Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

Linguistic Diversity in South-East Asia
The sixth column of Table 1 provides figures for the total number of languages spoken in each
South-East Asian country. Figure 2 displays the same data in a graphic format. The data shows
that there are no monolingual nations in the region. In every country, at least 17 languages are
spoken, as in Brunei. On the other hand, more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia, about
200 in China, and 100-200 languages in Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
4. Regional Trends in the Use of Local Languages in Education
General Situation in the Region
This section sums up the trends regarding the use of local languages in basic education in
South-East Asia and China. Earlier discussion explored the language issue in eleven countries. In
most of these countries, local languages are used in education, but the extent varies significantly.
China provides the most elaborate forms and widest range of models of education in local languages.
Larger LWCs, as well as smaller local languages, are used at various levels of education – in some
cases, up to the university level. However, not all minorities in China receive equal support, and
many ethnolinguistic minorities in China are not any better off than most minority groups in
South-East Asia.
No country in South-East Asia has such elaborate systems as China for including local languages
in education. Of all eleven nations discussed in this article, mother tongue-based bilingual education
can actually be found only in China, although there are promising pilot projects in other countries,
such as those in Cambodia. In Malaysia, mother tongue-based bilingual education is provided only
in major languages such as Mandarin Chinese and Tamil. Generally, “bilingual education” in
South-East Asia means education in the national language and English. Cases of this can be found
in Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, and to some extent, Malaysia. Oral use of local languages
is fairly common in all countries. There is no documented evidence from all countries, but it can
be assumed that if minority students do not understand the medium of instruction, and if the teacher
and her/his students have another common language, that language is used for classroom interaction
and explaining the subject matter. A recent study from Tanzania and South Africa found that, despite
the official language policy, teachers and students use languages with which they are most comfortable
(Brock-Utne & Holmarsdottir 2004).
Benson (2003, 22) uses the concept of “foot-in-the-door” strategies, meaning “measures that can
be taken to facilitate a gradual process of change in classroom languages and interaction.” Such
strategies include the authorized use of oral mother tongue in classrooms, the use of the mother
tongue in preschools, short-cut transitional bilingual education, the mother tongue as a school subject,
and NFE and literacy programmes in the mother tongue. Further language development in minority
languages and continuing participatory development of reading materials in local languages could
be added to this list, as well. In most South-East Asian countries, some foot-in-the-door strategies
are apparent. For instance, in Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, a gradual process towards potential
mother tongue-based bilingual education is taking place. In these countries, as well as in other
parts of the world, such a process has usually started with community and NGO efforts in adult
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