Parkari G2 students create stories in Sindhi, their first official school language.( Pakistan) © Sindh Literacy and Development Program, Pakistan
They learn additional languages as required in the curriculum. Many MTB MLE students are required to learn three or more languages in primary school. The process for learning each new language follows the same basic steps as for learning the official school language.
Below are the other essential features of MTB MLE classrooms:
MTB MLE RESOURCE KIT Including the Excluded: Promoting Multilingual Education
Teachers use only the students’ MT for instruction in early primary( usually to the end of Grade 2). Young MTB MLE students learn successfully and gain confidence because they use their MT to learn and apply new concepts as they are also learning to speak, read and write the school language.
Teachers use the MT and the official school language for instruction in middle to upper primary( usually Grades 3-5). When students have gained confidence in using the official school language to talk about familiar topics, teachers use it with the MT for teaching math, science and other academic subjects:
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They introduce a new concept in the MT and provide an activity that helps students understand it.
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They carefully introduce 1-3 important academic terms( Examples in English: solar system, planet) relating to the new concept in the official school language. Then they use the terms as they briefly review the concept, speaking carefully and checking that students understand. They provide a short team activity relating to the new concept and encourage students to use their new language as they work together.
• • They finish the lesson with a short review of the concept in the MT, checking again to make sure students understood the concept.
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