Mother Tongue-based Literacy Programmes: Case Studies of Good ...

Kveart Sren - Bilingual Literacy StudentMy name is Kveart Sren. I was born on April 10th, 1978, inBu Tru village, Mondulkiri Province. I have one brother andthree sisters, and I am the oldest in my family. When I wasa child, I did not go to school because my family was verypoor and also my village had no school building or teacher,yet. In 1990, when I was twelve years old, my father diedand my mother moved to Bu Lung village.When I was 22 years old, I attended a literacy class. I studiedonly one year and after that I left my literacy class to workand support my family. I work very hard, tending to my ricefields and keeping my animals. In 2005, I came back to literacy class one more time, butthis time it was a Bunong-Khmer bilingual literacy class. I knew this class was supported byUNESCO and MoEYS. I was interested in this new class because, as you know, my languageis Bunong. When I studied only Khmer with a Khmer teacher, it was difficult to understandwhat my teacher said, but now it is better for me and for the other students. We can learneasier and clearer than last time, because now we learn with a local teacher (from theminority Bunong people) who can speak Bunong and explain clearly all the content in thebooks, which are in the Bunong language.Today, I can read and write in the Bunong language. I am very happy that the MoEYS andUNESCO enabled me and my people to learn in my language first and Khmer second. Thisis the first time in my life and for our community. I try to learn more and more becausethe books used for literacy classes tell about the history of our community and cultureand they also teach me about agriculture, health and business. I try to learn to be a goodwoman that can read and write in both Bunong and Khmer in order to help my communityin the future. If MoEYS and UNESCO would like to meet me, please contact me at Bu Lungprimary school in Bu Lung village, Rumnea commune, Senmonorum district.For the long term, it is too early to make any general statements about the impact these classes mayhave on life improvement and poverty alleviation; yet, the skills that the learners are acquiring have greatpotential to make a difference in their lives. Apart from the knowledge gained from life skills lessons(such as hygiene, environmental issues, animal health, and agriculture), their ability to communicatein written form about land rights or medical information has great potential. The opportunity to meetand discuss community problems also opens the door for reflection and problem-solving within thecommunity context. The Fluency Primer, for example, provides information on key socio-economictopics, such as land-law, income generation, and agriculture. These are then discussed as a group topromote community and individual decision-making and self-improvement.[ 65 ]