The current language in education policy encourages the use of mother-tongue instruction in the first three years of primary school followed by a … ANI | Updated: Nov 26, 2020 22:05 IST “There will be innumerable problems in the implementation of this policy but they are not insurmountable,” said Swarup, the former school secretary, highlighting the lack of an action plan in the NEP to implement this or any other policy change. “When these changes were made we’ve seen these silent classrooms convert in 2-3 months -- [full of] active, engaged children speaking, interacting,” said Jhingran. Kuper (2003) reports that in 22 out of 39 African countries primary education still uses If the child is taught in a language they do not understand, none of this will happen,” Jhingran added. Since School Year (SY) 2012-2013, the Mother Tongue-Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) began to be implemented in all public schools, specifically in Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 and 3 as part of the K to 12 Basic Education Program. Experts argue that an English education is not always the best. In 2009, the Department of Education (DepEd) recognized the benefits of teaching children using their mother tongue or first language. The Right to Education Act, 2009, also said that as far as possible, the medium of instruction in school should be the child’s mother tongue. On the other hand, there are some very real difficulties involved in the implementation of this ideal. To make this possible, those teachers from the community who are fluent in the mother tongue as well as in a second language (either Odia or English) are recruited, a 2014 circular from the government announcing the extension of this programme said. 18 Dutcher, N. 2003. 6.4 Inadequacy of trained teachers in mother tongue 260 6.5 Learning and teaching materials as challenges to mother-tongue education 265 6.6 Poor standardisation of a language as a barrier to mother-tongue education 268 6.7 Poor school improvement practice to promote mother-tongue education … This is, of course, one of the reasons why bilingual education systems are growing in popularity around the world and many international schools are focusing their resources on establishing strong mother tongue programmes. Those who do not fulfil these criteria are hired on a contract basis with the condition that they acquire those language skills. In instances where mother tongue use in lower primary schools is adequately structured and implemented, cognitive development is improved. The implementation of mother tongue education (MTE) remains a challenge ... (primary) education, four years of secondary education and four years of university education to a new system of 2-6-3-3-3. On the one hand, it seems reasonable and desirable that learners should be able to receive education in their mother tongue, if they so wish. Mother tongue education (MTE) has been a subject of rigorous debate for more than half a century, in both industrialised and developing societies. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. Please write to respond@indiaspend.org. The idea of using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in primary school is not new to the Indian education system. Also, given the multiplicity of languages and dialects in India, it is difficult to home in on the one that can be used as the medium of instruction in an area. If schools teach in local languages, families too can be involved in their child's education, said Parismita Singh, who works with a Pratham after-school programme that provides support to children in their mother tongue in tribal and non-tribal rural areas in Assam’s Kokrajhar and Chirang. Digital Editor. 3 0 obj %도도 The implementation of the Namibian language policy in education: Lower primary grades and pre-service teacher education Report on language policy research compiled by Karsten Legère, Richard Trewby and Mariana van Graan October 2000 But “the additional cost more than pays for itself through improved learning outcomes”, said Jhingran of the Language and Learning Foundation. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. In Southeast Asia, this is apparent in a rising number of educational programs that utilize this approach. “You can learn to read and write best in the language that you know. Topics However, this would need new books, fresh teacher training and more funding, experts said. For instance, in Guatemala, bilingual schooling, despite higher costs, ultimately led to savings of US $5 million a year (over Rs 374 million) because it reduced dropout and repetition, estimated this World Bank study from 1996. For example, in 2017-18, about 14% of those who were enrolled in private schools in India’s rural areas and 19.3% in urban areas chose a private school because English was the medium of instruction. Recently, in the educational reforms in the country, the mother tongue in the regions plays an important role especially in the educational system. Jhingran gave the example of Chhattisgarhi, which is spoken in 8-10 districts that could yield enough teachers proficient in the language and enough literature too -- and would be accepted by the community -- but is still not the medium of instruction in schools. If no teacher from the community fulfils this criteria, the government hires non-local teachers who are proficient in the local language and familiar with the culture. Odia is taught as the second language from Grade II and English from Grade III. India has several languages--the 2011 census identified 270 mother tongues--and classrooms might have children with more than one spoken language. The government also created bilingual dictionaries, textbooks, supplementary reading material and language handbooks in local languages such as Desia, Kuvi and Kui. Now, more than one school year after the start of its implementation, what have we learned from this program? Using the language the child is most comfortable with in the early school years improves attendance and learning outcomes, and the ability to learn new languages. <> As a premium subscriber you get an across device unfettered access to a range of services which include: Welcome to the premium services of Business Standard brought to you courtesy FIS. It also suggests incentives for teachers who know local languages especially in areas with high dropout rates and an overhaul of the curriculum to make it more engaging and useful. In 2007, the Odisha government introduced a programme in which the mother tongue of students from scheduled tribes is used as the medium of instruction in primary school. In addressing the challenges of finding a balance between mother tongue and standard English education, Carol Bloch from Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa argues that “unless conditions are appropriate, it is very difficult to learn a foreign language well enough to learn through it.” Tribal languages continue to be taught as subjects after primary school. We need all the other things to be in place to make any meaningful change,” said Bhattacharjea of ASER. the early years of a child‘s education. For multilingual education (MLE) to be successful, it has to be accompanied by pedagogical changes and trained teachers who can deal with several languages in the classroom and teach in the child’s mother tongue, Bhattacharjea said. But teaching in the mother tongue is not a silver bullet to solve the problem of low learning outcomes, cautioned Suman Bhattacharjea, the director of ASER Centre. Odisha is the only state to formally incorporate MLE into its education system, and that too only for its tribal areas. The question of mother-tongue education in South Africa remains a vexed one. This is very important especially in areas where she works, where many languages have non-standardised scripts that are not accepted by everyone in the community. Another challenge is selecting which mother tongues become the medium of instruction in a school and which do not. All students in Singapore primary and secondary schools are required to study their official Mother Tongue Language (MTL) - Chinese, Malay or Tamil. countries, which finds instruction in mother tongue to be correlated with higher school enrolment and attendance. This “is considered critical for purposes of national pride, self-confidence, self-knowledge, cooperation, and integration”. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics Mother Tongue-Based Instruction The learning programme is delivered entirely in children’s L1 endobj (Khaitan is a writer/editor with IndiaSpend.). Copyrights © 2020 Business Standard Private Ltd. All rights reserved. The regional language should be taught separately and should become the medium of instruction by the third year. C쇔X畢者腱輔冷-� �I?waV�8{枋�RF%┛5� �'J(�va�MGHKMΖ����O�a��0�lz�チ�녀���樣探鏞秘�MlF���@冪룀 �b�z,|�N� �hL�\超C軀Ve �n8p�G[8)K ��y���#邦�臺-�AΑ링e�m�E�爭�Jm���檻4.O�LN�h�*�'�3�N�f)簿�S륩艱K쐈gW#w�:5d�m��IL�+D�e>��e3�d�h�l漲����S���; 灐s��>訝潺�a�n象�n(_���A][�+�숴3�d�}��{�F���. “Language is extremely political,” said Singh of Pratham. This is a bigger challenge in areas that have seen ethnic violence in the past, she said. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. 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According to Noormohamadi (2008), mother tongue is essential for learning as part of intellectual ability. Article 350A of the Constitution states that every state and local authority should endeavour to provide “adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups”. It would also require teachers trained to teach in a multilingual classroom and new teachers fluent in these languages. <>/Metadata 336 0 R/ViewerPreferences 337 0 R>> The Eastern Cape education department has pioneered the implementation of Mother Tongue Based Bilingual Education (MTBBE) and wants other provinces to use it to replicate the success of the programme. “Hopefully as a result of this policy, things will change but saying that we want the medium of instruction to be the mother-tongue is only the first step. That is how it should be,” said Anil Swarup, former school education secretary in the central government. The commonest criticism of the policy to use the mother tongue in schools is that it widens the divide between those who can communicate in English and those who cannot. If you are taught in a language you don’t understand then comprehension doesn’t occur and results in rote memorisation and writing it out through copying,” explained Dhir Jhingran, a former Indian Administrative Services officer and the founder of Language and Learning Foundation, an organisation working with state governments in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Haryana to prepare study material in the local language and train teachers to use it. Introducing the local language as the medium of instruction should definitely be done in two situations--one in areas located along interstate borders and for migrant populations, said Jhingran. 1 0 obj “Where will the money come from?” asked Swarup. The 17 Abadzi, H. 2006. However, school children in this region very rarely have chances to receive their education in the mother tongue. In general, however, the longer a child is able to learn in and through his or her mother tongue(s) the greater the educational benefits that can be expected. To strengthen this, the Department of Education (DepEd) has implemented the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction (DepEd order No. “All efforts will be made early on to ensure that any gaps that exist between the language spoken by the child and the medium of teaching are bridged,” the NEP says. Community members can also be hired as teachers as they are fluent in the local language. We must start by making the mother tongue the medium of instruction in our schools, and certainly at the primary level. Real difficulties involved in the past, she said we must start by making the tongue! To Noormohamadi ( 2008 ), mother tongue or first language primary is. 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