KISS’s Mother Tongue Based –Multilingual Education and its Implications on Tribal Children

The pattern of pedagogy of education varies across communities and cohorts. Young tribal children learners entering formal schooling for the first time can be easily overwhelmed by the new atmosphere in classrooms, surrounded by unfamiliar faces and the added pressure of learning from unfamiliar textbooks. Additionally, since children come from various language backgrounds, it is observed that they find it difficult to shift from their mother tongues to Odia (regional) language, creating confusion when teachers instruct them in any language other than their mother tongue. While addressing linguistic issues among the 62 tribes of Odisha in the early education sector, KISS was concerned about establishing language foundations among early learners.

In order to address this issue, KISS has implemented Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) since 2013. The MTB-MLE project addresses this learning challenge by helping young students transition from informal learning backgrounds to formal education, while easing the transition process in classroom transactions by using their mother tongues. In MT based MLE program, students of KISS have the opportunity to learn core concepts primarily in a familiar language and later they learn the labels or vocabulary for those concepts in a new language.

Key benefits of MT based education at KISS includes: A) Improves the access to education: Children understanding the language of instruction is more likely to enter school at age appropriate time and attend school regularly. They are less likely to drop out and repeat the class than those who receive instruction in other language. B) Improve reading and learning outcomes: Becoming literate and fluent in one’s first language is important for overall language and cognitive development, as well as academic achievement. C) Facilitates learning a second or foreign language: Mastering a first language and core learning concepts promotes general cognitive development that is needed to more easily and rapidly learn a second language. D) Improves internal educational efficiency: With the increased efficiency resulting from fewer students repeating and dropping out, or failing to learn, Mother tongue based education is also more cost effective than monolingual model of education. E) Improves children’s self-concept and identity: Mother tongue based learning validates the child’s home culture and traditional knowledge and also reinforced. The child gains a better self-concept and has strong sense of his identity. It also helps the child to perform well in the class than those who learn in other unknown languages. F) Supports local culture and parental involvement: The use of mother tongue in class room validates local culture and tradition and creates a bridge between the formal class room system and child’s home and community environment. It also ensures parental participation and community support for education.

 

Henceforth, Mother Tongue Multilingual Education prevents drop-outs and brings cultural sensitivity to the classroom. KISS not only gives primacy to tribal language and culture but also research in this field. To read more visit here: https://kiitee.kiit.ac.in/