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Essay / Evaluation of Mother Tongue Education Policies in Southeast Asia
Table of ContentsIntroduction and Problem BackgroundProblem StatementCurrent PoliciesAlternative SolutionsPolicy RecommendationSummary and ConclusionIntroduction and Problem BackgroundBy the time children start school, they have started to gain confidence in their ability to communicate meaningfully in their native language. They built a foundation of knowledge and experiences by observing and interacting with their peers and adults in their community. Their language skills are of no use to them because their language has no place in the classroom. Instead, textbooks and teaching are provided in a language they neither speak nor understand. Their learning and problem-solving experiences and knowledge of "how things work" in their own culture and social environment do not serve them because the culture of the classroom, teachers, and textbooks is that of the dominant society. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayAcross the world, approximately 7,000 languages are spoken, but only 300 widespread languages are spoken by the majority of the population. In education, language is an essential factor because it constitutes the means of communication for most learning activities. Thus, the vital role that language plays in the classroom has sparked debates about which language is best used. Many countries have attempted to create different language policies in education that would meet not only the needs of learners but also the requirements of preserving the country's native languages. So, Filipinos should be more numerous if they use the native language of our country. country. Thus, the emergence of mother-tongue teaching has given rise to much recent research that suggests the benefits of using a learner's native language. Problem Statement The policy objectives and expected outcomes of the DepEd MTB-MLE are comprehensive and research-based, but the challenge arises in implementation. Likewise, this is true in other countries around the world where students' native languages are used in classrooms as part of small-scale efforts rather than national reforms. A few countries have attempted to implement national multilingual education policies, but have encountered the enormity of the task. Researchers argue that top-down approaches do not take into account the contextualized nature of language in communities. Therefore, the implementation of MTB-MLE in the Philippines is questioned regarding its feasibility as a national approach. A faulty assumption of top-down policy approaches is that the mandate will be respected simply because the order has been issued. This belief was evident during a conversation with a DepEd supervisor in February 2010 during a visit to the Philippines for pre-thesis research. When the supervisor was asked if teachers and parents would support the new reform, she responded in a surprised voice, “of course.” They just will. It's an order. The centralized system in the Philippines has fostered strong power differentials between local actors and government officials. This has given rise to 6 assumptions from those above, that individuals below will undoubtedly comply. While top-down policy approaches hold great power potential. Previous studies have highlighted the challenge faced when mother tongue education programs confront local ideologiesfavoring English. This contrasts with the objectives of the MTB-MLE and creates a risk of conflict regarding its implementation. 7 Policies that are highly ambiguous and conflicting may require greater grassroots involvement to be sustainable and effective. In the case of MTB-MLE, very little consideration was given to the views of those on the ground, namely teachers and parents. On the contrary, they are more often seen as “soldiers” of the system carrying out the orders given to them. Despite the assumption that reform is implemented in accordance with explicit policy statements, previous research has suggested that policies are interpreted and appropriated differently depending on the context. Although the MTB-MLE National Policy Statement (the Policy) aims to integrate mother tongue education throughout the country, the actual implementation (the Policy) likely differs from community to community. This highlights the importance of teachers and parents in the policy process because, in essence, their actions constitute policy. Contrary to the assertion made above by the DepEd supervisor, they cannot do it – they just do it when it comes to implementation. attempt to resolve the issue of promoting or using MTB-MLE in order to debate which native language to use. These questions led this article to study mother tongue-based multilingual education. The article examined 30 different research articles and reviews from developing countries in Asia and Africa with the aim of providing an in-depth understanding of different language in education policies and language-based teaching kindergarten in selected countries. The study also explored the various challenges and pedagogical implications of mother tongue-based teaching in order to synthesize emerging issues and ideas. As a result, socio-political and educational problems were discovered, including the devaluation of a nation's native language due to the negative outlook of its population and poor political planning highlighted by different authors. It is also worth noting that most of these developing communities understand the importance of English as a language of globalization. Due to these issues, integrating both the importance of establishing mother tongue education and strengthening the English language in the education system would be two important considerations in policy planning. Alternative solutions They therefore suggested that they should be reserved for policies with little ambiguity and little conflict. Low-ambiguity policies are easy to interpret, and low-conflict policies are unlikely to generate resistance to implementation. They compared a policy of this nature to a machine in which explicit information flows from one level to another. He argued that top-down approaches are better suited to policies of a technical and administrative nature. Their success must essentially be ensured provided that appropriate resources are allocated. The MTB-MLE reform guidelines in the Philippines contain great ambiguity and conflict. In terms of ambiguity, the DepEd orders specified what should be done but offered little support on how to do it. For example, the ordinances called for education in the mother tongue, while the resources provided by the government are only available in the twelve major regional languages. As such, it is difficult to know how to implement the policy in a way that aligns with the desired approach to.