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Mother tongue as bridge language of instruction: Public Disclosure Authorized k policies and experiences in :: ~\ Southeast Asia "w-.,.-, '. .... Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Southeast Asian THE Ministers of Education WORLD 1!:X Organization E BANK ~ FastTrack Initiative Edited by Kimmo Kosonen and Catherine Young Foreword Dato’ Dr Ahamad bin Sipon, Director, SEAMEO Secretariat Chapter 1 Introduction 8 Kimmo Kosonen and Catherine Young Chapter 2 Language-in-education policies in 22 Southeast Asia: an overview Kimmo Kosonen Chapter 3 Various policies in Southeast Asian 44 countries Introduction 44 The evolution of language-in-education policies 49 in Brunei Darussalam Gary Jones Education policies for ethnic minorities in 62 Cambodia Neou Sun Regional and local languages as oral languages 69 of instruction in Indonesia Maryanto Policies, developments, and challenges in mother 76 tongue education in Malaysian public schools Ramanathan Nagarathinam Language-in-education policies and their 84 implementation in Philippine public schools Yolanda S Quijano and Ofelia H Eustaquio Language and language-in-education policies 93 and their implementation in Singapore Elizabeth S Pang Language policy and practice in public 102 schools in Thailand Busaba Prapasapong Language-in-education policies in Vietnam 109 Bui Thi Ngoc Diep and Bui Van Thanh Chapter 4 Good practices in mother tongue-first 120 multilingual education Catherine Young Chapter 5 Case studies from different countries 136 Introduction 136 Mandarin as mother tongue in Brunei 139 Darussalam: a case study Debbie GE Ho The mother tongue as a bridge language of 148 instruction in Cambodia Un Siren A case study on the use of Kadazandusun in 153 Malaysia Sandra Logijin The mother tongue as a bridge language of 159 instruction in two schools in La Paz, Agusan del Sur, the Philippines: a case study Yolanda S Quijano and Ofelia Eustaquio Bilingual literacy for the Pwo-Karen community in 171 Omkoi District, Chiangmai Province: a case study from Thailand Wisanee Siltragool, Suchin Petcharugsa & Anong Chouenon A mother tongue-based preschool programme 180 for ethnic minority children in Gia Lai, Vietnam Hoang Thi Thu Huong Chapter 6 The way forward in Southeast Asia: 190 general recommendations Kimmo Kosonen & Catherine Young References 196 Contributors 207 Foreword Hundreds of languages are spoken in Southeast Asian nations. This complex linguistic situation in the region poses one of the biggest challenges to education. It is essential to consider, moreover, the strong stimulus of technological advancement and the impact of modernization on these countries’ educational structures and systems, and more importantly, on their long-held traditions, cultures, and national identities. In any situation, it is not easy to formulate effective educational policies and initiatives that will enable all children and adults, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, or social standing, to gain a high-quality education. Educational policies and initiatives have broad consequences for the social, political, and economic aspects of governance as they are expressed in terms of funding, staffing, production of instructional materials, and allocation of resources. This publication, “Mother Tongue as Bridge Language of Instruction: Policies and Experiences in Southeast Asia,” presents a compendium of language policies, case studies, and general recommendations for mother tongue-based education in Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) member countries. It provides insights that may further strengthen each country’s policies concerning language of instruction as a way to achieve education for all. This book is a result of a consultative workshop organized by the SEAMEO Secretariat and the World Bank for SEAMEO Member Countries in February 2008. The workshop aimed to increase understanding of the issues and strategies related to basic education for ethnolinguistic minority communities in Southeast Asia. Above all, this book takes the position that the learners’ mother tongue is a bridge to further education, and that multilingualism is a tool for building bridges between people. The loss of a language means the loss of a community and its unique cultural heritage. But if we can use it to teach, to write, to read, and to compute, that language will never disappear. The SEAMEO Secretariat hopes that this publication will inspire SEAMEO member countries to meet the educational needs of learners who are hindered by barriers of language, thus contributing to the attainment of our goal, which is Education for All. Dato’ Dr Ahamad bin Sipon Director, SEAMEO Secretariat Chapter Introduction 8 Chapter 1 Introduction Kimmo Kosonen and Catherine Young SEAMEO Project – “Mother Tongue as Bridge Language of Instruction in Southeast Asian Countries: Policies, Strategies, and Advocacy” The recent Mid-Decade Assessment has shown that reaching vulnerable learners and improving quality of education and learning outcomes are among the greatest remaining challenges on the way towards ‘Education for All’ (EFA). Part of this challenge is to ensure that the voices of marginalized communities are heard in the dialogue around the provision of relevant, good-quality education for the children living in such communities. As in other regions, many children in Southeast Asia are taught in languages that are not spoken in their immediate community. Research and data, where available, show that these children are over-represented among the out-of-school population. There is an urgent need, therefore, to ensure that language-of- instruction issues receive adequate attention. Linguistic diversity is a characteristic of all Southeast Asian countries. Speakers of minority languages are far more likely to be excluded from the educational process than those belonging to the dominant groups. Many countries have one or more official languages, and frequently only such languages are used as the languages of education. In all Southeast Asian nations, the national or official language is often not the language spoken at home by a significant proportion of the population. In many countries, only one language is used in public education. Over the past decade or so this issue has started to receive increased attention and, as a result, many Southeast Asian nations have begun to experiment with the use of some ethnolinguistic minority languages in education. Different Southeast Asian countries have embraced different language-in- education policies and practices for classroom instruction. In some, such as Vietnam, explicit language policies have been in place for decades and need reviewing in the light of emerging social issues and their relevance to global and regional trends. In others, such as the newly independent Timor Leste, adopting a relevant language policy is critical to the country’s drive towards nation- building. Chapter 9 Introduction 1 Goals and objectives Currently, the SEAMEO Secretariat is working with other organizations, such as UNESCO, UNICEF, SIL International, Save the Children, CARE International, Mahidol University of Thailand, and three SEAMEO Regional Centres, namely SEAMEO Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (INNOTECH), SEAMEO Regional Language Centre (RELC), and SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA), to enhance the learning capacity of ethnolinguistic minorities on the way to achieving the goals of EFA. These efforts require different approaches and target different audiences. The current World Bank-sponsored SEAMEO initiative regarding mother tongue- based education attempts to generate synergy and support among these projects (SEAMEO, 2008). The goals and objectives of the SEAMEO project “Mother Tongue as Bridge Language of Instruction” coincide with those of this book, and include: • an exploration of how Southeast Asian countries, through appropriate language and language-in-education policies, can achieve the goals of Education for All by widening access, reducing grade repetition and dropouts, and improving learning outcomes. • a review and assessment of the use of the mother tongue as the language of instruction. • assistance to SEAMEO member states in devising strategies for making their language and language-in-education policies and consequent practices as appropriate and relevant to their respective situations as possible. This publication intends to add value by sharing regional good practices in terms of strategies, policy measures, and know-how. The project has thus far already provided a platform for open discussion of language issues and practical concerns in implementing and sustaining language policies, and this book hopes to maintain these processes throughout the region. The intention is to benefit all eleven SEAMEO member countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Publication and dissemination of the project and its outcomes to international agencies, NGOs, and academics within and outside the eleven Southeast Asian countries will help draw the interest of others beyond those immediately involved in this SEAMEO project. The primary readership for this book is the key policy makers in the eleven SEAMEO member countries, particularly Ministers of Education. The SEAMEO Secretariat has included language-of-instruction issues in the agenda of SEAMEO Centre Director Meetings, SEAMEO