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Language for Itself

and Inand For Development

Sheldon Shaeffer

Cagayan de Oro, PhilippinesMarch 18, 2010


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Linguistic Diversity in AsiaCountry Languages

Uzbekistan 39

Tajikistan 33

Kyrgyzstan 32

Bhutan 35

Singapore 31

Turkmenistan 27

Cambodia 25

Timor Leste 19

Brunei 17

Japan 16

Mongolia 15

Sri Lanka 7

Korea, South 4 Maldives 2

Korea, North 1

TOTAL: ~ 3572(Source: Ethnologue 2009)

Country Languages

P.New Guinea 830 Indonesia 722

India 445

China 296

Philippines 181 Malaysia 145

Nepal 127 Myanmar 116

Vietnam 108

Lao PDR 89

Thailand 85

Pakistan 77

Iran 79 Afghanistan 52

Bangladesh 46 Kazakhstan 43

(30 countries)


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Number of Languages

spoken in Asia

-Of the worlds more than 6000 languages, 50% are dying, 40% areendangered, and only 10% are safe.

- 96% of these languages are spoken by only 4%of the worlds population.

- Most of the endangered languages are spoken by ethnic minorities.

- If nothing is done, these languages and their cultures will likely die.


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When a language dies -- we lose a piece ofknowledge, of human thought, and of world-view and it cannot be replaced.

Languages in danger must be revitalised andfurther developed because:

they are needed to maintain cultural andlinguistic diversity for a sustainable future

they express identity, hold history, andtransmit culture

they contribute to the sum of human andcultural knowledge

they are essential for human and socialdevelopment and for the fulfillment of

human rights

Why languages cannot be allowed to die


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What do we know? (1)

A language can survive and thrive only if it

has a strong presence in the education

system.

But most education systems are

inappropriate for, or even hostile to,indigenous and minority groups and their

languages.

Large numbers of learners are forced to learn

in a language (official or international) that isdifferent from the language they speak at

home.


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People only learn to read once.

It is therefore essential both to keepcultures and their languages strong and

intact and to increase school successthat early education and initial literacy be

provided in the learners first language or

mother tongue which then makes it easier

to master national and internationallanguages.


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Learners must begin school from where they

are in their home language -- and NOT ina language they do not know.

It is very difficult to teach people to read andwrite in a language they dont understand.

The starting point of learning how to readand write is the language of the learnerbeginning with the known and movingprogressively to the unknown.

Skills in the first language of literacy shouldbe consolidated before the second is

mastered - preferably during at least three

years of study.


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A strategy of multilingualism beginning

with mother-tongue mastery producesbetter learning outcomes and higher ratesof internal efficiency higher enrolment,less repetition, lower drop-out rates, higher

achievement.

Education for All can only be achievedwith a strategy of mother tongue-based

multilingual education without it, toomany children will not enter school, will fail,

and will drop out or be pushed out -- of the

education system.


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Using mother tongue also:

builds initiative and participation in learning

stimulates the production of materials in

home languages

inserts local knowledge into the classroomfacilitates integration into broader social,

cultural, and economic contexts

contributes to the individual and collective

development of often excluded people

can improve relations between political

leaders and the multilingual population of a

country


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Learners whose

mother tongueis

thelanguage ofinstructionand

literacyin

education.

Learners who do

not speakthe

standard school

languageusedwhen they enter

school


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MLE for building a strong foundation and

a good bridge in multilingual contexts


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The development of MLE in Asia

Slowly, over time, MLE based on mother-

tongue is making progress in Asia. Supportive Ministry of Education policies exist

in Cambodia, Singapore, China, Bangladesh,

India, Nepal, Afghanistan, New Zealand,

Australia, and especially! -- the Philippines.

Many private systems use the approach inMyanmar.

Ministries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Timor Leste,Central Asia, and the Pacific are showing

greater willingness to experiment with MLE.

And a new national language policy in Thailandsupports minority languages in education.


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Problems and solutions (1)

The lack of orthographies and alphabets

BUT new alphabets can be developed, atrelatively low cost, often using the script of the

national language

The cost and expertise to create instructionalmaterials and to recruit and train teachersfrom, or in, minority languages

BUT materials and texts can be produced

locally and cheaply, especially for the earlygrades, using teachers and community

members as resources

AND teacher trainees from linguistic minorities

can be found and trained


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The so-called underdevelopment of

some languages and their inability toexpress complicated ideas and concepts

BUT most can express the ideas and

concepts needed for gaining initial literacy

and languages, too, can grow! Indifference and even opposition from

within minority communities themselves

BUT they can be convinced that:oral use of a mother tongue is not the

same as or as good as -- literacy

mother tongue literacy can lead to

greater mastery of the national language


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Indifference even active opposition

from dominant political and economicgroups -- the fear of divisiveness and conflictand the overriding goal of national unity

BUT recognising and valuing linguistic and

cultural diversity can reduce inter-culturalstrife and make excluded groups feel more

loyal toward the state

AND gaining initial literacy in mother

tongue can lead to greater mastery of the

national language and greater contributions

by linguistic/cultural minorities to the social

and economic development of the nation


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Language and development

Languages and the cultures that go with them are:

important in themselves

essential in the immediate development process to ensure that development programmes are

appropriate for, and owned by, indigenous,excluded communities

necessary for longer-term development byguaranteeing that cultural and linguistic diversity

are part of our sustainable future

Food cooked in borrowed pots never kills

hunger

Sozinho Francisco Matsinhe, Mozambique


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So what to do?Internationally

The United Nations Declaration on theRights of Indigenous Peoples (Article 14)

states that:

indigenous individuals, especially children,

have the right to all levels and forms of

education of the State, without

discrimination...where possible...in theirown culture and provided in their own

language


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The Universal Declaration on CulturalDiversity recognizes a strong relationship

among biodiversity, cultural diversity, andlinguistic diversity. UNESCOs action plan for

this Declaration recommends:

sustaining the worlds linguistic

diversity and supporting the expressionand dissemination of the greatest possible

number of languages

encouraging linguistic diversity at alllevels of education

incorporating traditional pedagogies intothe education process


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recruiting and training teachers familiarwith the life of their people and able to

teach in their mother tongue supporting bilingual and / or multilingual

education at all levels as a means ofpromoting both social and gender equality

and as a key element of linguisticallydiverse societies

respecting the educational rights of

minorities and indigenous peoples using mother tongue education to raise

awareness of the positive value of culturaland linguistic diversity


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Nationally and locally

create networks of researchers, practitioners,NGOs, government officials, and politicians

legislate to ensure mother tongue-based MLE

advocate at all levels, from politicians andpolicy-makers to community leaders and parents

collect evidence of the impact of MLE onacademic, social, economic, and cultural

outcomes

develop orthographies and support MLE-based school curricula and texts and popularliterature

adopt affirmative action for recruiting and

educating teachers from ethnic minorities


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Desired outcomes of this conference (2)

To understand and appreciate that:

through greater integration, excluded indigenouscommunities can contribute more to economicand social development

local communities need to have a significant

influence on the governance of their educationprogrammes and the determination of the

content and methods of instruction

language development and revitalisation areuseful entry points for broader-based

development and essential for the full realisation

of the Education for All targets and the

Millennium Development Goals

Ad Kit f P ti MLE


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Advocacy Kit for Promoting MLE

To facilitate awareness

raising on the value of

mother tongue-based

multilingual education

To understand how to

overcome the majorobstacles and objections to

MLE

To encourage readers to

think about the importanceof mother tongue-based

multilingual education

issues and to investigate

them further


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