Introduction
This booklet for policy makers describes the purposes , benefits and principles for establishing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education ( MTB MLE ) programmes for children who are not yet fluent in the official language of education when they begin school . Why do UNESCO , UNICEF , UNDP , the World Bank , numerous international organizations and many national governments support MTB MLE ? They support it because they have seen that it works ! Here is what one well-respected researcher has written about bilingual / multilingual education :
40 + years of research from countries around the world have provided a solid basis for planning bilingual education programs .
Bilingual programs have demonstrated “ proof of concept ” both for developing fluency and literacy in two languages for linguistic minority and majority students and for promoting academic achievement among subordinated group students ... ( Cummins , 2008 ).
Background to the current MTB MLE movement
In 1990 , government officials from 155 countries met in Thailand for the first “ World Conference on Education for All ”. During that conference , they identified the actions that governments should take to ensure that all children and adults in their countries have access to quality education ( UNESCO , 1990 ).
In 2000 , government officials from 164 countries met in Senegal for the second “ Education for All ” ( EFA ) conference . Once again , delegates agreed on the activities that governments should take to support EFA . Special emphasis at the second EFA conference was on primary school-age children , including those who have traditionally lacked access to formal education ( UNESCO , 2000 ).
Also in 2000 , in a meeting at the United Nations ( UN ) headquarters in the USA , leaders of 189 countries agreed to work together to achieve eight “ Millennium Development Goals ” ( MDGs ) by 2015 . Goal 2 called on governments to “ Ensure that by 2015 , children everywhere , boys and girls alike , will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling ” ( United Nations , 2000 )
By 2010 , however , it was clear that few governments would achieve the Education for All priorities or Goal 2 of the MDGs by the target date of 2015 . The Working Group on EFA identified the problem :
Booklet for Policy Makers
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