International Mother Language Day
Language plays an important role in keeping our culture alive. Mother’s tongue is defined as the first language a child is exposed to from the time of birth and this language that is first naturally acquired by humans is called mother tongue. It is associated with the language that a child’s parent use to communicate with them, also called the native tongue. Mother tongue is the language that a person has grown up speaking from his/her early childhood. It is a person’s native language. It is therefore the medium of communication that a person is most familiar with. This familiarity can be used for providing education, though this is not what happens. Mother tongue education refers to any form of schooling which uses the language or languages that children are most familiar with, in order to help them learn. This is usually the language that children speak at home with their family. The ‘mother tongue’ does not have to be the language spoken by the mother. Children can and often do speak more than one or even two languages at home.
For example, they may speak one language with their mother, another with their father and a third with their grandparents. Other terms used are home language, first language or heritage language. The government of India introduced the National Education Policy. It is the biggest reform in the field of education since the National Education Policy, 1986. The National Education Policy, 2020 tries to bring changes in many areas in education and one of them is the medium of instruction in which education will be provided in primary schools. This policy states that the mother tongue will be the medium of instruction up to class 5 in all schools. A child understands his mother tongue and hence if he/she is instructed in that language itself, his transition to school education is smooth and easy. Even UNESCO has recommended that classes be taught in the community’s mother tongue during the early years of primary school so that students can fully learn to read and write, and during this time they also are introduced to early mathematical concepts and other academic subjects.
Advantages of mother tongue in education are numerous. Mother tongue makes it easier for children to pick up and learn other languages. It develops a child’s personal, social and cultural identity. Using mother tongue helps a child develop their critical thinking and literacy skills. 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. Research shows that education in the mother tongue is a key factor for inclusion and quality learning, and it also improves learning outcomes and academic performance. This is crucial, especially in primary school to avoid knowledge gaps and increase the speed of learning and comprehension. And most importantly, multilingual education based on the mother tongue empowers all learners to fully take part in society. It fosters mutual understanding and respect for one another and helps preserve the wealth of cultural and traditional heritage that is embedded in every language around the world.
Learning the mother tongue is very important for overall child’s development and being fluent in the mother tongue is another factor for education. The first language that a child learns right from birth plays a crucial role in education for a wide array of reasons and it builds up a child’s social, personal, and cultural identity. Many child physiologists are indicate that having a strong mother tongue foundation for any child leads to a much better understanding of their education as well as a more positive attitude towards their socialization. Mother tongue provides children strong education base and that makes it easier for the child to learn other languages later as well. So children must maintain their first language when they begin schooling because, at the time when children develop their mother tongue, simultaneous development of a host of other essential skills such as critical thinking and literacy skills takes place in them.
Mother tongue is vital in framing the thinking and emotions of people; therefore it causes the comprehensive development of a child. Learning in ones’ own language will help the student express himself/herself better. This will thus make school learning a two ways communication between teacher and students. Understanding the subject matter would boost the confidence of the student and propel him/her to continue with his/her schooling thus lowering the drop-out rate. Educating children in their mother tongue will also build a strong home-school partnership in their learning. Parents will be able to participate in their child’s education and make the experience of learning for the students more wholesome. It will also benefit the primary school teachers as many of them find it difficult to express themselves in English and hence are not able to transfer as much knowledge as they would like to, thus creating a knowledge deficit. Providing primary education in mother tongue will also decentralize the task of textbook making which has been long recommended by Dr Yashpal Sharma. This will bring the content in textbooks closer to children and make them understand the syllabus better. Thus targeting mechanical learning. Education in mother tongue will help the students in getting a better sense of their cultural background and therefore helps him/her progress in life his/her roots intact.
The importance of mother tongue is very important for child education and many experts argue that foreign language education is not always the best. If the child is taught in a language that the child doesn’t understand, then comprehension doesn’t occur and results in rote memorization. Therefore, it is a healthy approach to learning for the child to teach second languages with first languages. This can improve learning, increase student participation and reduce the number of dropouts. Furthermore, children with a strong mother tongue found it easier to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. The research covers many links between a child’s development and their mother tongue and they found that children, who learn two or even more languages, have a deeper understanding of cultural identity is also easily adapted. Language and mother tongue play a huge role in the development of child’s personal, social and cultural identity and child who has a strong mother tongue foundation equips well to learning additional languages, as well deeper understanding of themselves and their place within society, along with an increased sense of wellbeing and this advantage cannot be overstated. The use of mother tongue in the early education of child helps in facilitating learning, it serves as motivation as the child moves from the known, which is the mother tongue to the unknown which is the second language or target language.
Providing primary education in the mother tongue as now mandated in the National Education Policy, 2020, is the step in the right direction and if implemented in true spirit will enhance the learning capabilities of the students and making education a wholesome experience while in the way also resolving the issue of school drop-outs. However, there is still a long way to go before guaranteeing all learners their right to education in their mother language. In most countries, the majority of students are taught in a language other than their mother tongue, which compromises their ability to learn effectively. It is estimated that 40 % of the world’s population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world today. But linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear at an alarming rate and when a language disappears, it takes with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage.
(M Ahmad is a regular writer for this newspaper and can be reached at: [email protected])
