This was the problem in the Philippines before 2009 when the government officially recognized and supported MTB MLE in the formal education system . When parents in one language community were asked how their children were doing in school , they reported that
The children feel out of place . They ask us questions at home in our language that they were ashamed to ask in the classroom because the teacher speaks to them only in Filipino and English ( Parent of a Grade 1 child in the Philippines ; in Malone , 2001 , p . 10 ).
When teachers use only the official school language in the classroom , the unspoken message for minority language children is that their home language is not “ good enough ” to be used in school . When lessons focus on the dominant culture and ignore all that the students know and have experienced in their home and community , the message is that their own culture and their life experiences have no value . Of course , some minority language students do manage to succeed in spite of the many barriers to learning in dominant language-only schools . But the cost is too high for too many of them . To be successful in the dominant language and culture they must abandon their own .
Q2
What are the challenges to MTB MLE and what has been done to overcome them ?
People who support MTB MLE in different parts of the world encounter many challenges as they try to plan and implement strong programmes . Here are a few of the challenges :
MTB MLE RESOURCE KIT Including the Excluded : Promoting Multilingual Education
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People think that MTB MLE is not necessary . (“ Everyone in this country understands the school language . It ’ s our national language !”)
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People think that MTB MLE is impossible . (“ There are too many minority languages !” Or , “ Some languages do not have an alphabet !”)
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There is no language and education policy that provides official support for MTB MLE so local , district or provincial officials who do not understand its purpose and benefits can force schools to cancel their MTB MLE programmes .
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There is an MTB MLE policy but it allows only weak programmes that move students out of their MT and into the official language too quickly . As a result , students do not have time to build the strong foundation in reading and writing their MT that will help them learn the official language ( s ) and other subjects successfully .
• • There is an MTB MLE policy and it does allow for strong programmes but it does not provide the necessary funding or assign responsibility for planning and implementing the programme components that are necessary for success and sustainability .
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