Part I.pdf - MTB-MLE Network

“The most important conclusion from the research and experience reviewed in this paper isthat when learning is the goal, including that of learning a second language, the child’s firstlanguage (i.e. his or her mother tongue) should be used as the medium of instruction in theearly years of schooling. ... The first language is essential for the initial teaching of reading,and for comprehension of subject matter. It is the necessary foundation for the cognitivedevelopment upon which acquisition of the second language is based.” (Dutcher & Tucker1996, p. 36)UNICEF’s Annual Report 1999 takes a similar position:“There is ample research showing that students are quicker to learn to read and acquire otheracademic skills when first taught in their mother tongue. They also learn a second languagemore quickly than those initially taught to read in an unfamiliar language. ... Earlymother-tongue instruction is a key strategy to reach the more than 130 million children notin school – and help them succeed.” (UNICEF 1999, 41, 45)UNICEF’s comparative study on “high-achieving countries” (Mehrotra 1998) shows some negativeresults of not using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. The study discovered benefitsof mother tongue education as well.“In a situation where the parents are illiterate…, if the medium of instruction in school isa language that is not spoken at home, the problems of learning in an environment characterizedby poverty are compounded, and the chances of drop-out increase correspondingly. In thiscontext, the experience of the high-achievers (nations) has been unequivocal: the mothertongue was used as the medium of instruction at the primary level in all cases.” (Mehrotra1998, 12-13)Although the findings of the study just cited are based on the comparison of national cases, thepoints made may apply to situations within countries, as well. Another study (CAL 2001) attemptedto identify successful cases in which a language other than the one spoken by linguistic minoritieshad been used in their early education.“In researching this report, we looked for – programmes where the language of widercommunication had been used successfully for initial education. We did not find any suchexamples in programmes addressing underserved groups of the developing world. This isnot surprising. When parents are not literate – and when children and adults never hear[the language of wider communication] except in the classroom, children are unable to learn,repeat their grades, and drop out of school before reaching Grade 3 of the primary cycle.”(CAL 2001, 19-20)Williams’ (1998) study in two African countries provides credible evidence for the benefits of usinglearners’ first language in early literacy and primary education. This study compared students afterfour years of schooling. The students in Malawi had received education through the medium oftheir home language, whereas the students in Zambia were taught through the medium of English,a common medium of instruction in many African countries, but not the mother tongue of mostchildren. Both groups of students were mother tongue speakers of basically the same language.The level of English reading proficiency was found to be about the same in both groups, but the88