Part 1 : Purposes , benefits and essential features of MTB MLE
When students have solid knowledge developed in their mother tongue , they can learn Vietnamese faster and better . The MOET has assigned its best and most experienced specialists to work on the Action Research on MTBBE in cooperation with UNICEF , and we recognize that this approach is an effective solution for ethnic minority education ( Le Tien Thanh , Director , Primary Education Department , MOET , in UNICEF 2012 . p . 6 ).
Q1
What is the educational situation for children in many minority language communities ?
Children from minority language communities often face significant educational challenges :
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If they have access to a school — many do not — their teachers use a language they do not understand and they are not allowed to use their home language or mother tongue ( MT ) in the classroom or on the school grounds .
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If their school has textbooks — many do not — they are written in the official school language and focus on the dominant culture . The students ’ own knowledge and experience , gained at home and in their community , are excluded from the classroom .
•• They are expected to learn to read and write in a language they do not yet understand .
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They are expected to learn new math , science and other concepts in a language they do not understand or are in the process of learning .
For these students , school is an unfamiliar place teaching unfamiliar concepts in an unfamiliar language . Teachers who do not speak the students ’ home language may think their students are “ slow ” because they have trouble understanding the lessons . Without support from their teachers , many students become frustrated and discouraged . The fact that more than 50 percent of the world ’ s out-of-school children come from minority language communities is not surprising when we consider the difficulties that those children encounter in schools that use only a dominant language .
Booklet for Policy Makers
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