cambodia, philippines and thailand - mahidol …...there are on-going mtb mle pilot schools in 5...

Cambodia, Philippines and Thailand

H.E. Under Secretary of State Ton Sa Im

Congressman Magtanggol T. Gunigundo

Professor Suwilai Premsrirat

Moderator: Dr. Sheldon Shaeffer

4th International Language and Education Conference

Bangkok, 6-8 November, 2013

Structure of the panel Introductions Regional context Key policy positions in the three countries MLE policy issues Cambodia Philippines Thailand

Questions and answers / general discussion

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0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Indonesia

Philippines

Malaysia

Myanmar

Vietnam

Laos

Thailand

Singapore

Cambodia

Timor Leste

Brunei

Number of languages in Southeast Asia(Source: Lewis, 2009)

Cambodia: Khmer

Philippines: Filipino, English

Thailand: Standard Thai

5

• Total population: 14.86 million • 24 ethnic minority groups (2.97% of total population) • 19 ethnic minority groups without orthography (1.49%) • National language: Khmer (96.3%)

Cambodia

The Philippines Population: 92,337,852 (2010 census)

National language: Filipino (1987, Constitution, Article 14(6))

Official languages: Filipino and English (1987, Constitution, Article 14(7))

Number of students : 23,769,811 Million (Kindergarten 2,210,978 , Elementary 14,495,854 ,

Secondary 7,062,979)

Number of teachers : 514,574 (Elementary 377,831 , High School 169,743)

65 million people speak 70+ living languages belonging to five language families

Thai is the only official/national language.

• Derived from a variety of Central Thai. About 50% of the population use it proficiently as their first language or mother tongue.

• Used as the medium of instruction in all levels of education all over the country (prior to the recent new policy) leading to language shift and decline and underachievement in education for ethnic minority children.

• Tai (24) • Austroasiatic (22) • Austronesian (3) • Hmong-Mien (2) • Sino-Tibetan (20)

More than 40% are not literate in Grade )

• Large language groups at border areas cannot reach government services, especially education.

• Students do not have sufficient knowledge of Thai which is the language of instruction used in school.

• More than 40% of Thai students are still illiterate in Grade 3.

Language and Education Policy in Thailand

There are on-going MTB MLE pilot schools in 5 language groups (23 schools): PM Malay, Mon,

Hmong, Pwo Karen, and Northern Khmer.

The National Language Policy gives strong support for the use of mother tongue in society and also for MTB-MLE.

Cambodia - policies

Education Law, 2007 (Ch.4, Art.24) - local authorities have a right to choose the language(s) of instruction in areas where Khmer Lue (Khmer-related) languages are spoken

“Guidelines on the implementation of bilingual education [MLE] programs for indigenous children in highland provinces”, 2010

Bilingual Education Decree, 2013

Cambodian model of MLE - FE

Early childhood education Semester 2 Mother tongue 80% Khmer 20% Semester 1 Mother tongue 100%

Formal primary education Grade 4 Khmer 100% Grade 3 Mother tongue 30% Khmer 70% Grade 2 Mother tongue 60% Khmer 40% Grade 1 Mother tongue 80% Khmer 20%

Cambodian model of MLE - NFE

Non-formal education Year 4 Khmer 100% Year 3 Mother tongue 10% Khmer 90% Year 2 Mother tongue 50% Khmer 50% Year 1 Mother tongue 90% Khmer 10%

Philippines - policies

Department of Education Order 74, 2009: Institutionalization of mother tongue-based multilingual education

Republic Act 10533 (the K-to-12 Law), signed into Law on May 15, 2013

Philippines Republic Act 10533: “An act enhancing the Philippine basic

education system by strengthening its curriculum and increasing the number of years for basic education, appropriating funds therefor and for other purposes”

Salient features: Increases the basic education cycle from 10 to 12 years Uses the principles and framework of mother tongue-based

multilingual education (MTB-MLE) Key position:

Since the Philippines is a multilingual nation, language plays a strategic role in shaping the formative years of learners.

Thailand - policies Education Policy for a Special Education Area

(Southern Thailand), 2007

National Language Policy (NLP), 2010

Prime Ministers Abhisit and Yingluck signed the policy in 2010 & 2012, respectively The NLP provides strong support for the use of non-

dominant languages in general and all learners’ first languages in society and in education

Thailand: excerpts from NLP 2010 “ --- various ethnic groups … have the right to use their mother tongues in their homes, in their communities, and in public places. This includes the use of their mother tongue in the education system for their young people.” (Sect 4.)

The NLP “ --- support[s] the use of the ethnic languages, or the mother tongue, as the first language of children in the education system”. (Sect 4.)

“It is the policy of the government to promote bilingual or multilingual education for the youth of the ethnic groups whose mother tongue is different from the national language (Thai) … in order to strengthen the study of the Thai language and to support the cognitive development and education of children.” (Sect 5.)

Language and education policy developments

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MLE policy developments in Cambodia

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Key positions

Desired outcomes Mother tongue-based multilingual education has a positive

impact on learning outcomes of indigenous students. Children and adults not speaking the national language at home

can have access to education and build relations and solidarity between the various ethnic groups and Khmers.

Indigenous communities can preserve their mother tongue, and maintain and develop their culture: community history, traditions, and legends.

By providing equal access to education indigenous people will also benefit from economic development.

Documenting indigenous heritage in written form will contribute to the preservation of their culture, language and traditions.

Main reasons for the policies To address the needs of indigenous people. The Royal Government of Cambodia is committed to EFA and

reaching the MDGs, including indigenous children. Include the development of indigenous in the overall

development of Cambodia. Provide clear structure and guidance on MLE to government

officials of all sectors, and the development partners. Implement the rights of indigenous people under the

Constitution in the education law. Enforce UN treaties regarding indigenous people. Preserve the indigenous languages and cultures. A strategy to reduce poverty among indigenous communities.

Intended beneficiaries Indigenous people mainly in the Northeast of

Cambodia and in certain pockets of the country. These groups are the first priority because they are the

most impoverished. Indigenous languages with approved orthographies,

but as the number of orthographies will increase, those indigenous groups will be included.

Other minorities (Chinese, Vietnamese, Lao, and Cham have a script) are not among the most impoverished groups.

Processes and challenges

Policy development process Policies based on the needs of ethnic minority people. Constitution of 1993 guarantees all Cambodians the same rights

regardless of race, color, language, and religious beliefs. Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) recognizes the role of

indigenous peoples in the protection of biodiversity . The National Policy on the Development of the Indigenous

Ethnic Communities (2009). The Education Law of 2007 (Chapter 4, Article 24) ensures

education in a language different from the national language. Inclusive education for ethnic minorities in the ongoing

Education Sector Program (ESP). The Guidelines on Implementation of Bilingual Education

[MLE] programs for indigenous children in highland provinces (2010).

Bilingual Education Decree (2013).

Main stakeholders and actors Indigenous representatives and elders. Inter-ministerial committees (Ministries of Rural

Development, Women’s Affairs, Agriculture etc) Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (all levels)

Early Childhood, Primary, Non Formal Education Royal Academy UNICEF and UNESCO International NGOs

Challenges MLE was a new concept for Cambodia and government

officials and indigenous communities were not clear about the purpose of MLE.

Concerns about indigenous communities breaking away from Cambodia.

Concerns that MLE is too expensive and MLE takes too much time.

Many languages (19) still need orthographies. More attention is needed for small ethnic minority groups. Limited human resources in indigenous areas, so existing

policies needed to be adapted.

Solutions 1

Building trust between all stakeholders addresses misconceptions and concerns.

Providing evidence that MLE benefits indigenous people.

Work with more linguists to develop orthographies for more languages, including smaller ethnic minority groups to make expansion possible.

Build the capacity of the Ministry to train an increasing number of indigenous teachers on MLE.

Explore options of providing special multilingual courses for indigenous students at state teacher training colleges.

Develop a National Action Plan which is a road map for the Ministry and will ensure better planning and coordinate support by Development Partners (in progress).

All NGOs need to comply with the requirement of developing a MOU with the Ministry to enable the Ministry to coordinate the support for education for ethnic minorities.

Solutions 2

Current status

Policy implementation Decree on Bilingual (MLE) Education has been

promulgated in 2013. This Decree is taking the earlier Guidelines to a higher

level and demonstrates the commitment of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to include education for indigenous people.

MLE is included in the Education Strategic Plan 2014 – 2018.

MLE Early Childhood Education being piloted in the Northeast of Cambodia.

Financing implementation Development Partners provide supplementary funding

to the Ministry’s budget. The Ministry includes this in the Annual Operational

Plan and the budgets. The decentralization gives the sub-national level

opportunities to fund MLE initiatives. INGOs contribute by providing training, capacity

building and technical advice. Gradually the funding will be included in the

Ministry’s national budget and become independent of Development Partners.

Future of MLE in Cambodia MoEYS has a strong commitment to expand the MLE

program. The Ministry is developing a five-year National Action

Plan for MLE, including expansion of indigenous languages, schools and

teachers. The Ministry builds its capacity to train indigenous teachers.

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Key positions

Desired outcomes (MDG) Millennium Development Goals and Beyond 2015 Goal 2 : Achieve universal primary education Goal 3 : Promote gender equality and empower women Goal 4 : Reduce child mortality Education for All (EFA) Goals (UNESCO 2000) aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.

Goal 1 Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education Goal 2 have access, complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality. Goal 3 Equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programs. Goal 4 Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women Goal 5 Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, Goal 6 Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all

Main reasons for the new policy 1. Better learning outcomes for children to be

measured by participation rate, retention rate, National Achievement Test results, completion rate, teachers’ welfare and training profiles.

2. Equity and inclusive development

3. Cultural preservation

4. Cost effective

Cornerstone provisions on MTB-MLE Republic Act 10533 Make education learner-oriented and responsive to the needs, cognitive and

cultural capacity, the circumstances and diversity of learners, schools, and communities through the appropriate languages of teaching and learning, including mother tongue as a learning resource. [sec.2 par. (c)]

Basic Education shall be delivered in languages understood by the learners as the language plays a strategic role in shaping the formative years of learners. [sec.4 par. 5]

For kindergarten and the first three (3) years of elementary education, instruction, teaching materials and assessment shall be in the regional or native language of the learners. The Department of Education (DepEd) shall formulate a mother language transition program from Grade 4 to Grade 6 so that Filipino and English shall be gradually introduced as languages of instruction until such time when these two (2) languages can become the primary languages of instruction at the secondary level. [sec. 4 par. 6]

Republic Act 10533 For purpose of this Act, mother language or first Language (L1)

refers to the language or languages first learned by a child, which he/she identifies with, is identified as a native language user of by others, which he/she knows best, or uses most. This includes Filipino sign language used by individuals with pertinent disabilities. The regional or native language refers to the traditional speech variety or variety of Filipino sign language existing in a region, area or place. [sec.4 par. 7]

The curriculum shall adhere to the principles and framework of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) which starts from where the learners are and from what they already knew proceeding from the known to the unknown; instructional materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-MLE curriculum shall be available. [sec.5 par (f)]

Cornerstone provisions on MTBMLE

Intended beneficiaries

Challenges Many Filipinos believe that using English as

language of instruction in basic formal education will make children proficient in that language even though it is not the first language of most Filipinos.

The lack of teaching materials and culturally relevant textbooks.

Budget and financing arrangements

Policy development process March 10, 2008 House Bill 3719 (the mother tongue based multilingual education bill) was filed by Representative Magtanggol T. Gunigundo and only 5 members of Congress supported the bill

July 14, 2009 The Department of Education (DepEd) issued Department Order 74 series of 2009 to institutionalize the use of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education in elementary.

February 11, 2010 Then Senator Noynoy Aquino, during the 2010 Presidential campaign, unveiled his education reform platform that includes the used of MTB-MLE Concept

July 1, 2010 The mother tongue-based multilingual education bill was re-filed in 15th Congress (HB 162) by Representative Magtanggol T. Gunigundo, and 92 Congressmen co- authored the said Bill

RA 10533 is the final outcome of this legislative thrust

Main stakeholders and actors

Eggie Apostol Foundation

Philippine Association of Language Teachers

Challenges in implementing RA 10533 Teacher training for 514,574 Public School teachers

Production of culturally relevant textbooks in local languages

Sustaining Community Support

Current status

Policy implementation: K-12 Currently about 50 languages are used for MTB-MLE,

19 languages are supported by the Dept of Education (the rest by NGOs, university extension offices and local teachers initiatives)

100% of K-3 teachers are trained in MTB-MLE

Schools have the freedom to use their local budget for MTB-MLE programs for any langauge of their choice

Local languages are included as language courses and medium of instruction in 13 universities

7 universities have begun offering MTB-MLE Teacher Education courses at BS/MA/PhD levels

Commission of Higher Education is revising Teacher Education curriculum to include MTB-MLE

Implementation: Higher Education

At least two provinces (Zamboanga / La Union) have passed local ordinances requiring their local languages (Chabacano /Ilocano) to be used for official communications, street and business signage, product labels, music, TV and radio programs

Implementation: Community level

Financing implementation

2012

2013

2014 Proposed Budget

Department of Education Budget(2012- 2014)

US$ 6,503,784,799.61

US$ 5,362,319,582.32

US$5,168,323,020.11

Elementary $298.37 Secondary $417.37



Future of MLE in the Philippines We need 15 good years to reap the benefits of this paradigm shift in the language- in-education policy

Salamat po Thank you Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!!!


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Key positions

The National Language Policy (NLP) The NLP is a multi-prong policy that encompasses all language groups in the country.

• While promoting Thai which is the national language and the international languages, the policy also gives special attention to language needs of disadvantaged groups including ethnic minorities, labor migrants and the visually and hearing impaired.

• The use of the MT is promoted in public as well as in education.

• The MTBMLE for the large language groups at the border is supported, for example, the Patani Malay – Thai MLE in southern Thailand.

Desired outcomes

“Thai-ness” will be redefined – to embrace language diversity in a multicultural society.

Heritage language (MT) or people’s language identity can be preserved.

Equality in basic education – MTB-MLE for all. Successful in education, good job prospects and good quality

of life. Quality citizens – bi-/multilingual citizen in a multilingual –

multicultural society. Peace and national reconciliation (Thailand’s Deep South)

Equality in basic education – MTBMLE for all

Main reasons for the policies

To accommodate the complex language situation of a changing social ecology impacted by globalization, nationalism (‘Thai-ness’) and regionalism (ASEAN Economic Community)

To solve the issues of:

The decline of non-dominant/ethnic languages Under-achievement in school (children, teachers

and parents are not happy with low academic results)

The current draft of the NLP of Thailand aims

Intended beneficiaries Indigenous and ethnic minority children

Teachers, parents, and communities

Relevant government departments

Thai society at large

Policy development process Responsibility of Royal Institute of Thailand Committee Members:

Applied Linguists, Sociolinguists, Anthropologists, Educators, Cultural Specialists, Internal security representatives, Oral Literature Specialists, Thai Language Specialists, Human Rights Experts, Ethnic Language Speakers, including officials from relevant ministries.

Supporting Linguistic Research: Supporting research such as the language situation survey (esp.

language in education), the Action-Participatory research on PM – Thai MTB-MLE in Thailand’s Deep South including pilot MTB-MLE classes for other language groups in other parts of the country such as the Hmong, the Karen in the North, the Mon in the west, and the Northern Khmer in the northeast.

Listening – Speaking English

Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing Thai

Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing Patani Malay

Grade 3-6

Reading-Writing Thai Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing Patani Malay

Listening – Speaking Thai

Reading – Writing Patani Malay Start listening – Speaking Thai (Learning Thai as a 2nd language)

Prereading – Prewriting Patani Malay

Listening – Speaking Patani Malay (for cognitive development)

Grade 1

Kindergarten 2

Kindergarten 1

Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing English

Listening – Speaking – Reading – Writing Thai

Malay studies (Local Knowledge, oral traditions and Poetry)

Listening-Speaking-Reading-Writing Melayu (Jawi and Rumi)

Grade 2

Step by Step in language literacy and language learning

Listening – Speaking –> Reading – Writing L1 –> L2 –> L3 and others

Students love going to school and love reading and writing

Training the first group of MLE student teachers at Yala Rajabhat University

(the 34 student interns (all females) MLE teaching in 15 schools)

Policy development process(cont.)

Committee Meeting

Public Forums

Drafting

PM Approval

Strategic Implementation Plan - In progress, 2013

Cabinet Approval - 2014?

Implementation - 2014? by MOE, MOC etc.

Main stakeholders and actors The Royal Institute of Thailand Linguists and language experts, university professors

and NGO Various government agencies, MOE, MOC, and MOSD

(Ministries of Education, Culture, Social Development) Students – teachers – schools – communities Ethnic minority and majority population Universities Mass media

Challenges and solutions MT promotion is underestimated, undervalued

Changes of government

Implementation in government departments (need training)

Institutionalizing MTB-MLE in Teacher Education and in MOE schools and relevant department.

Advocacy for the consevative elites, academics, high and middle ranking MOE officials etc.

Current status

Relevant MOE Departments : OBEC (FE and NFE)

Faculty of Education of Local/Regional Universities : (such as YRU in the South.)

Policy Implementation

Current Status The strategic plan of the NLP is being drafted and hope to be ready for implementation by next year (2014).

It will be used in the areas along the border (among the Malay in the south, the northern Khmer in the northeast , the Mon and Karen in the west and hill tribes or ethnic groups in the north of Thailand).

Local universities in each area will be responsible for producing quality BE/MLE teachers and at the same time providing MLE capacity building workshops for the teachers in the area with certificates and also workshops for administrators at various levels, as well as advocacy for parents and communities.

Future of MLE in Thailand

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