Mother tongue as medium pose a threat.

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Avatar for Jher0122
2 years ago

Disclaimer: This is just based in my own experience and opinion. I've been teaching my cousins, a grade 1, grade 6 and a K1 for a long time since the change in learning style happened due to the pandemic we are facing right now. I don't know if you have the same or different experience regarding this matter. I'm just stating what I experienced and I thank you bow. hehe.

So let's start my friend I don't have any long or majestic introduction in this article because my mind is still spinning from absorbing all the informations I've taught to my cousins from their modules. Sorry for not being so active in these times friends for I have to attend my duty as their teacher, a tutor without a salary but a piece of pandesal and juice to heal my tiredness of teaching haha but it's allright. If it's for the improvement of my cousins through this cruel situation we have now, I'm glad to sacrifice my time because they have nothing to do with this pandemic right now. It's all because to some humans who plays with fire and look now, the lives of many are ruined and there's no exact time when we will get the freedom we used to have. Enough of that rant and let's jump to the main topic.

As I've said I've been teaching them since the pandemic started and even me I encountered some difficulties regarding the lessons now. To be honest there's no real problem with the lessons because I survived it long ago but the problem here now is the language used to teach those lessons to children who's mind is not yet ready to perform multiple tasks. What I'm talking about is the usage of Mother tongue in their lessons. For example here in our province, we have various mother tongue but here in our place what we used is Iloko or Ilokano. We use it in our daily lives except when we have conversations in school and in discussing our lessons back then but now that there's a change, students here have to study their lessons in our mother tongue and I find some disadvantages using it to discuss those lessons especially in math.

For me, language such as mother tongue is to be learned at home because it's the one that we use to speak in a informal way between our parents, relatives, friends and to others. What I want to say here is mother tongue such Ilokano/Iloko is not supposed to be used in discussing lessons because there are words that cannot be translated to Ilokano and vice versa. In my experienced in only creates misunderstanding to students in absorbing those vast amount of knowledges. My grade 1 cousin was taught to read numbers 1-10 in Ilokano then when I asked her to read it in English she can't because the Ilokano version of the numbers are already imprinted in her mind. Instead of saying one when she starts to count, she says maysa(one), duwwa(two), tallo(three),uppat(four),lima(five),innem(six), pito(seven), walo(eight),siyam(nine), sangapulo(ten). Looking at it maybe simple but when you execute it my goodness, you'll develop more gray hair.

Another one is those students who originally came from manila and using tagalog as their medium in speaking is having a great disadvantage because it's not easy to learn a language you just encountered for the first time. We have a neighbor here who used to live in Quezon city and their children are used to go in a big school there, I don't know the exact name of the school and they speak more in English. So it's really challenge for those who transferredd here then they will encounter Ilokano as the language used in modules. A lot of parents are already complaining here because of that including me but we don't have the voice to reach those in the upper position to hear it. I don't really know what they are doing in regarding our schools curriculum. I'm think this was applied in through out the country but I'm not sure. Just comment below if it is implemented in your area also.

Using the mother tongue as medium in teaching and printing those modules is not that bad but what can I say is that it should be use through out the grade levels if they want to promote the importance of those native languages. If it will be use only in the first, second and third grade there's a tendency that it will be just forgotten by the students because the medium used in teaching as they go to higher grade it will change to English. Ofcourse English language will be the most used as medium in teaching because if you want to compete globally, you need to learn how to construct anf understand the usage of this language.

Closing thought

As I said in my article, the usage of mother tongue such as Iloko or Ilokano posed a problem to my cousin in understanding those vast amount of knowledge due to some errors in words. Even me sometimes can't understand the meaning of those deep words in Ilokano that's why I have to ask my lola but even at her age, she don't know it sometimes. I just hope that my cousins will be able to absorb all the lessons I discussed to them in Ilokano language. To be honest I'm not that good in Ilokano that's why when I encounter those words I remember their meanings. It's great to use those mother tongue languages but hopefully they will find a way to better improve our schools curriculum.

That's my article for today and I thank you for reading this far. What about you friends, have you experience any difficulties in teaching your children, cousins during this new normal schooling? See you in my next article ladies and gents.

Lead image: I made it in Canva same with the image above.

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2 years ago

Comments

What a difficult situation, in my country that does not happen, we only speak Spanish and in some schools we teach basic English. Due to the pandemic, they have eliminated English in some schools and it seems to me somewhat incorrect, since it is a universal language and I think it is good to develop speaking in several languages, even at a basic level.

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2 years ago

Mahirap talaga pag dimo triny ipraktis ang mother toungue. Habang bata pa, tutuan na sila. 2nd language lang ang english o kaya ang main language natin na tagalog kasi natututunan naman yan sa skul.

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2 years ago

I also believed this way but there is a theory I forgot the person who claimed this but he said that one cannot learn another language fully if he can't master his mother tongue that's why it's important to learn it at school too. Pero para saken okay lang na hindi mother tongue gamitin kasi feel ko mas lalong mahirap intindihin. Haha

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2 years ago

I also read something like that but I totally forgot haha. Oo nga tapos hindi pa continous yung paggamit so what's the point .kinalaunan eh gagamitin ang filipino ang english as medium.

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2 years ago

Lalo na sa math tapos mother tongue jusko

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2 years ago

Ay oo haha ..dami kong sakt sa ulo pag nagtuturo ako ng math sa pinsan ko.. Napakasimpleng addition and subtraction pero nagiging complicated.

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2 years ago

I was also shocked upon learning that..My daughter speaks English, we have a lot of drama kasi Tagalog ang medium nila. Sa Mindanao din Cebuano gamit nila grabe hirap.

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2 years ago

Ay mahirap po iyan lalo na kung nakasanayan nung bata eh english.. Yung bata nga po dito sa amin , may kantina sila kaya pag siya ang magtitinda ..kailangan magenglish ka rin haha . di niya kaya masiyado magtagalog and iloko.

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2 years ago

I feel you. It is really hard but we are just starting to adapt the MTB-MLE program. It will be hard in the beginning but it will be smooth sailing as time pass by. After all,the objective of this js to embrace mother tongue and to incorporate the students learning to their language.

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2 years ago

Yeah ..it's really hard at first but as you said it will become easier as time pass by and as the schools curriculum gets better .

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2 years ago

Correct mother tongue should be the first a child learn, in an informative and good way

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2 years ago

In provinces yes. that's the case but for people who's an Ilokano or other who grew up in Cities , their first language is either english or tagalog that's why it's make such a big difference when they come here in the province.

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2 years ago

yes you r right mother tongue should be learned in an informal way only

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2 years ago

We learned on how to speak our mother tongue in our house when we learn how to speak and know the things around us.

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2 years ago

same

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2 years ago

Sometimes problem is that some iloko teach differently and make them fun lol, I am referring to myself thou hahaha. Honestly even we spoke Iloko reading them is quite difficult and some are unused in daily life. I can't read fast when I used to browse some iloko book bro. Haha are you iloko fluent reader?

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2 years ago

Hahaha same here po.. I'm a little bit good in speaking but not that good in reading Iloko especially in books or modules ..the spelling makes it too difficult to read.. haha..

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2 years ago