Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education: Attitude and Perception of Non -Ip, Blaan, and Samal

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

One of the greatest challenges in the development of education is the choice of language. There has been no clear discussion on the issue of the attitude and perception of tri-people towards mother tongue-based multilingual education. Specifically in the community where there are diverse languages spoken together. There is a need to have a comparative look at the differences. For this reason, this study aimed to determine the attitude and perception of Non-IP, Blaan and Samal parents and the significant difference in the attitude and perception towards MTB-MLE.

METHODS

The study employed a mixed approach, a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. There were 384 parent-respondents chosen randomly from Tinoto Maasim Sarangani Province. In the research process, a modified questionnaire and an interview were used. To determine if there is a significant difference in the attitude and perception of Non-IP, Blaan and Samal parents towards MTB-MLE, ANOVA was used

RESULTS

The results of the ANOVA show that there is a significant difference in the perception of the three groups towards Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education. This is shown by the F –the value of 13.612 whose significance on ï ² -value is 0.000. Since ï ²< .05, then the difference is significant. To summarize, although the parents see the importance of English, the result shows that parents generally AGREE on the importance and relevance of teaching mother tongue in the early grades, and usefulness of using mother tongue as bridge in learning English language that can be used in the future in order for Filipino learners to become well rounded and globally competitive individuals. The above results imply that the Non-IP, Blaan, and Samal parents have a positive attitude towards mother tongue-based multilingual education.

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the findings of the study, the Non-IP's, Blaan, and Samal parents generally agree on the usefulness, relevance, and appropriateness of using mother tongue in teaching Grade 1 to 3 pupils. They have a favorable attitude towards MTB_MLE for classroom instruction. With regards to attitude towards MTB-MLE, the three groups of parents showed similar attitude levels. These findings are supported by the study conducted by Gacheche (2010) that Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education has a potential in making locally accessible to the marginalized group to enhance access to quality education. On the basis of the results of this study, the following recommendations are offered: The use of mother tongue in teaching Grades 1 to 3 pupils is highly recommended. Department of Education officials should hire teachers for Grades 1 to 3 who are fluent in using the mother tongue of a particular locality. And more instructional materials in the primary grades such as workbooks, modules, and books should be produced using mother tongue in their texts.