DepEd Order #74 s.2009-Institutionalizing the use of MLE

The new MLE DepED order is now finally signed! It institutionalizes the use of the mother tongue based multilingual education in all schools, both private and public. You can download a copy of the policy from the

DepEd Website

The salient features of the policy are the following:

-institutionalization of MLE in all public and private schools from pre-school to high school
-the use of mother tongue as the language of learning and instruction
-the establishment of an MLE support system (orthography devt, locally developed instructional materials, community participation, teachers training, etc)
-contextualized MLE implementation thru local MLE technical working groups
-proper bridging process to introduce additional local/foreign languages. The bridging also involves starting with oral fluency (listening and speaking) and moving towards reading and writing
-Tagalog speaking areas to learn another local language as their L3
-MLE certification process

Malaysia Drops English For Math, Science Classes

here's a wonderful news item. i am looking forward to the day that we would shift to mother tongue, especially in teaching cognitively demanding subjects like math and science.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP)--Malaysia said Wednesday it will drop English as the language of instruction for math and science in schools, in a highly sensitive decision that has split opinion in the multiethnic country.

Deputy premier Muhyiddin Yassin said that from 2012 the subjects will be taught in Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, or in Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools.
Critics of the six-year policy of using English to teach the subjects argue that it has dragged down students' performance and is particularly unfair on children who are not proficient in the language.
"I wouldn't say it's a complete failure but it has not achieved the desired objectives that it was supposed to achieve," Muhyiddin told a press conference.
"The government is convinced that science and maths need to be taught in a language that will be easily understood by students, which is Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, Mandarin in Chinese schools and Tamil in Tamil schools."
He said the government would boost the teaching of English in schools, with more time given to the subject and the recruitment of nearly 14,000 extra teachers nationwide to teach the language.
Muhyiddin cited a 2008 survey which found that students' performance in maths and science had fallen since it had been taught in English, and that rural children were hit particularly hard.
In the months since the government said it was considering dropping English, debate has raged in newspaper columns and letters to media outlets.
In March, riot police fired tear-gas to disperse at least 5,000 Malays who demonstrated in Kuala Lumpur against the use of English to teach the two subjects in national schools.

sources: NY Times
Associate Press

MLE Teachers Training at Valenzuela City

Here are some shots taken from the 10 day teachers training at Valenzuela City last May 4-15. It was attended by more than 40 grade one teachers and MLE facilitators.
Most of the photos were taken during graduation ceremony when they displayed the big books they made out of stories they conceptualized about the people and places of Valenzuela City.





Facilitating the training were MLE resource people from Lubuagan DepEd, SIL, TAP, and UP. The program was funded by Cong. Magtanggol Gunigundo, the author of the MLE Bill. Five schools in Valenzuela City were chosen to be the pilot schools for MLE. They are Serrano Elementary School, Lingunan Elementary School, Silvestre Elementary School, Paso de Blas Elementary School, and Mapulang Lupa Elementary School. Representatives from each participating school were chosen to make up the MLE technical group.

The first project they accomplished was adjusting the first 8 week (ECCD) curriculum. Instead of nursery rhymes like "Little Miss Muffet," they chose songs with words and tunes that are familiar to their pupils.