Part II.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

5. Conclusions
In all South-East Asian countries except Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR and Singapore, local languages
are used in education at least to some extent. Brunei and Singapore use several languages as the
media of instruction in the government education system, whereas Lao PDR uses only the national
language. However, it can be assumed that local languages are used orally also in these countries.
In Myanmar, only the non-governmental sector provides local language education, and only in
non-formal education. The use of local languages in Cambodia and Thailand is still at the beginning
stages in some pilot projects. In Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam, local languages
are being used in various ways, but only in a few cases as the medium of instruction.
Research and practical experiences from around the world demonstrate that the use of local languages
in education is feasible. Curriculum development and materials production in local languages can
be cost-effective. Innovative teaching and learning practises, and the use of native speakers of
local languages as teachers, can help alleviate challenges that may seem to hinder the provision of
education in the mother tongue. Local language education can be provided in ways that are not
necessarily much more expensive than other basic education, particularly if education provided also
reduces minority student retention and attrition rates (CAL 2001; Dutcher & Tucker 1996; Klaus
2003a, 2003b; Litteral 1999; Obanya 1999; Patrinos & Velez 1996; Tucker 1998). This is an extremely
important point, as a common argument against bilingual and multilingual education is its assumed
costliness.
Furthermore, there is sufficient evidence to prove that all languages can be written, and consequently
used, in education. Numerous cases from South-East Asia and around the world demonstrate that
collaboration of local communities and linguists can produce viable writing systems for previously
unwritten languages, or further develop languages that already have tentative writing systems. The
use of newly written languages in education, however, usually requires also the contribution of
education specialists. The initial language development of a previously unwritten language can be
expensive, but cooperation between local communities, academics, NGOs, civil society organizations,
various donor agencies, as well as national governments, enable this to happen even in small language
communities. Language development can be economically viable through cooperation (e.g. Klaus
2003a, 2003b; Litteral 1999; Robinson 1999; UNESCO 2003b). The principle of collaboration
applies to all parts of local language education.
Most members of ethnolinguistic minority communities in South-East Asia have to start their education
in a language they neither understand nor speak. Lessons learned elsewhere in the use of local
languages could certainly be adapted to these contexts. Biliteracy and mother tongue-based bilingual
education benefit particularly those who are monolingual in a local language or who have an
insufficient knowledge of the currently used medium of instruction. Consequently, it is imperative
to search for different options that could be considered viable for alleviating the constraints of
ethnolinguistic minority education in South-East Asia. This would benefit hundreds of minority
communities and tens of millions of people.
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