Curriculum and instructional materials. All strong and successful MTB MLE programmes have the same basic goals for their students:
Language goals. Students will develop fluency and confidence in understanding, speaking, reading and writing their MT plus one or more official school languages for communication and for life-long learning.
Academic goals. Students will achieve the learning competencies established for each subject and each grade of primary school and will be prepared to continue learning in secondary school and beyond.
Socio-cultural goals. Students will love and respect their heritage language and culture and will respect and appreciate the languages, cultures and beliefs of people outside their community.
MTB MLE curriculum is based directly on learning competencies established by the government for“ mainstream” schools( i. e., schools for children who speak the official language as their MT) but adapted so it is appropriate for students who do not speak the official school language at home. Here are the main features of MTB MLE curriculum:
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Competencies for math, science, social studies and other academic subjects are the same as for mainstream schools. This is because both MT and mainstream students use a language they understand to learn those subjects.
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MTB MLE students’ MT is taught as a subject from the beginning to the end of primary school. Competencies focus first on helping students build listening and speaking skills and then on introducing and helping them build fluency in reading and writing their language.
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The official school language is also taught as a subject from the beginning to the end of primary school. Competencies are based on the recognition that students must learn to understand and speak the official school language before they can read and write it. So curriculum for early primary focuses on helping students build oral vocabulary and an understanding of the school language grammar. Curriculum for middle primary( often Grades 2-3 or 2-4) helps them“ bridge” between reading and writing their MT and reading and writing the school language. Curriculum for later primary prepares them for further education by expanding their“ everyday” and abstract oral language and helping them develop fluency in reading and writing longer and more complex texts.
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MTB MLE curriculum includes additional languages as mandated in the mainstream curriculum. However, strong MTB MLE programs delay introducing the additional languages so students have time to build a strong foundation in their MT and then the official school language before introducing the additional languages.
7 Students in this programme are expected to learn to speak, read and write five languages: Patani Malay, Thai,
English, Jawi Malay and standard Malay.
Booklet for Programme Implementers
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