Models of multilingual Education
Different models or programs of multilingual education are based on either intent
of assimilation or language maintenance.
Assimilation is movement away from home languages into dominant
languages ( e.g Filipino and English), relegating the home language as a
social language only.
Language maintenance education refers to supporting and developing home
language and cultural identity while learning additional languages ( Filipino
and English.)
Stagnant language maintenance aims to maintain language skills at the level
when entering education ( for example MT without MT literacy) to prevent
home language loss.
Developmental maintenance aims to develop learner MT to full proficiency
and full literacy equal to that of the dominant languages, leading to
multiculturalism and linguistic diversity.
Baker 2001 references ten 10 different aims of mother tongue-based multilingual
education:
1. To assimilate learners or communities into mainstream.
2. To create unity within a multi ethnic and multilingual society.
3. To develop proficiency in the global language or communicating with outsiders.
4. To develop marketable language skills.
5. To preserve ethnic and religious identity.
6. To reconcile and mediate different linguistic and political communities.
7. To spread the use of the colonial/global existence.
8. To strengthen elite groups and preserve their societal positions.
9. To create equal status by law to two socially unequal languages.
10. To strengthen understanding of language and culture.
Weak and Strong Forms of MLE
MLE (stands for Multilingual Education) is effective to recognizes the need of improving
the learner's first language in order to support all learning. When a learner understands
what the teacher is saying, he or she can absorb the lesson and learn the subject matter,
but ineffective multilingual education focuses on the learner's mother tongue just for a
short period, in order to boost second language learning.
Strong forms of MLE recognize the importance of developing the learner's first language
to support all learning well. When the learner understands what the teacher is saying he
or she is able to process the lesson and learn the subject matter. If the learner does not yet
understand well or speak well the language of the classroom, learning is slowed
significantly while the classroom language is in focus and academic content remains
irrelevant. Academic subject matter, second language learning, literacy development,
creativity and higher level thinking skills are all more easily facilitated when the learners'
mother tongue, or first language, is used as the language of instruction.
The example of this is When a Teacher is a Kapampangan and her students are also
Kapampangan she can use the Kapampangan language to deliver the lesson so that her
student can more understand the lesson.
In strong MLE programs the MT is considered a resource that does not hinder learning
other languages but rather contributes to development of second languages through
comprehension while supporting strong literacy development, academic development and
social identity by developing the MT (Cummins, 2001; Walter & Dekker 2011).
According to Baker 2001 the strong forms of MLE are additive in nature in that they add
new languages without subtracting or losing the first language and its associated culture
and identity.
Weak forms of multilingual education generally focus on the learner's mother tongue
only for a short time, in order to strengthen second language learning, or only in code-
switching. Thus the MT is not considered necessary for developing higher levels of
thinking or academic subjects but only as an auxiliary language to aid in initial second
language learning as opposed to a foundational language of learning. Without the MT as
language of instruction learners commonly take more time to master content According
to Cummins, 2001; Walter & Dekker, 2011. Research indicates that students achieve
higher scores and stay in school longer when they learn in a multilingual environment
that builds on their first language while developing second languages. This weak form of
education is commonly called assimilation (Baker 2001).
If Mother tongue does not exist as an instruction of learners it would be so hard for
students to understand their lessons and to communicate with their teachers. The example
of this is When a Teacher is Bisaya and she’s delivering a lesson by using the bisaya
language, and her student are Pure Kapampangan how come they will understand the
lesson.
Mother Tongue-Based Instruction
Mother tongue (the language which a person has grown up speaking from early
childhood also known as native language.) instruction generally refers to the use of the
learners’ mother tongue as the medium of instruction. Additionally, it can refer to the mother
tongue as a subject of instruction. It is considered to be an important component of quality
education, particularly in the early years (UNESCO, 2003: 13).
Mother Tongue education focuses on teaching learners through their mother tongue so
that learning occurs naturally and easily and is focused on the subject matter (conceptual
development) rather than on language learning alone (memorization and repetitive learning).
Students learn within the framework of their everyday knowledge are highly valued. This builds
strong academic achievement and self-confidence.
Benefits of Mother Tongue as Medium of Instruction; a) Children prefer learning in their
mother tongue. They are able to process the instruction faster since there is no need to
translate the concepts mentally, b) Children are less intimated to participate in school when
using their Mother Tongue. They are able to express themselves easily and freely, c) Teachers
are able to express the concept more at ease compared to using a foreign language, d) Children
learning in their Mother Tongue has been proven to perform better than children using a
foreign language, e) Children in multilingual education tend to develop better thinking skills
compared to monolingual children, f) Use of Mother Tongue helps preserve the heritage and
culture.
Concept Development focuses on strategies the teacher uses to promote children's
higher-order thinking skills and cognition. It is the method of a teacher uses to get children to
think about the how and why of learning. Memorization and repetitive learning or Rote learning
is the memorization of information based on repetition. Memorization isn’t the most effective
way to learn, but it’s a method of many students and teachers still use.
Advantage of Rote Learning; a) Ability to quickly recall basic facts, b) Helps develop
foundational knowledge. Disadvantage of Rote Learning; a) Can be repetitive, b) Easy to lose
focus, c) Doesn’t allow for a deeper understanding of a subject, d) Doesn’t encourage the use of
social skills, e) No connection between new and previous knowledge, f) May result in wrong
impression or understanding a concept.
Summary
In the Philippines however, students as early as Grade one are exposed and are encour-
aged to use English especially in their learning environment. This comes with the belief
that these students succeed if they are able to communicate in English. The primary rea-
son of which is to make our graduates fully equipped with the needed concept and skills
in order to become employable across borders. Research findings reveal that the use of
the mother tongue help our students attain this goal because they are not inhibited to
express their ideas and opinion thus, flow of thought is encouraged. This is supported by
Cummins 1996 when he said that the use of native tongue supports understanding and
in the development of their critical thinking. The K to12 program which was imple-
mented in the Philippines in 2012, emphasized the use of the mother tongue both as
subject and as a medium of instruction in Kindergarten, Grades one, two and three.
Thereafter, English is used. This has engendered various reactions especially on the
teachers handling the subject and using it as a medium. Having implemented it for three
years, the researchers would like to find out its successes and challenges.
Concept Development, Research Review By Patricia Bogdanovich August 18,
2014
According to Patricia. In Concept Development, you explicitly teach the students
the concept, what it is, the generalization, the big idea. The Concept includes a written,
bulletproof definition, along with examples and non-examples (if applicable).
Rote learning is the process of memorizing in order to be able to remember material
verbatim. Here, data is stored in the brain without necessarily understanding it. One
should be able to recall material quicker the more one repeats it. Rote memorization
isn’t considered higher-level thinking or critical thinking since students don’t learn how
to think, analyze or solve problems with this type of learning.
B. Miller Last Modified Date: February 22, 2022
According to Miller. There are some pros to rote learning, primarily that students
are able to quickly recall these basic facts when asked. The downside is that with a lack
of critical thinking application, students may have trouble applying the facts they have
learned to real-world situations. They may also not really understand the more
advanced concepts behind the memorization. The cons to using rote learning with more
advanced subjects are generally that students may immediately forget the facts they
have learned after the test, and may not fully understand the concepts to begin with.
For instance, if a student is studying a piece of literature and knows he or she needs to
memorize the character's names, the setting, and other basic facts for a test, he will
probably not have a very deep understanding of the actual meaning of the work. He will
then likely forget all the other facts shortly anyway.
References;
https://www.ijern.com/journal/2016/March-2016/12.pdf
https://dataworks-ed.com/blog/2014/08/concept-development-what-it-is-and-why-it-is-
relevant/
https://tophat.com/glossary/r/rote-learning/
https://www.practicaladultinsights.com/what-are-the-pro-and-cons-of-rote-learning.htm
