still in the early stages of education,
we would be prudent to assume that the model will be applied to all levels
of education in the future. As such, we must express concern over the
development of the languages being used. Take note that in linguistically
diverse areas, a combination of the languages will inevitably be used. And
this, of course, is code switching. Code switching, any student of language
knows, will end up diluting the languages, reducing them to only a fraction
of their original form. In the worst case scenario, the students will be
proficient in only the code switched form of the language, and they will be
barely capable of uttering a sentence purely in one language.

The above scenario is a double edged sword, and we must do

justice by pointing out the pros and cons thereto. Perhaps the best thing
about the situation would be a contribution to the development of the
National language in the making. If we are to conceive the Filipino
language as a creole of the different languages in the country, then the
MTB-MLE will add the colloquial arena of the development of the National
Language to the academe. But conversely, the program will end up
incorporating English, and any attempt to keep our would be National
language pure of western influence impossible. Similarly, the same
program will end up limiting the intellectual pool of each language, as ideas
will still remain represented by specific words. To maximize the benefits of
the program without suffering its drawbacks, it is suggested that efforts for
the intellectualization of the local languages be continued. In line with the
order’s mode 2, the same efforts for intellectual development of the
languages should also be applied to other mother tongues, so that the
small group of languages identified as linguae franca will be expanded. I
will write a post on the possible development of a National Language later
on.

There is also a big problem with the register of the language to be

used. While it is easy to say that “using the mother tongue will make
comprehension of the subject matter easier,” we must consider the fact
that the mother tongue with which the student is comfortable is in its
colloquial form, and the colloquial form will invariably be inadequate as an
instructional medium. The terminological precision inherent in an academic
form of language remains foreign even to the native speaker of the same
language who only comprehends it in its colloquial form. That, of course, is
the case in the Philippines, and we thus get jokes about the apparent
difficulty of comprehending math lessons if they are to be taught in
Tagalog. Even if we are successful in trying to intellectualize our local
languages in order to exorcise the colonial demons that compel us to
borrow lexically, we still end up forming a language difficult for the student
to comprehend. This matter, of course, is not unsolvable, but the solution
will be difficult. There must be, once and for all, an institutionalized mass
effort to increase the competence of our people in academic register. To
put it simply, we must begin undoing our natural aversion to smart talk.
This will involve a great amount of effort on the mass media to make their
language more terminologically precise, and on the meta-level, they must
contribute to the positive portrayal of such terminologically precise
language. If we can somehow bridge the gap between colloquial language
and academic language, comprehension in class, no matter how difficult
the subject is, will definitely be higher than otherwise.
 The government is taking small steps to what could be a reform with
tremendous impact, and to rush would merely be detrimental. It is
nevertheless hoped that all implications, no matter how small they may
seem will be taken into consideration. MTB-MLE in the Philippines could
work wonders, or it could destroy our linguistic identities irreversibly.

The above statement made the researchers decide to determine the

Effectiveness of Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education in Cagcagan
Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes Elementary
School and Teguis Elementary School.
 THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

This study will assess the school in Mother Tongue Based Multilingual
Instruction in the third level of elementary schools specifically in Cagcagan
Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes Elementary
School and Teguis Elementary School of Poro, Cebu for the School Year
2015-2016 as basis for the effectiveness of their Mother Tongue Based
Multilingual Instruction. Specifically, this study attempt to answer the
following research programs.

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1 Gender
1.2 Age
1.3 School
2. When did schools started implementing the MTB-MLE approach?
3. What were the common hindrances in the implementation?
3.1 learning materials
3.2 teachers’ capacity
3.3 school policies
3.4 government support
 4. How did assessments and evaluation improved after the
implementation?
4.1 accelerating
4.2 no changes at all
4.3 unidentified
5. What were the significant changes after the implementation of the
MTB-MLE approach?
5.1 pupils’ performance
5.2 teaching strategies
5.3 reading skills
6. Are there any programs opened to assist and evaluate the impact of
MTB-MLE in its implementation?

Statement of the Null Hypothesis

There is no significant effect using the Mother Tongue Based

Instruction to the pupil’s academic performance.

Significance of the Study

This study will be beneficial to the following people and institutions:

Department of Education. On the basis of the findings, they shall

be able to make amendments and clarifications on the implementation of
the new curriculum. They shall be able to provide what is needed to fully
realize the implementation.
 School Administrators. They shall be able to assist the teachers in
using the right approaches for the approaches and teaching strategies to
be as effective as reflected in the study.

Parents and Other Stakeholders. They will be able to understand

the impacts of the implementation and thus they will be able to guide well
and support their children in the educational processes.

Pupils. They will be able to get the excellent education which the
advanced countries are having without spending much just to get it in other
countries.
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This will be a descriptive research using a questionnaire and was

supplemented by observation of the respondents which aimed to find out
the effectiveness of the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education in
Cagcagan Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes
Elementary School and Teguis Elementary School.

The Flow of the Study

The study utilized questionnaires to gather data needed in the study.

They were able to secure necessary permits and went through each
school to gather the data. The researchers also made actual observations
from each class to see the impact of the actual implementation of new
curriculum featuring the use of the native dialect of the pupils.
THREE PUPILS IN THE SELECTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN THE POR

OBSERVATIONS

QUESTIONNAIRES

RESULTS

Figure 2
 Flow of the Study

Environment

The study will be conducted in Cagcagan Elementary School,

Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes Elementary School and Teguis
Elementary School of Poro, Cebu, Region VII.

Cagcagan Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School,

Mercedes Elementary School and Teguis Elementary School are adjacent
elementary schools which are located in the Municipality of Poro. These
schools had practiced the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education as
mandated by the Department of Education. Each school has six grade
levels of education wherein the scope of our study involves the third grade
level.

Research Respondents

The respondents are the Grade Three teachers and their pupils in
the

Research Instrument

Statistical Instrument

Data Gathering Procedures

Preliminary Preparation.

Administering and Retrieval of Questionnaires.

 Documentation

Scoring Procedure

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Academic Performance

- Used to describe performance done in schools, colleges

and universities, especially work which involves studying
and reasoning rather than practical or technical skills.
- Performance done by the pupils of Cagcagan Elementary
School, Esperanza Elementary School, Mercedes
Elementary School and Teguis Elementary School.

DepEd

- Department of Education
- Sources of information and guide in implementing MTB-
MLE.

Eradicate

- Means to get rid of it completely.

- Destroy the minority language

Illiteracy

- State of not knowing how to read or write.

- Of Filipinos and the high drop-out and non-completion
rates of students.

Implement
 - Something such as a plan, you ensure that what has been
planned is done.
- Pertains to Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Language.

Language

- System of communication which consists of a set of

sounds and written symbols which are used by the people
of a particular country or region for talking or writing.
- Words and the systems for their use common to people
who are of the same community or nation.

First Language

- The language that they learned first and speak best.