by KEVIN CARLO ABILA, UV-4L
12:55 pm | Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
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The many whats, whos and whys of MTB-MLE
[Image courtesy of love4mathed.com]
MANILA,
Philippines- With a total of 921 schools from all-over the country pioneering
the Mother Tongue approach, DepEd organized a team of trainers that will
facilitate the program for each region.
The Department of Education, in collaboration with the
Basic Education Assistance in Mindanao, Third Elementary Education Program,
Translators Association of the Philippines, Save the Children Foundation, and
the Summer Institute of Linguistics, has organized a team, composed of
education supervisors, as trainers of the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual
Education approach (MTB-MLE), also known as Mother tongue approach.
The teams will be the over-all in-charge of the flow of
the said program for every region. They will facilitate orientations for
division heads and school teachers regarding the terms of the program. A series
of lectures and trainings will be held this coming summer to assess the MTB-MLE
approach during its first year of implementation along with K-12 curriculum.
DepEd Secretary Almin Luistro said the team will include
trainers for kindergarten level since the reforms will start at this stage.
They will be updating the department of developments regarding the program.
Opportunity
to Infuse Culturalism
Considering the Philippines as a culturally and
linguistically diverse country, the provisions of Mother Tongue approach
affirms the importance of major dialects in teaching and studying.
An improvement on previous educational initiatives,
MTB-MLE attests the importance of using dialects for young students and has
proven to infuse language and cultural development among others. DepEd added
the program eases the process of learning and at the same time, helping to
conserve the “dying” dialects of the country.
Future
Prospects
Meanwhile, the education department will assess the
developments and effectiveness of the program yearly. It will seek out new
plans for further implementation.
Under the Senate Bill No. 3286, entitled “An Act
Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening its Curriculum
and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds
Therefor and other Purposes”, Sec. 9 tells the future plans and hopes for the
program.
An amended version of Sec. 9 of SB No. 3286
follows:
- Section
9. Medium of Teaching and Learning.- The mother tongue of the learner, also
known as the first language (L1), home language, native language, or vernacular
shall be the primary medium of instruction for teaching and learning from
kindergarten to Grade 6 of the elementary education. The DepEd in coordination
with the Commission of Indigenous Peoples, academic institutions, and research
organizations concerned with education and languages, shall formulate a
mother-tongue-based multilingual framework, which shall include a gradual introduction
of other languages in preparation for higher levels.
The
amended version mentioned Grade 6 instead of Grade 3 because the education
department still plans further extension and changes of the program for
evaluation
Saviour of K-12?
With
the current situations and problems of K-12, DepEd Undersecretary Yolanda
Quijano is confident that mother tongue will help boost the confidence over
K-12.
With
just a span of a year, Quiajano said drop-out rates decreased as students from
pioneering schools stayed in class. Schools found out students tend to drop-out
classes because of the lack of understanding of lessons. Now that lessons are
translated in their own dialects, more students stay and even excel in class.
Quijano
added that by the end of the school year, they will see current statistics to
determine if mother tongue really helps in addressing these problems.
What will happen the next
sem?
Filipino
would still be included in the first semester of Grade 1 for speaking, and
English will be introduced as a subject in the second semester. For writing and
reading purposes, both subjects will be taught in the second semester of Grade
1.
For more information/background of Mother Tongue approach I recommend the following:
* DepEd Order No. 16 s. 2012
* Mother Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education in Philippine Schools
* Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education -- A Key to Quality Education
* 06 Case-Philippines-Lubuagan
* K-12 Provisions for MTB-MLE
* Mother tongue education finds methods in teaching indigenous language
* Second Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Conference in the Philippines
* Mother Tongue-Based MLE Conference in the Philippines
* K to 12, bakit native tongue ang advise ng DepEd?
* Mother Tongue Based Education in the Philippines
* REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10157
Want to see an example of an actual lesson and review about K-12? Please refer to the links below.
MLE-Philippines Video
MLE Overview
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