Foreword
Multilingual communities are among the most vibrant in Asia-Pacific and yet education systems in many countries rarely reflect this rich cultural and linguistic diversity in their classrooms . Children who are forced to learn in a language other than their mother tongue often face significant difficulties in accessing , completing and benefitting from formal education . Full access to inclusive quality education in the learner ’ s first language is an essential condition for peace , sustainable development , poverty reduction , economic growth , decent employment , gender equality and responsible global citizenship . Unfortunately , most of the region ’ s education systems fail to recognize or understand the role that bi / multilingual education can play in increasing enrolment , retention and achievement .
UNESCO Bangkok developed the Advocacy Kit for Promoting Multilingual Education : Including the Excluded in 2007 to help remove barriers for children from non-dominant language communities in accessing , completing and benefitting from a quality basic education . The Advocacy Kit was intended to serve as a tool that policy makers , education practitioners , specialists and ethnic minority language speakers could use to raise awareness on the importance of mother tongue-based multilingual education ( MTB MLE ). The kit has been widely translated , adapted and used throughout the region .
MTB MLE RESOURCE KIT Including the Excluded : Promoting Multilingual Education
There have been many changes in the MTB MLE field in recent years as a result of new research studies , policy developments and implementation practices . There is much to share about MTB MLE . The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) provides us with the ideal opportunity to do so . The original Advocacy Kit has been updated to reflect the new agenda and to make it more relevant to country efforts in planning , integrating and implementing SDG4-Education 2030 and other relevant SDGs within existing national plans and strategies .
This updated MTB-MLE Resource Kit is a comprehensive , in-depth and insightful tool emphasizing that the mother tongue approach is at the heart of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all . It advocates making education systems more responsive to cultural and linguistic diversity and provides a plethora of insights and recommendations for developing MTB MLE programmes that respect the rights of children and learners . It also encourages readers to think about the importance of language issues and to investigate them further . This updated MTB MLE Resource Kit builds on research findings and experiences gained over many years by many organizations and individuals working in this field . It is my hope that vi