Scribd
Upload
58 views3 pages

What Is Mother Tongue Education?: Bilingual Children

Mother tongue education refers to using a child's home language for schooling. This helps children learn best as they understand the language of instruction. However, many children worldwide receive education in a different language, usually the dominant country language. While some bilingual programs teach a second language without losing the first, most schools use only one language, so children who don't speak it may struggle or abandon their home language. The goal of Rutu Foundation is to make mother tongue education the norm to create equal opportunities for all children through multilingual education.

Uploaded by

mr smith
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
58 views3 pages

What Is Mother Tongue Education?: Bilingual Children

Mother tongue education refers to using a child's home language for schooling. This helps children learn best as they understand the language of instruction. However, many children worldwide receive education in a different language, usually the dominant country language. While some bilingual programs teach a second language without losing the first, most schools use only one language, so children who don't speak it may struggle or abandon their home language. The goal of Rutu Foundation is to make mother tongue education the norm to create equal opportunities for all children through multilingual education.

Uploaded by

mr smith
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

What is Mother Tongue Education?

Mother tongue education refers to any form of schooling that makes use of the language or languages that
children are most familiar with. This is usually the language that children speak at home with their family.
The ‘mother tongue’ does not have to be the language spoken by the mother. Children can and often
speak more than one or even two languages at home. For example, they may speak one language with
their mother, another with their father and a third with their grandparents.
Although there is overwhelming evidence that children learn best in and through their mother tongues,
millions of children around the world receive education in a different language. This is usually the
dominant language of the country they live in. In the case of former colonies, this may not be the
language spoken in the community at all, but the language of the former colonial power, for example
English, French, Arabic, Dutch and Spanish. Languages that children may hear for the first time when
they enter school.
Bilingual children
Children who speak a different language at home than the language in which they are taught at school
will by definition become bilingual or multilingual. The degree to which they become bilingual may vary
considerably however and depends on the goal of the school programme.
There are bilingual education programmes that aim at teaching children a second language at no
expense to their first language. In such programmes equal importance is given to learning in and through
both languages and children learn how to take full advantage of their multilingualism and biliteracy.
The majority of schools however offer education only in and through one language. Children who are not
fluent speakers of the school language may be offered some form of language support or no support at
all. The latter is also known as ‘sink or swim’. Children lose or leave behind their mother tongues and use
only the language of the school.
A third option, increasingly popular, are schools which offer bilingual education and which are aimed at
bilingualism, but not in any of the languages spoken by the child at home. For example a child who
speaks Somali at home and is enrolled in an English/Dutch bilingual programme.
Rutu’s Mission: Making Mother Tongue Education The Norm
The mission of the Rutu Foundation is to make mother tongue education the norm, rather than the
exception.
By this we do not mean that children should be offered education in their mother tongues only. We
believe that in today’s globalized world, all children benefit from a multilingual education which offers them
an opportunity to become fluent in their mother tongues as well as in the official language of the state,
and one or more foreign languages, allowing them to pursue higher education, to communicate easily in
more than one language, through different media and to contribute meaningfully to society.
Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the best way to achieve this is by educating children in and
through their mother tongues, alongside a second and/or third language.
Ultimately, mother tongue education is about creating a level playing field, about creating equal
opportunities for all, regardless of economic status, ethnic background or geographic location.
Benefits of mother tongue education
There are many benefits associated with an education that takes into account children’s mother tongues:
 Children learn better and faster in a language they can understand (preventing delays in learning)
 They enjoy school more, they feel more at home
 Pupils tend to show increased self-esteem
 Parents participation is increased. Parents can help with homework and can participate in school
activities
 Studies have reported that when children take advantage of their multilingualism they also enjoy
higher socioeconomic status, including higher earnings
 On average, the schools perform better,reporting less repetition
 Finally, schools report children stay in school longer
Is there a perfect model?
There is no one model that fits all contexts in which multilingual children are learning and which meets all
of their learning needs. Mother tongue based multilingual education can take many forms and each
school and each community should determine what works best for them. In general, however, the longer
a child is able to learn in and through his or her mother tongue(s) the greater the educational benefits that
can be expected.
What about multilingual classrooms?
In classrooms where 10 or more different mother tongues are spoken, a situation that is fast becoming
the norm throughout Europe, it would not be practically feasible to provide a full blown bilingual education
programme for each student. The best approach here is not to ignore all languages and opt for one
language only, as is frequently the case. Rather, translanguaging is a new pedagogic strategy and shows
exciting results when all languages are valued, when children are offered opportunities to use their home
languages in the classrooms, to make homework assignments in their mother tongue or to collaborate at
school with students who speak the same language. We look forward to sharing such best practices with
you in the months and years ahead.

What is Mother Tongue Education?


Mother tongue education refers to any form of schooling that makes use of the language or languages that
children are most familiar with. This is usually the language that children speak at home with their family.
The ‘mother tongue’ does not have to be the language spoken by the mother. Children can and often
speak more than one or even two languages at home. For example, they may speak one language with
their mother, another with their father and a third with their grandparents.
Although there is overwhelming evidence that children learn best in and through their mother tongues,
millions of children around the world receive education in a different language. This is usually the
dominant language of the country they live in. In the case of former colonies, this may not be the
language spoken in the community at all, but the language of the former colonial power, for example
English, French, Arabic, Dutch and Spanish. Languages that children may hear for the first time when
they enter school.
Bilingual children
Children who speak a different language at home than the language in which they are taught at school
will by definition become bilingual or multilingual. The degree to which they become bilingual may vary
considerably however and depends on the goal of the school programme.
There are bilingual education programmes that aim at teaching children a second language at no
expense to their first language. In such programmes equal importance is given to learning in and through
both languages and children learn how to take full advantage of their multilingualism and biliteracy.
The majority of schools however offer education only in and through one language. Children who are not
fluent speakers of the school language may be offered some form of language support or no support at
all. The latter is also known as ‘sink or swim’. Children lose or leave behind their mother tongues and use
only the language of the school.
A third option, increasingly popular, are schools which offer bilingual education and which are aimed at
bilingualism, but not in any of the languages spoken by the child at home. For example a child who
speaks Somali at home and is enrolled in an English/Dutch bilingual programme.
Rutu’s Mission: Making Mother Tongue Education The Norm
The mission of the Rutu Foundation is to make mother tongue education the norm, rather than the
exception.
By this we do not mean that children should be offered education in their mother tongues only. We
believe that in today’s globalized world, all children benefit from a multilingual education which offers them
an opportunity to become fluent in their mother tongues as well as in the official language of the state,
and one or more foreign languages, allowing them to pursue higher education, to communicate easily in
more than one language, through different media and to contribute meaningfully to society.
Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that the best way to achieve this is by educating children in and
through their mother tongues, alongside a second and/or third language.
Ultimately, mother tongue education is about creating a level playing field, about creating equal
opportunities for all, regardless of economic status, ethnic background or geographic location.
Benefits of mother tongue education
There are many benefits associated with an education that takes into account children’s mother tongues:
 Children learn better and faster in a language they can understand (preventing delays in learning)
 They enjoy school more, they feel more at home
 Pupils tend to show increased self-esteem
 Parents participation is increased. Parents can help with homework and can participate in school
activities
 Studies have reported that when children take advantage of their multilingualism they also enjoy
higher socioeconomic status, including higher earnings
 On average, the schools perform better,reporting less repetition
 Finally, schools report children stay in school longer
Is there a perfect model?
There is no one model that fits all contexts in which multilingual children are learning and which meets all
of their learning needs. Mother tongue based multilingual education can take many forms and each
school and each community should determine what works best for them. In general, however, the longer
a child is able to learn in and through his or her mother tongue(s) the greater the educational benefits that
can be expected.
What about multilingual classrooms?
In classrooms where 10 or more different mother tongues are spoken, a situation that is fast becoming
the norm throughout Europe, it would not be practically feasible to provide a full blown bilingual education
programme for each student. The best approach here is not to ignore all languages and opt for one
language only, as is frequently the case. Rather, translanguaging is a new pedagogic strategy and shows
exciting results when all languages are valued, when children are offered opportunities to use their home
languages in the classrooms, to make homework assignments in their mother tongue or to collaborate at
school with students who speak the same language. We look forward to sharing such best practices with
you in the months and years ahead.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy