“The origin of the term “mother tongue” harks back to the notion that linguistic skills of a child are honed by the mother and therefore the language spoken by the mother would be the primary language that the child would learn.The first language of a child is part of their personal, social and cultural identity. Another impact of the first language is that it brings about the reflection and learning of successful social patterns of acting and speaking. It is basically responsible for differentiating the linguistic competence of acting.Here in the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino III finally signed into law the “ Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 “ on May 15, 2013. The Law provides framework on the implementation of Mother tongue Based Multilingual Education as a part of K-12 Program.As stated in Section 9 , Medium of Instruction. – The mother tongue of the learner also known as the first language , home language, native language or vernacular shall be the primary medium of instruction for teaching and learning from the kindergarten level to Grade 3 of the elementary education. The DepEd in coordination with the Commission on Filipino Language and in close collaboration with academic and research institutions concerned with education shall formulate a mother-tongue-based multilingual framework for teaching and learning.Since , English is a medium of instruction the core subjects such as English , Science and Mathematics. Some people asked how mother tongue help the learning of English. Research has shown that many skills acquired in the first language can be transferred to the second language. English can be learn more quickly and effectively if the pupils maintain and develop their proficiency in the mother tongue.So, for example if the pupils developed good reading skills in Tagalog they may be able to apply these skills when reading English. One useful reading skill is the ability to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context. Another one is the ability to decide which new words in a text are important to look up in the dictionary and which words can safely be ignored. For this reason it helps the pupils can be encouraged to read good fiction and non-fiction stories in their own language. Similarly, the skills of being able to plan out a piece of writing or develop an argument in a persuasive essay can be applied in the second language once they have been learned in the first.Students should be encouraged to read good literature and to discuss school work. Some of the long summer vacation could be devoted to mother-tongue learning and reading.”In early stage reading in the first language can profoundly accelerate the development of reading ability in the second language.”This is true because ;reading skills transfer from language one to language two, reading provides knowledge of the world that makes second-language texts more comprehensible lastly, the pleasure of the reading habit itself transfers to the second language. As they develop a strong foundation in their first language, children are gradually introduced to their second language. First orally, then in the written form. With adequate instruction, cognitive skills and subject content acquired in the first language can now transfer to the second language. Their own language enables young learners to immediately construct and explain their world without fear of making mistakes, articulate their thoughts and add new concepts to what they already know. In turn, their teachers can more accurately assess what has been learned and identify the areas where they need help.To clarify, what our children use now is the conversational language or the everyday variety used for daily interaction. Success in school depends on the academic and intellectualized language needed to discuss more abstract concepts.
By: Elizabeth L. Rodriguez | Teacher III | Samal North Elementary School Samal, Bataan
