The document discusses the implementation and significance of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the Philippines, highlighting it as a fundamental educational policy aimed at improving literacy and cognitive skills. It outlines the legal framework for language education under the Philippine Constitution and previous Department of Education orders, including the use of Filipino and English as mediums of instruction alongside regional languages. Additionally, it addresses challenges faced in bilingual education and advocates for multilingual learners who are proficient in multiple languages.

1. ISSUES ON MEDIUMS
OF INSTRUCTION

2. ISSUES ON MEDIUMS OF INSTRUCTION
✗ MOTHER TONGUE
✗ BILINGUAL POLICY
✗ TRILINGUAL POLICY
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3. Pre-Spanish Era
SPANISH COLONIAL TIMES
AMERICAN ERA
JAPANESE ERA
Look
Back!
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4. INTERNATIONAL
MOTHER
LANGUAGE DAY
Date: FEBRUARY 21st
Significance: Promotes
the preservation and
protection of all languages.
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5. MOTHER TONGUE
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6. Mother Tongue:
The language acquired in early
years & that has become
his/her natural instrument of
thoughts and communication.
- (UNESCO)
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7. MOTHER TONGUE-BASED
MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION

8. DepEd Order 74, s. 2009
“Mother Tongue-Based
Multilingual Education,
hereinafter referred to as MLE, is
the effective use of more than two
languages for literacy and
instruction. Henceforth, it shall be
institutionalized as a
fundamental educational policy
and program in this Department
in the whole stretch of formal
education including pre-school
and in the Alternative Learning
System.”
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9. “The Order extends the use of the mother tongue
beyond the first three years of elementary
school…This means that the mother tongue will
now be used not just for the first three grades,
but all the way to the last year of secondary
school, its use progressing one level per year.”
– Dr. Isagani Cruz
(The Philippine Star, July 23, 2009)
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10. DepEd Order 31, s. 2012
Implementing Guidelines of
Grades 1-10 of the new
Enhanced Curriculum
Enclosure 1, section D:
Medium of Instruction
“Mother Tongue (MT) shall be
used as the medium of
instruction and as a subject from
Grade 1-3. English or Filipino is
used from Grade 4 to 10.”
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11. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual
Education (MTB-MLE) is the government’s
banner program for education as a salient
part of the implementation of the K to 12
Basic Education Program. Its significance is
underscored by the passing of Republic Act
10533, otherwise known as the “Enhanced
Basic Education Act of 2013.”
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12. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
MTB-MLE is education, formal or non - formal,
in which the learner’s mother tongue and
additional languages are used in the
classroom. Learners begin their education in
the language they understand best - their
mother tongue - and develop a strong
foundation in their mother language before
adding additional languages.
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13. list of recognized regional languages in the Philippines (MTB-MLE)
1. Aklanon
2. Bikol
3. Cebuano
4. Chavacano
5. Hiligaynon
6. Ibanag
7. Ilocano
8. Ivatan
9. Kapampangan
10.Kinaray-a
11.Maguindanao
12.Maranao
13.Pangasinan
14.Sambal
15.Surigaonon
16.Tagalog
17.Tausug
18.Waray
19.Yakan
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14. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
The MTB-MLE is implemented in two modules: 1) as a
learning/subject area and 2) as medium of instruction.
As a subject, mother tongue education focuses on
the development of speaking, reading, and writing
from Grades 1 to 3 in the mother tongue. As a
medium of instruction, the mother tongue is used in
all learning areas from Kinder to Grade 3 except in
teaching Filipino and English subjects.
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15. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
MTB – MLE aims to produce learners
who are:
× Multilingual
× Multiliterate
× Multi-cultural
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16. What specific
weaknesses in the
philippine
educational system
does mtb-mle seek to
adDress?
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17. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
MTB – MLE seeks to
specifically address the high
functional illiteracy of
Filipinos where language
plays a significant factor.
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18. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
4 Aspects of Development
✗ Language Development
✗ Cognitive Development
✗ Academic Development
✗ Socio-Cultural Development
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19. Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
MTB – MLE provides:
1. Literacy
2. Prior knowledge
3. Cognitive development and higher order thinking skills
(HOTS)
4. Strong Bridge
5. Scaffolding
6. Teaching for meaning and accuracy
7. Confidence building and proficiency development for two or
more languages along the following macro-skills ( listening,
speaking, reading, writing, and viewing ) for both meaning
and accuracy.
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20. ✗ a challenge to English speakers
✗ too much to learn
✗ absence of books written in
mother tongue
✗ lack of vocabulary
✗ and lack of teacher-training
Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
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21. BILINGUAL POLICY
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22. The Language provision in the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines which are embodied in Article XIV, Sec. 6 and 7 provide the legal
basis for the various language policies that are being implemented in the
country.
The ratification of the above-mentioned constitution resolved the issue on
what the national language is, since the 1935 and 1973 Philippine Charters
were not clear about this.
The provision are as follows:
1. Section 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it
evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing
Philippine and other languages.
2. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the
Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English
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23. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
The policy was first implemented in 1974
when DECS issued Dept. Order No. 25, s.
1974 titled, “Implementing Guidelines for
the Policy on Bilingual Education.”
Consistent with the 1987 constitutional mandate and a declared policy of the National Board
of Education (NBE) on bilingualism in the schools (NBE Resolution No. 73-7, s.1973) the
Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) promulgated its language policy.
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24. Bilingual education in the
Philippines is defined
operationally as the separate
use of Filipino and English as
the media of instruction in
specific subject areas.
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25. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
FILIPINO
 Social Studies/Social
Sciences
 Music
 Arts
 Physical Education
 Home Economics
 Practical Arts
 Character Education
ENGLISH
 Science
 Mathematics
 Technology Subjects
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26. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
The policy on Bilingual Education aims at the
achievement of competence in both Filipino and
English at the national level, through the teaching of
both languages and their use as media of instruction at
all levels. The regional languages shall be used as
auxiliary languages in Grades I and II. The aspiration
of the Filipino nation is to have its citizens possess skills
in Filipino to enable them to perform their functions and
duties in order to meet the needs of the country in the
community of nations.
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27. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
The goals of the Bilingual Education Policy shall be:
1. enhanced learning through two languages to
achieve quality education as called for by the 1987
Constitution;
2. the propagation of Filipino as a language of
literacy;
3. the development of Filipino as a linguistic symbol
of national unity and identity;
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28. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
4. the cultivation and elaboration of Filipino
as a language of scholarly discourse, that
is to say its
continuing intellectualization; and
5. the maintenance of English as an
international language for the Philippines
and as a non-exclusive language of science
and technology.
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29. The Philippine bilingual education policy (BEP)
In summary:
 Filipino and English shall be used as media of
instruction, the use allocated to specific subjects in
the curriculum as indicated in the Department Order
No. 25, s. 1974.
 The regional languages shall be used as auxiliary
media of instruction and as initial language for
literacy, where needed.
 Filipino and English shall be taught as language
subjects in all levels to achieve the goals of bilingual
competence.
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30. DO 52, S. 1987 – THE
1987 POLICY ON
BILINGUAL
EDUCATION
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31. The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education
In 1994, Republic Act No. 7722, creating the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was
signed. This Act which is know as the “Higher
Education Act of 1994” provides that the CHED shall be
independent and separate from the DECS and attached
to the Office of the President for administrative
purposes only. Its coverage shall be both public and
private institutions of higher education as well as
degree-granting programs in all post-secondary
educational institutions, public and private.
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32. One of the first steps undertaken by CHED was to update
the General Education Curriculum (GEC) of tertiary courses
leading to an initial bachelor’s degree covering four (4)
curriculum years. This was done to make the curriculum more
responsive to the demands of the next millenium.
The requirements of the new GEC are embodied in the
CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 59, s. 1996. Listed
under miscellaneous of this CMO is its language policy which
is as follows:
The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education
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33. In consonance with the Bilingual Education Policy underlined in
DECS Order No. 52, Series of 1987, the following are the guidelines
vis-a-vis medium of instruction, to wit:
1. Language courses, whether Filipino or English, should be taught in
that language.
2. At the discretion of the HEI, Literature subjects may be taught in
Filipino, English or any other language as long as there are enough
instructional materials for the same and both students and
instructors/professors are competent in the language.
Courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences should preferably be
taught in Filipino.
The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education
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34. ✗ Executive Order No. 210 (May 17, 2003) - “Establishing
the Policy to Strengthen the Use of the English
Language as a Medium of Instruction in the Educational
System” so DepEd Memorandum No. 181 s. 2003 issued
provides that English language be used as medium of
instruction to develop aptitude, competence and
proficiency of students in the language, to maintain
and improve their competitive edge in emerging and
fast growing local and international industries,
particularly in area of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT)
The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education
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35. LANGUAGE – 1987 CONSTITUTION
Section 6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it
evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing
Philippine and other languages.
Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate,
the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as
a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the
educational system.
Section 7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official
languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by
law, English.
The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the regions
and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein.
Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.
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36. Section 8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in
Filipino and English and shall be translated into major
regional languages, Arabic, and Spanish.
Section 9. The Congress shall establish a national
language commission composed of representatives of
various regions and disciplines which shall undertake,
coordinate, and promote researches for the
development, propagation, and preservation of Filipino
and other languages.
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