MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN

TEACHING EPP
August 31, 2023
Ateneo de Naga University
Objective for the day:
appreciate the importance of using a
language best understood by the pupils,
particularly in the EPP subject
MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION in TEACHING EPP SUBJECT:
• Grades 4-5: MTB and/or Filipino
• Grades 6: English

(Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education)

Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education

• It is education in several languages based on the mother

tongue. The beginning language of teaching mother
tongue, termed as language 1 (L1). This leads to the
learning of a second language, called Language 2 (L2) and
a third language called Language 3.
 Guiding Principles:
• Effective language learning proceeds from the known to unknown.
• This means that you begin with what the learners know and used
what they know to learn what they do not yet know.
• This is building on what students know and gradually proceeding to
the unknown.
• Language learning, and all other kinds of learning for that matter, is an
active process. Learners must be actively involved in the learning
process in order to learn. To learn to speak, read, and write a particular
language, learners must speak, read and write the language.
 Guiding Principles
• There is no other way to learn a language except to speak, read,
and write the language. Successful language learning focuses on
meaning, accuracy and fluency not either fluency or meaning or
accuracy but both meaning, accuracy and fluency.

• The second language known as the L2, should be taught

systematically to the learners can gradually transfer skills from
the familiar language to the unfamiliar one.
THE BRIDGING PROCESS
The process of “transitioning from learning one language to
another. It also refers to the use of L1 as the initial medium of
instruction, gradually introducing increasing amounts of
instruction in L2, until either L1, or both L1, and L2 are used as
media of instruction.
IMPORTANCE OF MTB AND/OR FILIPINO IN TEACHING EPP:
• Makes it easier for children to pick up and learn other languages.
• Mother tongue develops a child’s personal, social and cultural
identity.
• Using mother tongue helps a child develop his/her critical thinking
and literacy skills.
• Research shows that children learning in mother tongue adopt a
better understanding of the curriculum.
• Skills learnt in mother tongue do not have to be re-taught when the
child transfers to a second language.
IMPORTANCE OF MTB AND/OR FILIPINO IN TEACHING EPP:
• Children learning in mother tongue enjoy school more and learn
faster due to feeling comfortable in their environment.
• Self-esteem is higher for children learning in mother tongue.
• Parent-child interaction increases as the parent can assist with
homework.
Enhancing learning of children from diverse language backgrounds: Mother tongue-based bilingual or
multilingual education in early childhood and early primary school years Prepared by Jessica Ball,
M.P.H., Ph.D. University of Victoria

• Many children speak a home language that differs from the language of instruction
in education programs. Research confirms that children learn best in their mother
tongue as a prelude to and complement of bilingual and multilingual education.
Whether children successfully retain their mother tongue while acquiring additional
languages depends on several interacting factors.
• Studies show that six to eight years of education in a language are necessary to
develop the level of literacy and verbal proficiency required for academic
achievement in secondary school. To retain their mother tongue, children whose
first language is not the medium of instruction must have: (1) continued interaction
with their family and community in their first language on increasingly complex
topics that go beyond household matters; (2) ongoing formal instruction in their
first language to develop reading and writing skills; and (3) exposure to positive
parental attitudes to maintaining the mother tongue, both as a marker of cultural
identity and for certain instrumental purposes (e.g., success in the local economy or
global trade).
Pause and Think:
How important is the need of teaching EPP subject in a language
best understood by learners?

What will you do to learners whose language differ from the

medium of instruction of your subject being taught?
research-BASED INSIGHT PAPER:
• Look for a journal article that justifies how medium of
instruction affects the learning development of
learners in learning EPP subject.

• Use the format attached in google classroom.

References:
• Ball, J. Enhancing learning of children from diverse language backgrounds:
Mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education in early childhood and
early primary school years.
http://www.ecdip.org/docs/pdf/UNESCO%20Mother-tongue%20based%20E
Y%202010-1.pdf