The role of mother tongue in early childhood education

Abstract

This article tries to determine the effect and importance of mother tongue on cultural education in primary schools. Using the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, it investigates the relationship between mother tongue and culture. This research focuses on the language and culture of the Kurdish people in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. The questions of research are: What is the impact of mother tongue on children's culture? Is there a relationship between the mother tongue and the culture, the identity and personality of the children in primary schools? What is more, are the Kurdish language and culture in danger of vanishing? The researcher used mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative, as well as used questionnaires among primary school students in the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. This study resulted in the conclusion that the first language has a profound impact on the culture of students in primary schools. In contrast, bilingualism has an impact on children’s distance from their own culture. In addition, three basic points that are concluded in the results of this article are recommended to the government to be implemented in their policy and the education system. Furthermore, the results of this study show that the Kurdish language and Kurdish culture are in trouble now.