TACLOBAN CITY – The implementation of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) does not mean that teaching with the use of English and Filipino language among students will be replaced with the local dialect.
The MBMLE is part of the curriculum of the K+12 program of the government.
Virgilia Dubleo, DepEd testing coordinator, clarified that English and Filipino language will still be used as a medium of instruction, but this program which will be using the local dialect of each place, Waray, for instance, in some places in the region will only be implemented first among Kindergarten and Grade 1 pupils.
Dubleo added that at the initial start of its implementation MTBMLE will be implemented “orally” to attract pupils to listen to discussion as educators noticed that most young school age children cannot comprehend or understand foreign languages used for teaching at their tender age.
“There are kindergarten pupils who cannot easily comprehend the English language although there are families who use that language as their form of conversation but their percentage in our population is only minimal, that is why we need to use the native tongue first as our medium of teaching among younger learners,” Dubleo explained.
In 2009, DepEd under the leadership of former DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus issued Department Order 74 Series of 2009 stating that MLE is an effective way in addressing problem of literacy and instruction as it was proved by various local and international research stating that first learner learns more when they are taught to read and write first in their native tongue and they can easily understand and comprehend when taught with second and third language which makes them acquire more competencies unlike those taught immediately with the second and third language.
Dubleo added that said Department Order was supposed to be implemented in 2010, but its implementation was temporarily suspended due to the studies conducted by education department to ensure that said program is really beneficial among learners.
In the city of Tacloban, the MTBMLE program will be implemented in five selected schools with Kindergarten program.
Teachers from identified pilot schools will be trained this summer on the approach and ways of teaching that they need to use in their class.
The implementation of MBMLE to the present educational system of the country is bolstered with the studies conducted by the education department and its partner sectors concluding that with the usage of foreign language as medium of teaching among Kindergarten.
Dubleo added that the program is also based on the philosophy that teaching a child should be started on its origin.
She added that program is also part of introducing school children to the culture, history and old words of areas.
“There are terms or words that were used before by our ancestors that are used at present time, this are things that we wanted to revive with the introduction of the mother tongue based of teaching, to make the children closer to our culture and history,” Dubleo explained.
The implementation of an MLE based teaching at basic education is supported by a House Bill proposed by Valenzuela City Representative Magtanggol Gunigundo through HB 162 also known as the “The Multi-Lingual Education and Literacy Act of 2010.”
Based on the said proposed House Bill, the child’s first language shall be the primary medium of instruction in all subjects from pre-school up to the end of the child’s elementary education.
The first language, English and Filipino, shall be taught as separate subjects at the elementary level and starting from Grade IV, English and Filipino shall be gradually introduced as MOI in some parts of the elementary school curriculum.
In the secondary level, English and Filipino shall be the MOI. The first language shall be used as auxiliary medium while in the tertiary level, the current language policy as prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) shall be retained.
The proposed bill also states that “all the requirements, devices and support facilities necessary to strengthen, enhance and develop mother tongue instruction such as trainings and orientations for teachers, teachers’ manuals, learning modules, textbooks, audio-visual aides, and other auxiliary teaching and learning materials shall be formulated, developed and provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) and by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) and the corresponding budgetary requirements shall be released by the Department of Budget and Management with an initial funding of P100 Million each for DepEd and KWF and an increase of 5% thereon in the succeeding fiscal year for the next 10 years. (ROEL AMAZONA)
No comments:
Post a Comment