Good practices in mother-tongue first multilingual education Catherine MB Young 2nd International Conference on Language Development, Language Revitalisation and Multilingual Education Bangkok, July 2008

What are the desired outcomes of mother tongue based MLE? A responsive system to address local and national needs Equity and access to quality education opportunities for all – in the multiple languages of the nation Retention of learners in school Maintenance of heritage language and culture Non-academic outcomes of education

Begin in the mother tongue of the learner and promote full, continuing literacy in the mother tongue and oral and literacy skills in the additional languages of education. It is found that the most effective programmes maintain the use of the mother tongue for as long as possible – up to six years or longer. The first language of the learner should be used not only for basic literacy but also to support transfer of learning to additional languages throughout schooling.

Not just language of instruction but … WHAT is taught? WHO teaches? WHY something is taught? HOW it is taught? WHICH materials are used to teach? WHEN and for HOW LONG does teaching happen? Reflective process of teaching -

Components of a sustainable MLE programme

Good practices … What are the strategies that have been adopted in SE Asian mother tongue first MLE programmes that have proven to be successful? How can we learn from innovative programmes that have begun in the region?

Programme planning Participatory methods Parents and other stakeholders understand the rationale and principles of MT-first MLE. Reliable, sustainable funding sources

Orthography development Acceptable within language community Acceptable to government – systematic, multi-agency approaches Supportive for transfer between languages

Curriculum development Develop standards and indicators for multilingual education based on national curriculum guidelines Supportive for transfer to other school systems Include themes and topics that are reflective of learners everyday life.

Instructional materials Reflective of culture and world view of learners. Able to be used by teachers with limited formal training Supportive for transfer between languages

Literature development Materials that begin with the experiences of the learners Methods replicable in the community for sustainable literature development to support programme expansion Materials that preserve and develop the culture and values of the language community.

Teacher identification and training Teachers who are respected by the local community Cascading training through approaches which train trainers Training for educational administrators and supervisors

What are the indicators of strong MLE programmes? Time Training Tools

Time Challenges we have observed …. Short, early-exit programmes Rapid implementation (short preparatory phase) Short pilot programmes Thai – “successfully and quickly”!

Training Awareness raising for parents and other community stakeholders Training for teachers in MLE specific pedagogical and curriculum issues Training for teachers from minority language communities Training for educational administrators or supervisors How to train key personnel to run projects in other parts of Thailand. (How can training be “cascaded” to different partners.) Lao PDR creative model for equipping teachers from minority language communities

Tools Multi-agency process towards an agreed writing system Reading materials in L1 to promote reading fluency as a foundation for skills transfer Advocacy and awareness raising strategies for stakeholders Testing, evaluation and documentation procedures

How do we get there? Systematic, theoretically grounded practices Appropriately funded innovation Clear processes for moving to “scale”. Information to ensure shared understanding of reasons for implementation Training (initial and on-going) to support practice – teachers, administrators, others Classroom materials for students and teachers Initial language acquisition studies and second language acquisition studies outline the ways in which children acquire and develop basic interpersonal communication skills in their L1 and the ability to use languages for academic purposes. Concentrated Language Encounters – language experience approach - If huge sums of money are poured into pilot programmes through external sources in order to develop systems, what processes are maintained in order to expand that innovation

Supportive language and education policies that… Provide clear, non-conflicting legal status and support for ethnic minority languages, Institutionalise infrastructures for implementation and support of MLE programmes in both formal and non-formal education systems Non-conflicting … what are the policies and practices of the National Textbook Board-equivalent, the teacher training institutions, post-qualification training given to teachers, training given by external national, international and multilateral organisations. How money/budget is allocated for innovation and practice? Also, international statements and positions to which your nations are signators .. Particularly in situations where decentralisation is encouraged, important to analyse ways in which policies are mutually supportive. Conversation – need for non-conflicting and mutually supportive social development and economic policies – social, political and economic participation. Infrastructures at multiple levels – local language committees (community input in decision making on the use of the local languages in education), regional level, national level etc.

Conclusion Need for documentation, monitoring and evaluation processes to develop replicable approaches that can be shared, adopted and adapted between nations in the SEAMEO region and beyond.

Conclusion Need for documentation, monitoring and evaluation processes to develop replicable approaches that can be shared, adopted and adapted between nations in the SEAMEO region and beyond.