ABSTRACT
The study determined the Mother Tongue classroom instructional strategies of the newly hired and seasoned teachers as groundwork for professional development program. It was found out that the newly hired teachers used differentiated instruction, visualization through learner-centered approach and discussion method and cooperative learning, while seasoned teachers used differentiated instruction or group activity, translation method, interactive discussion, and explicit teaching in teaching Mother Tongue. The study also revealed that newly hired and seasoned teachers encountered limited teaching resources, inadequacy of learning materials, learners’ lack of vocabulary, and learners’ exposure to multilingual environment as challenges in teaching mother tongue. Newly hired teachers were able to manage challenges through doing research or the internet, attending seminars and workshops and using multilingual instruction in facilitating the lesson, while seasoned teachers managed it through utilizing instructional materials, attending training and seminars, and using multilingual teaching.
Keywords: Mother Tongue, Classroom Instructional Strategies, Newly Hired Teachers, Seasoned Teachers, Professional Development Program
INTRODUCTION
Basic education is now thirteen years instead of the usual ten years. In the K to 12 curriculums, the elementary grades will focus on the core learning areas namely:
languages, mathematics, science and social studies. One of the of the highlights of the K to 12 Curriculum is the use of the eight major Philippines languages to teach Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. The Department of Education adopted the “Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)” after the pilot tests showed that students learn better when the language used at home is also used in the classroom.
The use of MTB-MLE has multiple benefits. Using their mother tongue helps children adjust to the new school environment, adding to them learn more effectively and have more self-confidence. Thus, it makes the transition from home to school more natural. When children can use their language in school, they achieve better grades because it improves learning quality and is unlikely to drop out. The most productive focus for MTB MLE is to embed culturally relevant education in a comprehensive approach; thus, the needs and interests of linguistic minorities are compatible with the curriculum, and children learn more efficiently. Moreover, parents become more favorably disposed to send their children to school. Mother tongue has facilitated considerable advances in the psychosocial sphere. When the same language is used at home and in the classroom, it engenders greater confidence among children. In bilingual schools, children are happier to learn, are more expressive, and have higher self-esteem than those who are not in bilingual schools. Better communication and interaction encourage students to be more active and participate more readily in class. Moreover, family members play a vital role in non-formal education. The use of the mother tongue helps to promote better understanding and communication between home and school. In the same vein, parents and other family members can support the children's education. Mother tongue education has successfully reduced the educational gap between boys and girls since girls have been reported as having fewer opportunities than boys to complete primary school. Moreover, Mother tongue programs are cost effective. According to a cost-benefit analysis of Mother tongue, their implementation costs more to set up. Still, the longer-term leads to reduced repetition and dropout rates. Indeed, UNESCO has urged society to contemplate the cost of an education system that fails most learners who do not speak the Language of instruction.
Teachers must change what they have known, used, and practiced in their education and profession. It is a shift to teaching. Utilizing their mother tongue and integrating it to their instruction; it would mean relearning terminologies and changes in outlines, instructional materials, resources, references, educational strategies, and practices. These challenges are to be faced head-on and demands consistency and result from stakeholders such as schools, parents, students, and the government. This learning initiative's successful practice would bring about better understanding students, better learners, improvement of higher-order thinking skills, life skills, and whole rounded learners. It would also endorse unity in diverse localities in the same region, harmony in schools, and not having that glaring difference in status basing on the language spoken, unity in public and private school sectors, unity and uniformity in concepts taught.
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