MOTHER TONGUE-

BASED MULTILINGUAL
EDUCATION
Language and Opportunities

Researchers believe that two-thirds of the

world’s children grow up in a context where
more than one language is spoken.
Multilingualism is not a problem, but a
reality that can be a resource.

UNESCO
Language and Opportunities

Sadly, however, when many children start

school, they are forced to abandon their first
language and often try unsuccessfully to
learn in a language they barely understand.

UNESCO
Language and Opportunities

Language is the key to communication. It

can provide bridges to new opportunities, or
build barriers to equality. It connects and
disconnects. It creates unity and can cause
conflict. Language is many things, but it is
rarely simple.
UNESCO
MTB-MLE: Helping to redress the balance

As progress continues towards many

development goals, it is becoming increasingly
clear that some groups are being left behind. In
many cases these groups are isolated,
sometimes physically but more often socially
and politically because of the languages they
speak.
UNESCO
MTB-MLE: Helping to redress the balance

MTB-MLE aims to address this challenge,

providing quality education for all, and through
this, engaging all sections of the community in
their own development.

UNESCO
What is Mother Tongue-
Based Multilingual
Education (MTB-MLE)?
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE)

MTB-MLE is about so much more than just

changing the language in the textbook, the
test, or that the teacher uses in the
classroom. It’s about re-envisioning
learning so that it centers on the critical
thinking and wider social skills needed in a
rapidly changing world.
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE)

And it’s about challenging power dynamics

in the learning environment so that
students can direct their own learning in
ways that are meaningful to them.
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE)

MTB-MLE requires the use of the mother

tongue as a language of instruction in the
classroom, however, it is not about
restricting access to national and
international languages. Rather, MTB-MLE
is about properly preparing children to
learn these languages well.
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education
(MTB-MLE)

Starting in the language they know best

allows children to build a strong
foundation, which then enables them to
make an effective transition into other
national or international languages in due
course.
 Evidence

The size of the 4th International

Conference on Language and Education, as
compared to the three previous events,
illustrates the growing weight of evidence
for MTB-MLE, both in breadth and depth.
 Evidence

There is now a wide variety of

contextualized examples of the impact of
successful MTB-MLE programs from many
different situations around the world. This
helps us to know better what works and
what does not, and what might need to be
adapted in another context.
Three non-negotiable principles of
MTB-MLE include:
1. Effective promotion of oral fluency and
literacy in all languages for as long as
possible;
2. Builds upon learners’ social and cultural
knowledge and experience;
3. Empowers learners by encouraging students
to collaborate and innovate, creating new
power relations together
“So, when we look at what we know, and what
should inform policy-makers, I think we’ve
reached a tipping point – where the amount of
research that has accumulated is such that it’s
not possible to credibly deny the legitimacy of
multilingual education for minority and
marginalized students.” (Prof. Jim Cummins)
IMPACT OF MTB-MLE
“Children who do not learn enough are
highly likely to become disgruntled youth,
depriving them of the opportunity to enter
the formal economy and generate
sustainable livelihoods. MTB-MLE is
critical to help these children learn better
and improve their skills.”
-Prof. Kathleen Heugh
Key Benefits of MTB-MLE
q For children: they engage more in class,
respond to teachers’ questions, and
participate as equals;

q For parents: they are able to be involved

in their children’s learning, support
teachers, and take part in other school
activities;
Key Benefits of MTB-MLE
q For marginalized communities: they can
retain their own linguistic and cultural
identities while proactively engaging
with dominant wider cultures;

q For learning: better academic results

overall, lower dropout rates, and higher
fluency levels in both the learner’s first
language and other official languages;
Key Benefits of MTB-MLE
q For the system: better learning means
more efficient use of resources, resulting
in savings in time (teachers and
administrators) and money over the
mid/long-term; and
q For livelihood: real learning and better
language skills mean more access to job
opportunities and more peaceful
communities.
PRACTICES
“Since MTB-MLE came to our community, most
of the children in Grade 1 are now very
participative in the class. They now easily
understand the words they read because it’s all
written in our language.
...They are not afraid of being called on by their
teacher because they are so confident that they
can give the correct answer by using our
language.”
-A Filipino parent
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

Appropriate curriculum
In the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, the
enrolment rate in primary school is less than
60%, with a high dropout rate. One of the most
critical contributing factors is that children do
not understand the language of instruction
(Bangla) and the curriculum does not relate to
their culture.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

To address this issue, the MTB-MLE program

was set up to provide relevant learning materials
in five indigenous languages. The success of this
program, along with others, has resulted in the
Bangladesh government acknowledging MTB-
MLE in their national education policy
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

Community ownership
Writing systems need to be acceptable to the
language speakers and other stakeholders, and a
participatory process centering around the
language community is crucial to ensuring
appreciation, acceptability, accuracy, and
ownership.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

In the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao

in the Philippines, participatory orthography
development has been initiated among several
non-dominant language communities, which in
turn has encouraged participation, consultation,
and motivation for MTB-MLE within the
communities.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

Inter-agency partnerships
In Sarawak in Malaysia, a good inter-agency
collaboration supported the creation of community-
owned MTB-MLE pre-schools. Despite this, the schools
have continued to face competition from government-run
pre-schools, indicating that wherever possible non-
government organizations must collaborate with
academics and government across to ensure programs
can be institutionalized appropriately.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

Similarly, NGOs must also develop partnerships

with community organizations and local
government units in order that high-quality
research on language and education can continue
to impact teaching methods.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

Teachers
In Southern Odisha in India, research
shows that MTB-MLE teachers from the
Saora community were able to use their
cultural knowledge and tools to build strong
bonds with the Saora children.
The growing evidence has highlighted some
key areas of focus for successful MTB-MLE:

This facilitated the children’s active engagement

in class, in direct contrast to the passive learning
patterns exhibited in non MTB-MLE classrooms
where teachers relied heavily on the black board
and rote memorization of texts. In this way MTB-
MLE has major potential, not only to improve
class results but also to improve both teachers’
and students’ morale.
“MTB-MLE is a good investment choice, and in
the long run, MLE can provide savings over
inefficient dominant language-based systems of
education. Currently, many education systems
are very inefficient, but only a few studies exist
showing how much is wasted on unsuccessful
models of education in dominant languages that
many learners may not even understand.”
-Dr. Kimmo Kosonen
 In light of all this positive
evidence, what is holding us
back?
POLICIES
National policy choices around language in
education, often closely linked to misinformed
budgetary decisions, continue to be the primary
constraint for MTB-MLE. Many education
officials remain unaware of the linguistic
diversity in their own countries and prioritize the
promotion of national and international
languages.
POLICIES
Building these officials’ understanding of the
reality in the classroom and communicating
about the improved learning outcomes and the
lower long-term costs associated with MTB-MLE
is a major hurdle in convincing policy-makers to
support such programs.
POLICIES
Working with officials in this way has seen major
successes over recent years in parts of Asia, with
pro-MLE policies being enacted or strengthened.
Changes in the Philippines provide the clearest
example, where long-term advocacy and evidence
from longstanding pilot projects contributed to
the enactment of law securing MTB-MLE for
early years education..
POLICIES
In Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Nepal,
MTB-MLE-related policies have been
strengthened based on the success of pilot
projects. In Pakistan and Afghanistan,
opportunities continue to grow as officials
acknowledge the necessity of integrating ethnic
languages into educational planning.
MTB-MLE and Rights
“There would appear to be an evolving
recognition that, when reasonable and practical,
state authorities should make every effort to
provide education in the mother tongue to the
degree and extent possible...”
-Prof. Fernand de Varennes
MTB-MLE and Rights
From the very beginning, education for all
has been acknowledged as a human right.
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights states that everyone has the
right to education that is free, available and
accessible.
MTB-MLE and Rights
Where education is not provided in a child’s
first language this is increasingly seen as a
form of discrimination, limiting the
application of this right. MTB-MLE
provides a clear way for education to be
available and accessible to all.
THE FUTURE
“We should embrace policy-making as a
priority activity for language educators, and
link research to formal and informal talking
with policy-makers. This will also mean
translating research evidence into new
language. We have to focus on demystifying
the policy process.”
- Prof. Joseph Lo Bianco
THE FUTURE
Finding suitable solutions to the complex
challenges faced by many marginalized
communities can only be achieved by
working together. Looking for ways to
dialogue with policy-makers and across
organizational and disciplinary boundaries
is therefore central to any future advances.
THE FUTURE
Further research is still needed to confirm the
extent of the needs in many marginalized
communities and classroom mapping projects,
such as those conducted in Vietnam, can provide
essential data that enables governments to better
understand the language situation in classrooms.
Clear systems for moving to scale and efficient
processes for institutionalizing effective
programs are now necessary to see progress
impact more communities.
END OF PRESENTATION
References:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000231865