Mother Tongue Education Policy Research Articles

Developing and Implementing Mother-tongue Education Policy in Minority Speech Communities in Nepal: Issues and Challenges

This paper examines some major issues and challenges in developing and implementing mother-tongue education policy in minority speech communities in Nepal. It also suggests some strategies based on field studies for meeting those challenges. In minority speech communities, constituting more than 55% of total population and speaking around 70 languages, despite attempts made by governmental and non-governmental agencies, multilingual education has not yet become accessible it is mainly due to the lack of operational mechanism in education policy. Till today, thousands of children of non-Nepali speaking communities are compelled to be instructed in Nepali and use the textbooks written in Nepali. This has resulted in class repetition, high dropout and very low quality at primary levels.
 The case studies made in Western Tamang and Rajbansi have explored a number of challenges as well as some way-outs for effective implementation of mother-tongue education policy in such communities. First and foremost, the roles of mother tongue, Nepali and English have not yet been fully justified. In most of the minority speech communities, there is only sentimental attitude towards their mother tongue. Most of the MLE programmes have been commenced without conducting need assessment (Regmi, 2019). There is a lack of appropriate textbooks and reading materials incorporating local cultures and life crucial knowledge embodied in language. Due to the lack of trained and motivated teachers, programmes so far implemented are also facing the problem of quality maintenance. Thus, a promising and inclusive multilingual education policy should be developed and implemented for maintaining the sustainability of MLE programmes in minority speech communities in Nepal.

Using R2L pedagogy in teaching practical writing to non-Chinese speaking students in Hong Kong

Abstract Since Hong Kong handover, the language policy in Hong Kong shifts from diglossic bilingualism to bi-literacy and trilingualism policy, balancing the status of English and Chinese with the mother tongue education policy. This policy shift has inadvertently impacted non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students’ enrollment, whose limited mastery of Chinese language prevents them from the mainstream schooling. Faced with this ethnically diverse and multilingual population, Applied Learning Chinese (ApL(C)) motivating practical reading and writing in an applied learning context was proposed by Hong Kong Education Bureau as an alternative for second language education. This study examines the effectiveness of “Reading to Learn, Learning to Write, R2L” pedagogy (Rose, 2012) in teaching Chinese practical writing to NCS students in Hong Kong with pedagogic interventions and Systemic Functional analytical perspective. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to perceive students’ learning experiences with R2L pedagogy. The finding suggests an increased meta-linguistic awareness of genre-specific writings after interventions to be empowered with a voice against social inequity and be empathized with humanistic reflections.

On Uganda government’s commitment to the development and implementation of the mother tongue education policy in post-2015 era

The year 2015 was set as deadline to realise the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were authored in 2000 by 189 states in the world. Language is at the heart of MDGs (Barron, 2012; Romaine, 2013). Some scholars look at language (development) as a measure and/or determinant of development (e.g. Romaine, 2013). This paper examines Uganda’s commitment to the development and employment of mother tongues in education as a way of realising the quality of education in Uganda. It is important to reflect on the trend and level of mother tongue development and employment in education in Uganda to chart the way forward for the post-2015 period. The paper draws from different studies and reports which have focussed on mother tongue education in Uganda. This study faults the government in many ways for failing to sustain the national initiatives of mother tongue education, particularly in terms of poor financing and failure to monitor the implementation of UPE and mother tongue education programmes. The paper proposes a way forward for the realisation of a meaningful Education for All (EFA) in form of Universal Primary Education (UPE) initiative and the mother tongue education policy introduced in Uganda in 1997 and 2006 respectively.

Power redistribution of languages in Hong Kong under a new national flag

Four years after the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China, a Matched-guised Test (MGT) was conducted to examine the subjective reactions of students to speakers of the three major spoken languages used in the city (i.e. Cantonese, English and Putonghua). Respondents were the first cohort of students under the mandatory mother tongue education policy, which was implemented one year after the political handover. Eight years after, when further socio-economic changes had taken place in Hong Kong, the MGT was administered again to find out the attitudes of the younger generation towards the three languages. Although English and Cantonese distinctly excelled in different domains in the first test, the second MGT shows signs of power redistribution among the languages. This paper is to report a comparison between the two tests and thereby uncover the directions of language shift in Hong Kong.

Impacts of Medium of Instruction on Language Attitudes: A Case of Hong Kong

Shortly after the political handover from Britain to China, mother tongue education was enforced in Hong Kong, which mandated the majority of the local secondary schools to switch the medium of instruction (MoI) from English to Chinese. Henceforth, schools were divided into Chinese-medium and English-medium. In 2001, a study was conducted to examine the attitudes of these two groups of students toward the three official spoken languages used in Hong Kong after the change of sovereignty (i.e., Cantonese, English, and Putonghua). Eight years later, a similar study was reconducted to trace the changes of students’ perceptions upon relaxation of the mother tongue education policy. This article reports on a comparison between the two studies, through which the impacts of MoI policies on students’ language attitudes were explored.

Language competition and challenges in pluralingual education: The case of a Hakka school in Taiwan

The Council of Europe and Taiwan are both promoting plurilingual and intercultural education for all students from various social groups. This paper aims to challenge the assumption that language learning can be expected to benefit all students equally. A Taiwanese socio-cultural study on junior high school students' (aged 13) English language learning processes was employed as an example for discussion. Findings from the Hakka School, which is the focus of this paper, revealed an issue of emerging inequality arising from enforcement of mother-tongue education policy in Taiwan. Language competition and identity clashes create a new and worrying divide threatening to widen existing gulfs not only between urban and rural regions but also among other social groups within Taiwanese society. This study leads to several conclusions which highlight some implications for first, second, or English language teachers, educationists, as well as policy makers in countries like Europe and Taiwan.

Marching on a Long Road: A Review of the Effectiveness of the Mother-Tongue Education Policy in Post-Colonial Hong Kong.

This paper reports a study of the effectiveness of the mandatory mother-tongue education policy in post-colonial Hong Kong. Special attention has been placed on students’ academic achievement before and after the policy implementation in 1998 in order to find out if students learn better through their mother tongue without sacrificing their knowledge of the English language. A content analysis has been conducted on the relevant policy documents, and students’ public examination results have been gathered to serve as a policy-effectiveness indicator. Findings reveal that mother-tongue education is beneficial to students’ learning in some subjects, especially the language-intensive ones. However, students’ performance in English learning has been adversely affected by the policy. We end with suggestions in response to the recently announced finetuning arrangements of the mother-tongue education policy.

Social Class and Language Attitudes in Hong Kong

This article examines the relation between social class and language attitudes through a triangulated study that analyses the attitudes of 836 secondary school students from different socioeconomic backgrounds toward the 3 official spoken languages used in postcolonial Hong Kong (HK; i.e., Cantonese, English, and Putonghua). The respondents were divided into 3 social class groups (viz. middle, lower-middle, and working class), according to their parents' occupations and levels of educational attainment. This particular group of students started its secondary school education when the mandatory Mother Tongue Education Policy was just implemented after China resumed sovereignty over HK. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey and focus-group interviews. This study was designed to test 2 hypotheses: (a) that the middle-class group would be the most positively inclined toward English and (b) that the working-class group would display the most positive attitudes toward Putonghua due to closer social distance. Although the results from the questionnaire survey appeared to provide a degree of support for both hypotheses, little evidence was found in the interview data to indicate that the working-class group did, in fact, aspire to Putonghua either as an alternative form of linguistic capital or a symbol of preferred social identity.

‘I love Cantonese but I want English’ – A Qualitative Account of Hong Kong Students’ Language Attitudes

This study was conducted to find out Secondary 4 students' attitudes towards the three official spoken languages of Hong Kong (i.e., Cantonese, English and Putonghua). The target respondents were the first cohort of students under the mandatory mother tongue education policy, which was implemented one year after the sovereignty of Hong Kong was returned to China from Britain. The statistical analysis of 1048 questionnaires showed that students loved Cantonese (their mother tongue) most but wanted English (the colonial and international language) the most highly for its instrumental values. From both the integrative and instrumental perspectives, Putonghua (the language of the new ruler) was rated the lowest. Although the quantitative approach helped to draw up generalizable patterns of attitudes, it did not allow respondents to express their feelings and beliefs behind their responses. This paper reports on the qualitative part of the research which aimed to reveal the complexity of students' attitudes towards the three spoken languages. From the interviews of 40 sample students, it was found that their language attitudes were mainly formulated on their perceptions of identity and an evaluation of power which each language symbolized. Putonghua was rated the lowest because it was considered an outlier in the dichotomized world which required only a home language (i.e., Cantonese, the mother tongue) for in-group communication and an international language for outside contact (i.e., English).

It is Still “Double Take”: Mother Tongue Education and Bilingual Classroom Practice in Nigeria

In this article, I explore language practices in Nigerian primary school classrooms against the backdrop of the policy of mother tongue education. Findings from the study show that there is a classroom bilingual practice that is rather unstructured in terms of curricular application and levels. The study shows that rather than implementing the country's mother tongue education policy, teachers have resorted to evolving a varied “policy” of bilingual instruction. The article also shows that the inherited colonial language – English – is used as early as the first year of the child's primary school education while the mother tongue continues to be used throughout the fourth year, when the transition to English medium should have commenced. Furthermore, the “untidiness” seems compounded by a regular use of code switching (CS) by teachers. The article concludes that there is a need for a pragmatic approach to language-in-education in Nigeria whereby room should be provided for the co-official use of English and mother tongue as well as a “supplementation” with CS where and when necessary.

Elementary Education in Eritrea: How Mother Tongue Language Policy Affects Pupils and Their Access to Information

Eritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa with a population of over four million, has nine languages and a mother tongue education policy for its elementary schools. This paper investigates the impact of the policy on the design and implementation of elementary education in this developing country, and on the dissemination of information to pupils. A survey was conducted of fifty-eight interviewees drawn from the nine ethnic groups: the heads of the language panels in the National Department of Curriculum; elementary school teachers, trainee teachers, school directors; and parents. The research reveals the issues a multilingual society with minority ethnic groups faces in opting for mother tongue education at elementary level. There are not enough qualified and experienced educators to prepare the curriculum, and there are the challenges of translating and of turning spoken into written language. There is a lack of literature other than textbooks to refer to, and there are virtually no libraries in elementary schools. However, when elementary pupils learn and read through the medium of their first language it grounds their education in the real world. The curriculum is also an important tool in preserving, using and developing the languages of Eritrea.

On the standardization of Citumbuka and Ciyao orthographies: some observations

The Malawi government has recently decreed that children in junior primary school (i.e. Standards 1 to 4) should be instructed in their mother tongues. Prior to this decree, the national language, Chichewa, was the medium of instruction. It is obvious that the new mother tongue education policy will have serious implications for teaching and learning materials to be used in the schools. One of the areas that will need consideration will be the orthography. Hitherto the only language with an officially approved standard orthography is Chichewa. It will, however, be necessary to provide standard orthographies for the newly introduced mother tongues to facilitate teaching and learning. This study discusses some problems that bedevil the current orthographies of two Malawian languages, Citumbuka and Ciyao. Suggestions on how the orthographies of these two languages can be improved are made.

On the Mother Tongue Education Policy in Nigeria

Abstract This paper integrates public opinion with research findings on Nigeria's mother tongue education policy by examining the historical antecedents of the policy; its specifications and implications; and the major arguments for and against the policy. In addition to highlighting major obstacles that might hamper the implementation of the policy, the findings reveal that mother tongue education policies in ex‐colonial nations often represent two main types of struggle, one against linguistic colonialism and the other against the domination of ethnic and language minorities by the larger ethnic groups. The efforts made so far at policy implementation are assessed against these findings, while suggestions are offered for future improvement.