Table Of ContentUNESCO Bangkok
Asia and Pacific Regional
Bureau for Education
Asia-Pacific Programme
of Education for All (APPEAL)
Improving the Quality of
Mother Tongue-based
Literacy and Learning
Case Studies from Asia, Africa and
South America
Improving the Quality of
Mother Tongue-based
Literacy and Learning
Case Studies from Asia,
Africa and South America
Improving the Quality of Mother Tongue-based Literacy and Learning: Case Studies from Asia, Africa and South
America. Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2008.
X + 194 pp.
1. Mother tongue instruction. 2.Educational quality. 3.Literacy programmes. 4.Adult literacy. 5. case
studies. 6.Asia. 7.Africa. 8.South America.
ISBN 978-92-9223-214-6 (Print version)
ISBN 978-92-9223-215-3 (Electronic version)
© UNESCO 2008
Published by the
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road, Prakanong, Klongtoey
Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Chief Editor: Caroline Haddad
Design/Layout: Sirisak Chaiyasook
Front cover photo: © UNESCO / APPEAL, © UNESCO / D. Riewpituk and © Literacy and Adult Basic Education (LABE)
Printed in Thailand
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory,
city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries.
APE/08/OS/058-500
Foreword
For many years, the Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education/UNESCO Bangkok has supported
educational development efforts that see the language(s) of the learner as resources, not as problems.
The Bureau’s Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL) has been supporting twelve countries
(Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Lao
PDR and Afghanistan) to implement pilot projects on literacy programmes using mother- tongue/
bilingual teaching and learning. The projects aim to provide quality education to ethnic minority
children, youth and adults. Action research has been undertaken to find out whether using mother-
tongue and bilingual education can help learners to learn faster and actively participate in literacy
classes, and whether such an approach can help to reduce drop-out rates and increase retention rates.
Coverage of target groups is different depending on each country’s needs, ranging from kindergarten to
primary education and adult literacy. The countries have carried out a wide range of activities, including
development of orthographies for different languages, development of teaching learning materials
based on community learning needs, development of a transition plan from mother-tongue to national
languages, capacity-building and policy advocacy. The countries not only provide the literacy skills, but
link them with life skills and other development activities for quality of life improvement and poverty
alleviation. Preservation and promotion of indigenous knowledge, culture and languages are also the
focus of the pilot projects.
UNESCO Bangkok organized the international workshop “Improving the Quality of Mother Tongue-based
Literacy Programmes” from 18 to 22 June of 2007 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in cooperation with UNESCO
Dhaka to facilitate cooperation and mutual learning among project leaders and other participants
involved in designing, implementing and coordinating mother tongue-based literacy and learning
programmes. This was the fourth such workshop organized over the past five years, and each time
participants were requested to submit detailed reports in advance. These reports, edited and published
here, represent an enormous amount of work and dedication from the community people involved
in putting their languages into print and using these languages to improve the knowledge, living
conditions and self-esteem of their communities. These reports have facilitated stimulating discussions
concerning the challenges and successes of using people’s own languages for teaching and learning.
This time, our projects across the Asia-Pacific region were discussed and compared with efforts in other
parts of the world, as UNESCO also invited colleagues from African and South American countries.
The South-South cooperation and mutual learning of this “meeting of the minds” around a common
theme—improving the quality of mother tongue-based literacy and learning—have resulted in a
particularly detailed and interesting set of case studies that should be of interest in the Asia-Pacific
region and well beyond. Carol Benson, a scholar in mother tongue-based education and a facilitator
at the workshop, has brought the country-specific reports together with introductory and concluding
chapters that highlight key issues and innovative solutions to practical problems. Country reports from
three regions of the world well demonstrate that the use of learners’ languages for teaching and learning
is not only preferable, it is feasible and attainable.
We, thus, hope that Improving the Quality of Mother Tongue-based Literacy Programmes contributes to
the dialogue and cooperation that is so essential to making these literacy activities work. As a proven
effective mechanism for learning, mother tongue-based education offers great hope for truly achieving
Education for All.
Sheldon Shaeffer
Director
UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for
Education, Bangkok, Thailand
Contents
FOREWORD III
ACRONYMS VI
INTRODUCTION IX
Summary Overview
Mother Tongue-based Education in Multi-lingual Contexts 1
Part I: Case Studies from Asia 13
Afghanistan 14
Bangladesh 28
Cambodia 44
China 50
India 53
Indonesia 58
Lao PDR 69
Malaysia 74
Nepal 81
Philippines 89
Thailand 97
Viet Nam 106
Part II: Case Studies from Africa 113
Burkina Faso 114
Cameroon 124
Ghana 134
South Africa 142
Tanzania 150
Uganda 157
Part III: A Case Study from South America 167
Bolivia 168
Part IV: Common Themes and Areas for Further Work 181
Questions, Answers and Remaining Issues 182
The Importance of Mother Tongue Materials and Appropriate Methods 184
Issues of Orthography 187
Contributors 192
Acronyms
Afghanistan POEYS Provincial Office of Education, Youth
DIN Darai-Noor and Sports
ERCDP Eatern Regional Community HCEP Highland Children’s Education Project
Development Project
LWC Language of Wider Communication China
ACBAR Afghanistan’s NGO affiliation body PRC People’s Republic of China
Bangladesh India
ARP Action Research Project ST Scheduled Tribes
BNFE Bureau of Non-Formal Education SC Scheduled Caste
NFPE Non-Formal Primary Education Mt Mother Tongue
NETZ a German donor agency
MoPME Ministry of Primary and Mass Indonesia
Education MCK Mandi, Cuci and Kakus (bath, clothes
ROSC Reaching Out of School Children washing and toilet)
PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy KFBI Keakasaraan Fungsional Melalui
CHT Chittagoan Hill Tribe Bahasa Ibu ( Functional Literacy
TLM Total Literacy Movement through Mother Tongue)
MT Mother Tongue IRI Informal Reading Inventory
ALP Active Learning Process SKB District Learning Centre
SDC Swiss Agency for Development & BAPPEDA District Planning and Development
Cooperation Board
UPA- ZILA a sub-district
NCTB National Curiculum & Text Book Lao PDR
Board LNLS Lao National Literacy Survey
PEDP Primary Education Development EDP Education Development Project
Programme CLE Concentrated Language Encounter
BRAC Bangladesh Rural Advancement NRIES National Research Institute for
Committee Educational Science
CAMPE Campaign for Popular Education
MLE Multilingual Education Malaysia
DBNA Dayak Bidayu National Association
Cambodia MSM Multi-strategy Method
NFE Non-Formal Education Nepal
MoEYS Ministry of Education, Youth and CMC Class Management Committee
Sports BASE Backward Society and Education
ICC International Cooperation for VDC Village Development Committee
Cambodia
[ vi ]
Philippines MoE Ministry of Education
BALS Bureau of Alternative Learning System South Africa
A&E Accreditation and Equivalency CELS Contemporary English Language
IP Indigenous People MUST Multilingual Study
EL Elementary Level MOI Medium of Instruction
HBUs Historically Black Universities
Thailand SAALA South African Applied Linguistics
NPKOM Northern Pwo Karen Bilingual Association
Education Project at Omkoi District ALASA African Languages of Southern Africa
ONFEC Office of the Non-Formal Education ACALAN Academy of African Languages
Commission LoLT Language of Learning and Teaching
NRNFEC Northern Region NFE Centre
TPR Total Physical Response Tanzania
LGM Learner generated materials ECLs Ethnic Community Languages
LOI Language of Instruction
Viet Nam ELTSP English Language Teaching
MoET Ministry of Education and Training Support Project
RCEME Resource Centre for Ethnic Minority
Education Uganda
LCE Literacy and Continuing Education
Burkina Faso FABE Family Basic Education (FABE)
CMS College Multilingues Specifiques COPE Complementary Opportunities for
ALFAA Apprentissage de la Langue Primary Education
Française à partir des Acquis de ABEK Alternative Basic Education for
l’Alphabétisation Karamoja
CEP Primary School-leaving Certification BEUPA Basic Education in Urban Poverty
Examination Areas
LABE Literacy in Adult Basic Education
Cameroon CBOs Community-based Organizations
CLED Cameroon Language in Education,
Literacy and Development Bolivia
PROPELCA Operational Research Programme for PEIB Bilingual Intercultural Education
Language Education in Cameroon Project
NACALCO National Association of Cameroonian EIB Intercultural Education Project
Language Committee MAS Socialism Movement
CEPOs Indigenous People’s Educational
Ghana Councils
ASTEP Assistance to Teacher Education
Programme
TTCs Teacher Training Centres
[ vii ]
Introduction
This publication is a compilation of articles and ideas that were presented at the regional workshop of
representatives from country projects supported by the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All
(APPEAL) in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 18 to 22 June 2007, hosted by UNESCO Dhaka. The organizing
theme of the workshop was “Improving Quality of Mother Tongue/Bilingual Literacy Programmes”.
This workshop was particularly exciting because, in cooperation with UNESCO Dakar and the UNESCO
Institute of Lifelong Learning (UIL), UNESCO Bangkok had invited specialists from African and South
American countries working in mother tongue-based education to share their experiences.
There is a significantly growing consciousness on the part of national and international NGOs, along with
local and government stakeholders, of the importance of using learners’ mother tongues to promote
Education for All. This workshop helped to integrate the pedagogical principles, the experiences and
the lessons learned, indicating directions forward in the promotion of mother tongue-based literacy
and learning.
This publication introduces the theme of mother tongue-based education and discusses the pedagogical
and linguistic principles behind educational language choice. It then presents the basic themes that are
raised by the country cases described in Parts I through III. In Part IV we return to important issues raised
and directions for the future.
[ ix ]
Photo Credits:
Top row: (1) © UNESCO / APPEAL, (2) © POEYS 3: © UNESCO / D. Riewpituk
Bottom row: (4) © UNESCO / APPEAL, (5) © UNESCO / D. Riewpituk (6) © Tantanakuy
