Chapter I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Hammerly (1991) estimates that the judicious use of the mother tongue (MT) in carefully crafted techniques can
be twice as efficient (i.e. reach the same level of second language proficiency in half the time), without any loss in
effectiveness, as instruction that ignores the students native language (Hammerly, 1999, as cited in Butzkamm,
2003, Pp.36-37).
An individual's mother tongue is a means for a person to participate in the knowledge of the social work. Another
influence of the mother tongue is that it causes the reflection and learning of successful social patterns of acting and
speaking.. The acquisition of language is essential not only to persons cognitive development, but also to their social
development and wellbeing.(Clarke, 2009).
Primary education is the most important level of education because it is the foundation of knowledge gain by the
pupils they can beget as they grow up.
That is why Adeyemi (2004) remarked that most problems manifesting at the later stages of education have their root
in primary educational practices. It could be inferred.From the foregoing therefore, that there is a direct relationship
between the quality of primary education, which is the very foundation of an individuals educational pursuit, and the
later stages of education of that individual.
Language and education are inseparable because the use of language as a medium of instruction in the
Teaching/learning situation goes a long way in determining the success achieved by the learner.
A medium of Instruction is the language used
in imparting knowledge and inculcating values and norms of the society in the
Young ones in the formal school system.The shock which the young child undergoes
in passing from the home to the school life is so great that everything possible should
be done to soften it, particularly, where modern methods of infants teaching
are not practiced in schools. The child passed from being one of a new child
under his/her mothers care to being one of a large group under a teacher. Instead of running about, playing and
shouting, the child is usually expected to sit still and be quiet, to concentrate, to do what he/she is told, instead of
what he/she wants to do, to listen and learn and answer questions. New information and ideas are presented to
him/her as fast as is possible. Almost everything is different from home and it is not surprising that many children
have difficulty in adjusting themselves to their new surroundings. If the language in which all this bewildering new
communication is made is also different from the mother tongue, the burden on the child is increased.
A.Statement of the Problem
Various policy measures have been taken by the Philippines government to promote mother education
especially at primary school levels.In addition,various mother tongue education projects have been undertaken with
the results pointing to the efficacy of mother tongue in enhancing better cognitive achievement among primary
school pupils.
It is pertinent to find out from the teachers themselves, what is their perception about the efficacy of mother
tongue in enhancing their students cognitive achievements.
The study attempted to provide answer to two research questions namely:
1. What is the perception of primary school teachers of the efficacy of mother tongue education?
2. How effective it was as medium of teaching instruction?
B.Significance Of The Study
This study will benefit the k-2 teachers in a way that it would provide a clear information about Mother
Tongue language which was currently used and already implemented within the new curriculum which is K-12
curriculum.
Nonetheless, this study is substantial in the sense that it allows the researchers to determine what are the
perception of teachers to Mother Tongue Education. It also take into account how effective was Mother Tongue as
medium of teaching instruction and determines whether it is applicable or not to all subject taken by primary pupils.
Lastly,this study so significant with regards on facilitating students learning which aims to lessen the high
rates of drop-outs in general and to make the teaching and learning process to be a learner-centered.
C.Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study focused was on the determination how effective a Mother tongue was as a medium of teaching
instruction.The samples were limited to forty(40) teachers that must be working in a primary school and teaching
kinder to grade 2 regardless of their age, of how long they are teaching,status in life and no matter whether or not
they reside on Lipa City for a years.

The socio-cultural factors were limited on the following indicators:

The respondents must be teaching within the framework of East District, Division of Lipa.
D.Objective of the Study.
To determine if the used of mother tongue as medium of instruction will be facilitative and effective in teaching and
learning instruction. To know if it is possible to makes a teaching and learning process a learner-centered. To find
out if the quality of instruction was higher if mother tongue is used in teaching and learning process.
E.Definition of terms
Mother Tongue- the hypothetical most recent common ancestor of all the world's languages.
Primary education-or elementary education often in primary school or elementary school is typically the first stage
of compulsory education, coming between early childhood education and secondary education.
Kindergarten- (literally children's garden) is a preschool educational approach based around playing, singing,
practical activities, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school.
K12 -(pronounced "k twelve", "k through twelve", or "k to twelve") is a designation for the sum
of primary and secondary education.
UNESCO-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Medium of instruction ---(plural: usu. Mediums of instruction, but the archaic media of instruction is still used by
some) is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory.
National Policy on Education (NPE) --is a policy formulated by the Government of India to promote education
amongst India's people. The policy covers elementary
education to colleges in both rural and urban India.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The idea that primary education is best begun in a childs MT has received a strong support in many educational and
linguistic circles. A detailed analysis of research findings and published literature, however, have shown a great
diversity on the basic assumptions and objectives of scholars and writers in the field. This has made it impossible to
generalize such beyond the areas studied:
It is axiomatic that the best medium for teaching a child is his mother tongue. Psychologically, it is the system of
meaningful signs that is in the mind works automatically for expression and understanding: sociologically, it is a
means of identification among the members of the community to which he belongs.Educationally, he learns more
quickly trough it than through an unfamiliar linguistic medium UNESCO 1953:11).
Some scholars have advocated the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction from the primary school level
for the following reasons. One, a number of scholars (Fafunwa and Bliss, 1967: Afolayan, 1976) have written on the
assumption that primary education, when given in the childs MT rather than in a second or foreign language, is
more effective and meaningful. Student learning can be accurately assessed in bilingual classrooms. When students
can express themselves, teachers can diagnose what has been learned, what remains to be taught and which students
need further assistance. In submersion schooling cognitive learning and language learning are confounded, making it
difficult for teachers to determine whether students have difficulty understanding the concept itself, the language of
instruction, or the language of the test.
It was in recognition of the importance and contributions of mother tongue to education that made the Federal
Ministry of Education in collaboration with other educational statutory agencies include in the National Policy on
Education published in 2004, revised in 1981 the use of mother tongue as a medium of educating pupils at the preprimary and primary level throughout the country.
According to the National Policy on education published in 2004 revised in 1981, Section 2(ii) which stated that
Government will ensure that the medium of instruction will be principally the mother tongue or the language of the
immediate community also in section 3 (xx) of the same National Policy on Education stated that: Government
will see to it that the medium of instruction in the primary school is initially the mother tongue of the immediate
community and at a later stage English.
So far, there had been conflicting opinion, assertions and conclusions on the use of Yoruba as a medium of
instruction. Bamgbose (1976) ,while reporting the Ife Primary Education Research Project of 1976 on the use of
Yoruba as a medium of instruction, said that there was no statistically significant difference between the performance
of children taught in Yoruba and those taught in English in their first School Level certificate Examination in
arithmetic, English, General Knowledge and Bible knowledge Conversely, the Iganga experiment conducted in
Uganda in which two classes were taught Geography, one in English and the other in the mother tongue showed that
those in the English class performed better than the mother tongue class.
CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY
A.Research Design
The researchers conducted a questionnaire type of study. This method was used to describe the problems
which are usually encountered with regards to the efficiency of the use of Mother Tongue as medium of instruction
in teaching Kinder to Grade Two pupils. This method was used to describe the efficacy of Mother Tongue in
teaching different subjects.
The study was conducted at selected elementary schools in the East District of Lipa. The researchers chose to
conduct this study in this community for several reasons: (1) it is where the District Office was located (2)
accessibility of the respondents.
B.The Respondents
The study population comprised selected primary school teachers of east district. There are 17 public primary
schools in east district out of which a total of 8 primary schools were randomly sampled. In each primary school 5
five teachers were randomly selected in each school.
C.Instruments to be Used
Instrument used for data collection was a self-designed questionnaires tagged Effectiveness Of The Used Of Mother
Tongue As Medium Of Instruction In Teaching K-2 Pupils On Selected Primary Schools In East District,Division Of
Lipa The questionnaire contained 10 items carefully worded to elicit responses from the participants.
D.Statistical Treatment Of Data.
Data colleted were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and simple percentage to determine the
percentage of the perception on the efficacy of Mother Tongue as medium of teaching instruction.
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Data were gathered from a total of 40 subjects. Among the forty subjects, 5 are male while 35 are female
regardless of their age.
Table1. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the views of the respondents if Mother Tongue makes learning
easier.
Teachers Response
Agree
Disagree
Total

Frequency
36
4
40

Percentage
90%
10%
100%

Table 1 shows the views of the respondents if mother tongue learns easier. Thirty-six (36) respondents or 90% says
they Agree, while the remaining four (4) respondents or 10% disagree.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that mother tongue makes learning easier.

Column1
Series 2

DISAGREE

Series 1

AGREE
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Figure1. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents views if mother tongue makes active classroom
participation.
Figure 1 shows their views if mother tongue makes active classroom participation. Twenty-two (22)
respondents or 55% says they Agree, while the remaining eighteen or 45% disagree.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that Mother Tongue makes active classroom participation.

Table 2. Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents View if Mother Tongue facilitates Effective
Teaching nd Learning.
Teachers Response
Frequency
Percentage
Agree
25
62.5%
Disagree
15
37.5%
Total
40
100%
Table 2 shows their views if Mother tongue facilitates effective teaching and learning. Twenty-five (25) respondents
or 62.5 % says that they agree, while the remaining fifth teen (15) respondents or 37.5 % disagrees.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that Mother Tongue facilitates effective teaching and learning.
Table 3 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the Views of the Respondents if it is possible to use Mother
Tongue to learn every subject.
Teachers Response
Frequency
Percentage
Agree

10

25%

Disagree

30

75%

Total

40

100%

Table 3 shows the respondents view if it is possible to use Mother Tongue to learn every subject. Ten (10)
respondents or 25% says that they agree, while Thirty (30) respondents or 75% disagrees. Therefore, the researchers
concluded that it is not possible to us Mother Tongue to learn every subject.

50%

50%

AGREE
DISAGREE

Figure2. Percentage Distribution of the Respondents view regarding the use of Mother Tongue in providing a
learner centered environment Figure 2 shows the respondents view if mother tongue makes particular lesson
learned. It has a split decision for respondents. Half of them agreed that they use learner centered technique in
teaching lesson. Half of them disagreed . Therefore, the researchers concluded that Mother Tongue can be both
learner centered or not.
Table 4. Frequency and Percentage Distribution on the Views of the Respondents about getting immediate feedbacks
to question when Mother Tongue is used.
Teachers Respondents
Frequency
Percentage
Agree
23
57.5%
Disagree
Total

17
40

42.5%
100%

Table 4 shows the respondents view in getting immediate feedback to questions when Mother Tongue is
used. Twenty-three (23) or 57.5% respondents says that it is easy to get feedback upon using Mother Tongue , and
the remaining seventeen (17) respondents or 42.5% disagrees respectively. Therefore, the researchers concluded that

it is easy to get immediate feedbacks to questions when Mother Tongue was used.

Figure 3. Frequency Distribution on Respondents view about the easy sharing of ideas with students upon the use of
Mother Tongue
Figure 3 shows the views of the respondents if it is easy to share ideas with the use of Mother Tongue. Twenty-five
(25) respondents or 62.5% agrees that it is easy to share ideas, and the remaining fifth teen (15) or 37.5% disagrees.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that it is easy to share ideas with students when Mother Tongue was used.
Table 5 Frequency and Percentage Distribution Table on the High Quality of Instruction when Mother Tongue was
used.
Teachers Respondents
Frequency
Percentage
Agree
16
40%
Disagree
24
60%
Total
40
100%
Table 5. shows the respondents view on the quality of instruction when Mother Tongue was used. Sixteen
(16) or 40% agrees that there is a high quality of instruction when Mother was used as the medium of instruction, and
twenty-four (24) or 60% says that they disagree. Therefore, quality of instruction is not high when Mother Tongue
was used as the medium of instruction.

Figure 4. Percentage Distribution of Respondents View that there is less stress in teaching using Mother Tongue.
Figure 4 shows the views of the respondents that there is less stress in teaching when Mother Tongue was
used. Twenty-four (24) respondents or 60% agrees that there is less stress in teaching when Mother Tongue was
used, and the remaining sixteen (16) respondents or 40% disagreed respectively.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that there is less stress in teaching when Mother Tongue was used.Table
6.Frequency and Percentage Distribution Table of the Respondents View if Mother Tongue enhances better learning
among pupils
Teachers Respondents
Frequency
Percentage
Agree
18
45%
Disagree
22
55%
Total
40
100%

Table 6 shows the respondents view if Mother Tongue enhances better learning among pupils. Eighty teen (18)
respondents or 45% agreed that Mother Tongue enhances better learning, and twenty two (22) respondents or 55%
disagreed.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that Mother Tongue does not enhances better learning among pupils.
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
CONCLUSION
The study investigated the Effectiveness Of The Use Of Mother Tongue As Medium Of Instruction in Teaching K-2
Pupils On Selected Primary Schools On East District,Division Of Lipa
Findings reveal that teachers perceive mother tongue as interesting ,facilitative and effective when used in teaching
and learning process.There is no significant difference in the perception of if Mother Tongue can be a learnercentered or not.
The study found that teachers perceived MT education as being both positive and efficacious. Their positive view of
MT education are that it is interesting and facilitative of effective teaching and learning. English medium was
perceived as being incapable of facilitating effective teaching and learning,and giving limited opportunity for
learners. These findings are akin to that of Inozu and Ilin (2007) who found that secondary school students have both
positive view of the use of mother tongue in teaching social studies concepts.. The positive perception held about
MTE could be explained by the fact that the effectiveness of MTE is closely linked with the peculiar conditions or
circumstances in the learners locals environment. Findings from the study also reveal that primary school pupils
prefer mother tongue medium of teaching to English-medium. This is in line with the finding of Son (2007) who
while investigation of learner experiences in web-based language learning reported that learners did not enjoy
learning through foreign language and if given the opportunity they would opt for mother tongue medium throughout
their primary education.
It could be concluded from this study that teachers perceived the efficacy of mother tongue education as positive and
facilitative of effective teaching and learning. They also verify would that mother tongue medium is extended
beyond the lower levels of primary education to cover the upper levels.
RECOMMENDATION
The researchers highly recommend that future studies be conducted on creating new approaches that possibly be
compatible with Mother Tongue. One of the objectives would be to developed different strategies and techniques that
can be used in teaching and learning process.
Moveover, a research on the effects of Mother Tongue on the learnings of pupils must be conducted.Furthermore,the
researcher could show that there is a good perception about mother as it was view as facilitative,providing positive
feedback among learners and make environment more conducive.
Due to the limited scope of the study,the future researchers encouraged to focus on other environmental and cultural
factors and biases of Mother Tongue Education.
The researchers would also recommend that studies regarding the significance of mother tongue on over all
evaluation Filipino curriculum in order to know the roles they play in preserving our culture and values.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Olaoye, A. (2007). Trends in the Performance of Students in Yoruba Language at SSCEUnpublished M. Ed Project,
Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan.
Andrews, S. 2001. The language awareness of the l2 teacher: Its impact upon pedagogical practice. Vol. X.
Butzkamm, W. 2003. We only learn language once: The role of the mother tongue in EFL classrooms, Death of a
Dogma, Language Learning Journal, 28, 29-39.
Saeidi, M. 2008. Multiple intelligence-based focus on form from theory to practice, Tabriz: Azad University. Vol. I.
Shuib, M. 2009. Grammatical awareness among primary school English language
Prtic Soons, M. 2008. The importance of language awareness: Ambiguities in the Understanding of Language
Awareness and the Practical Implication.
Kamwendo, G.H. (2008). The Bumpy Road to Mother Tongue Instruction in Malawi.
Journal of Multilingual and Multi-Culture Development, 29(50), 110-121.