Policy lesson in mother tongue learning
- 3. It is now well-established that children who receive schooling in their mother tongue in early grades tend to have better learning outcomes and significantly better literacy levels.
- 4. Children’s understanding of what is being taught and discussed in class significantly improves, leaving them to focus on learning core skills, rather than struggling to learn in a language they do not understand
- 6. It starts with what is familiar and builds in new knowledge. It creates a smooth transition between home and school; it stimulates interest and ensures greater participation and engagement. This prepares children for the acquisition of literacy and encourages fluency and confidence in both the mother tongue and, later, in other languages, where this is necessary.
- 7. Research provides convincing evidence that a second language is learned best when a first language is learned well, literate environment, good teaching practices and a supportive home environment are all important for good literacy learning, mother tongue learning is a critical part of the literacy puzzle.
- 9. Children need to be engaged in and excited about reading and learning and this can only be done if the materials are ones which they will understand and enjoy. Without access to good materials, children struggle to become literate and learn.
- 10. Learning to read requires a range of complex skills, all of which need the right use of suitable materials. These skills include recognising sounds, connecting sounds to symbols, developing vocabulary, understanding the content and developing fluency. As children’s language capacity develops, materials with increasing difficulty are required.
- 11. The availability of good learning materials, written in a language and with a context that is relevant to children is vitally important; a lack of such materials has a profoundly negative effect on children’s learning and on literacy achievement levels.
- 13. Many minority languages have oral rather than written traditions and scripts have never been developed. Where languages have not been used in written form, collaboration between linguists, educators and community members is required to establish orthographies, grammars and dictionaries. Establishing orthographies and developing materials can raise the status of home languages. Writing stories, documenting histories and local knowledge contributes to the development of the language itself.
- 14. The inclusion of local and indigenous knowledge in texts and reading materials requires research with community participation and the only way to produce good material resources in the mother-tongue is by members of the language community themselves.
- 16. Literacy development starts early in life, and the home environment is an important factor in children’s learning achievement.
- 17. Research has shown that reading aloud with children is a vitally important activity. It helps build the knowledge and skills children need for learning to read. Where parents and the community are supporting literacy development, results show a marked improvement. The earlier children are exposed to stories the better their reading is
- 18. Children with access to materials at home are more likely to develop fluency in reading. However, in many contexts – where parents are not literate or do not have access to books – this is not realistic. In this context, school resources are even more important. In particular, supporting early literacy development through Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)
- 20. Successful teaching of early literacy skills is dependant not only on the provision of suitable materials, but also on the way these skills are introduced and taught. Teachers need to use engaging instructional strategies, where children are active in the learning process
- 22. Mother-tongue education requires teachers who share the language and culture of the children. It also requires that teachers are trained in the same language they are to teach in
- 23. Teacher training needs to acknowledge the importance of linguistic diversity and should support teachers to implement methodologies that use the languages of the learner.