One of the changes in the basic curriculum of education brought about by the new K + 12 program is

the introduction of Mother Tongue – based Multilingual Education. It will be implemented specifically
to kindergarten, grades 1, 2 and 3. Mother Tongue refers to “first-language-first” education that is,
schooling which begins in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages particularly
Filipino and English. It is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Filipinos where language
plays a significant factor. Since the child’s own language enables her/ him to express him/herself
easily, then, there is no fear of making mistakes. It encourages active participation by children in the
learning process because they understand what is being discussed and what is being asked of them.
They can immediately use their mother tongue to construct and explain their world, articulate their
thoughts and add new concepts to what they already know. With the demand of a high-quality
education today. There are many reasons why it is so important to support the continued learning of
the home language or mother tongue. As Clarke (2009) puts it: A strong first language supports the
development of a positive self-concept, helps to strengthen the existing relationships within the family
and provides the opportunity to continue cognitive development while learning other languages as a
second language. In supporting the first language it is needed: respecting and supporting the home
language, planning base on the development of knowledge of language, creating an environment to
support natural language learning, observing children talking, finding out what they know in using
language, establishing a supportive environment, understanding and appreciating the home literacy
and helping parents to understand the value of a strong first or home language (Hassanzadeh et al.
40) Local and international studies show that the use of the learner’s mother tongue or the language
used at home is the most effective medium of learning. “It is the easiest way for children to access the
unfamiliar world of school learning. (Luistro)” If the use of mother tongue will be discarded in favor of
a new unfamiliar language upon the children’s entry into grade school, the learners lose interest in
their studies because there is a disconnection in the language used at home and in school. It will also
be a loss of confidence in them as learners since their culture and experiences are excluded in
classroom interactions. Strong and well-planned MT-Based MLE programs help students to build a
string educational foundation when they enable and encourage students to develop oral fluency in
their first language, introduce reading and writing in their first language, help students to become
fluent and confident in first language literacy, and lastly, build their capacity to use their mother
tongue for everyday communication and for learning in school. MTB-MLE help learners build a ‘good
bridge’ when the teachers introduce other languages in oral through a meaningful and non-
threatening activities, introduce writing and reading other language by building on what they have
learned about the oral teaching of language and their foundation in the first language literacy because
reading is like a bicycle, we only need to learn once, and lastly, build fluency and confidence in using
oral and written language for everyday communication and for academic learning. MTB-MLE
programs ensure that students achieve educational competencies or standards established by
education officials for each grade when the teachers use the mother tongue only for teaching in the
early year of grade school, as students are learning basic communication skills in English and the
teachers use the mother tongue with English for teaching in later grades, as students gain fluency
and confidence in using the school language for learning academic concepts. (Malone 3-4).
Language is one of the valuable gifts which have been passed to children. The first language is
significant and builds the basis for all later language progresses. Parents, family members and early
childhood professionals have very important role on the development and maintenance of the first
language. Studies shows that knowing one language can assist the child to comprehend how other
languages work. First or home language is particularly important for the child‘s development of a
positive self-concept and well-being. Children who have the chance to maintain their first language
can extend their cognitive development, while learning English [this also can be correct with other
languages including Turkish] as a second language. Their level of competence in the second
language has relationship to the level of competence they have achieved in their first language.
Children with a sound knowledge of their first language will be able to transfer skills from one
language to another. Early childhood professionals can play a vital role in the maintenance of
children‘s first languages. They can provide opportunities for children to use their mother tongue in
early childhood settings and at school and encourage the parents to use the mother tongue at home
in order to provide a good foundation for learning English. It is important to reassure parents that
children will learn English as a second language from English speakers (Clarke). The mother tongue
opens the door, including its own grammar, to all grammars, in which it awakens the potential for
universal grammar that lies within all of us. It is the valuable asset people bring to the task of
language learning. For this reason, the mother tongue is the master key to foreign languages, the tool
which gives us the fastest, surest, most precise, and most complete means of accessing a foreign
language. Successful learners capitalize on the vast amount of linguistic skills and world knowledge
they have accumulated via the mother tongue. For the beginner, becoming aware of meanings
automatically involves connecting them with the mother tongue – until the FL has established an
ever-more complex network for itself. The foreign language learner must build upon existing skills and
knowledge acquired in and through the mother tongue. Monolingual lessons without the help of the
mother tongue are extrinsically possible; however, monolingual learning is an intrinsic impossibility.
No one can simply turn off what they already know. It is postulated that the mother tongue is ‘silently‘
present in beginners, even when lessons are kept monolingual. Just as we build upon our abilities to
vocalize, to read and to write, all of which have been developed via our mother tongue, so too we are
unable to switch off our knowledge of the world, again acquired through the mother tongue. With the
emergence of research into the role of form-focused instruction, teacher- researchers have also
begun to acknowledge the mother tongue as a legitimate tool with the potential to facilitate learning
mainly in accuracy-based tasks (Ferrer). “You can banish the MT from the classroom, but you cannot
banish it from the pupils’ heads” (Butzkamm p.31). We need to associate the new with the old. To
exclude MT links would deprive us of the richest source for building cross-linguistic networks. The
well-directed and informative use of lexical and syntactic parallels between the mother tongue and
foreign languages taught in schools promotes retention and deepens the understanding of the
historical affinity of language and culture (Butzkamm, 2003). The relationship between languages
should be clearly established and not ignored or suppressed. The non-use of the MT, however,
seriously constrains what can be said and read. MT will save learners from a feeling of frustration
which will eventually lead them to avoid all topics of personal interest. The measured and well-
calculated contribution of the mother tongue can allow pupils to tackle more difficult texts sooner
(Hassanzadeh et al. 40-42). Basically, MTB-MLE targets students who are having a difficulty in
understanding other languages rather than their own language which is their first language. Most of
these students are primarily entering kindergarten and first three years of grade school. It’s very
common that children will lack interest in going to school once they didn’t understand their lessons at
school. Since, their parents are from different places around the country or around the world, it’s
expected them to speak and understand what they learn from their parents. Not all students can
understand English or other languages. At the start of classes, many will have a hard time in coping
up with the lessons since they’re having a difficulty in understanding what the teachers are saying.
MTB-MLE aims to produce learners who are: Multi-literate – they can read and write competently in
the local language, the national language, and one or more languages of wider communication, such
as English; Multi-lingual – they can use these languages in various situations; Multi-cultural – they
can live and work harmoniously with people of culture backgrounds that are different from their own
(Nolasco 3). In Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education, students are taught over a period of
time in their native language and English is treated as a second language, taught side by side and
only when the student is believed to have attained proficiency in native language, so that he can
master English easily. Technically and simply speaking, multilingual education is any educational
system that favors education in more than one language. According to its proponents, the most
important benefit of this system is that a student, who is from a non-English speaking background,
can easily learn English, owing to his language development, in his native language as well as in
English language. And isn’t it good to be proficient in various languages? What problem does it create
if a student is well conversant in English and in his mother tongue? Besides that, a child who is
exposed to multiple languages will be able to develop a better sense of appreciating various cultures
and understanding societies. After all, now we’re living in a global world and so being multilingual is
always an asset in firms and business works. Added to these advantages the child can easily use his
native language in groups and he won’t feel ashamed of it. In case, he is just aware of one language,
he may face problems of hesitation in expressing himself. Its beautiful form of education as the
minority speakers can learn English even while being able to strengthen their cultural bonds by being
proficient in their mother tongue. (Pandey). Multilingual education was deemed necessary since it
was supposed to help integrate the children of immigrants and minorities into society. The system of
multilingual education demanded separate teachers and classrooms and believed in gradual
integration into society by allowing children to receive education in their native language for a period
of three or more years. Proponents of a single medium of instruction opposed bilingual education,
since they believed that separate teachers and classrooms would widen the already existing gap
between citizens and immigrants. They further proposed that encouraging children to interact within
their own community for a period of three years, would delay the process of adjusting to the ways of
life in a new country. School Dropout Rates Over the years, the dropout rate in various schools
across North America has reduced significantly. The medium of instruction in the above-mentioned
schools is English. However, there has been no reduction in the dropout rates for schools offering
multilingual education. Most people feel that a dropout rate of 35% doesn’t justify the costs involved in
providing this form of education. Unavailability of Teachers Multilingual education requires a number
of trained teachers who are proficient in both English and their native language, assuming that
English is one of the mediums of instruction. There is a wide gap between the demand and the supply
for teachers, who are both confident and capable of handing the intense pressure associated with
managing a class of students requiring special attention. Lack of Classrooms There is a dearth of
classrooms that can accommodate students, who require instructions in both English and their native
language. Students are expected to sit together in one class regardless of their age and the variations
in the required level of education. This poses a great problem for teachers, who, in addition to being
well versed in two languages, have to exhibit a certain level of comfort in handling different levels of
education, simultaneously. Lack of Funds The mentioned issues bring us to the tip of the problem:
lack of funds to promote multilingual education. Bilingual Education Is Costly Education becomes
unobtainable, when a language that is not dominant in nature is to be taught. The scenario becomes
economically feasible, when multiple languages commonly used, are taught. An education system
ought to be aware that the noble sap of education and literacy lies in understanding the language in
which knowledge is imparted. The content and context of the subject becomes oblivious, if the
student is not well acquainted with the language employed (Iyer). This paper presents the benefits of
a Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education. MTB-MLE is a very helpful program to those students
who use their first language in everyday life. It is used to also be a bridge or a mediator to learn other
languages as well. Although it has some disadvantage in our money, it will ensure us that our
children, future children and relatives will understand and learn very well the lesson being taught in
school. Thus, Mother Tongue-based education is challenging in terms of planning, implementing and
sustaining MTB-MLE programs in multiple language communities especially in multi-lingual countries
lacking extensive financial resources.