I.

INTRODUCTION
• THEPHILIPPINES IS A MULTILINGUAL NATION WITH MORE THAN 170
LANGUAGES. ACCORDING TO THE 2000 PHILIPPINES CENSUS,
KAPAMPANGAN IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PHILIPPINE LANGUAGES BASED
ON THE NUMBER OF NATIVE SPEAKERS. HENCE, KAPAMPANGAN WAS
INCLUDED IN THE PILOTING OF THE MTB-MLE PROGRAM OF DEPED.
• THE CASE FIELD WAS SET TO THE ONE OF THE BIGGEST PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN
PAMPANGA SITUATED WITHIN THE CITY. WITH AN AREA OF 24, 561 SQUARE METER AND
ENROLMENT OF ALMOST 8000 PUPILS. THE SCHOOL ENVISION TO BE A CATALYST OF
SOCIAL CHANGE THAT PRODUCES PUPILS WHO ARE FUNCTIONALLY LITERATE, GLOBALLY
COMPETITIVE AND GOD-LOVING. AS ONE OF THE PILOT SCHOOLS, IT ADOPTED THE
MOTHER TONGUE BASED-MULTI LINGUAL EDUCATION POLICY IN 2011. THIS POLICY
AIMS TO INCREASE THE PROFICIENCY LEVEL OF STUDENTS LEARNING USING THE
MOTHER LANGUAGE (L1). HOWEVER, IT HAS SOME DOWNSIDES EVIDENT FROM THE
PREPARATION TO SHIFTING PERIODS OF THE PROGRAM. THIS STUDY AIM TO ASSESS
THE CASE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MTB– MLE AS A LANGUAGE OF
LEARNING AND TO EXAMINE THE CURRENT SITUATION AS WELL AS THE ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED THROUGHOUT THE POLICY.
• DEPED ORDER 16, S. 2012, ENTITLED “GUIDELINES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOTHER TONGUE BASED-
MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION (MTB-MLE).” THIS ORDER WAS FOLLOWED BY DEPED ORDER 31, S. 2012, WHICH
PROVIDED ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES ABOUT THE GOALS OF THE POLICY AND POSSIBLE INNOVATIVE WAYS OF
IMPLEMENTING IT. ON MAY 15 2013, REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10533, BETTER KNOWN AS THE “ENHANCED BASIC
EDUCATION ACT OF 2013” WAS FORMALLY APPROVED BY THE FORMER PRESIDENT AQUINO (THE OFFICIAL
GAZETTE, 2013)

• THROUGH DEPARTMENT ORDER 94, DEPED INSTITUTED MOTHER TONGUE-BASED MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION
(MTB-MLE),
• MTB-MLE WAS IMPLEMENTED ALONGSIDE THE K-12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR
2012-2013. WITH THE GOALS OF ESTABLISHING A STRONG ACADEMIC FOUNDATION, AND INSTILLING
EXCELLENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND SOCIO-CULTURAL AWARENESS TO THE FILIPINO YOUTH, THE
DEPED MANDATES: A) THE USE OF MOTHER TONGUE (MT) AS THE MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION (MOI); AND B)
THE INSTITUTION OF MT AS A LEARNING AREA IN KINDERGARTEN AND GRADES 1 TO 3. MT AS A LEARNING
AREA MEANS THAT IT WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST OF SUBJECTS THAT THE PRIMARY GRADE STUDENTS
NEED TO LEARN. CHILDREN WILL BE FIRST TAUGHT IN THEIR MOTHER TONGUE, ENABLING THEM TO FULLY
UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF THE LESSONS IN SCHOOL. THIS LEARNING PROCESS IS EXPECTED TO
EVENTUALLY RESULT IN THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S COGNITIVE SKILLS. THEIR MT WILL SERVE
AS THE FOUNDATION OF LEARNING OTHER ACADEMIC SUBJECTS AND THEORETICAL CONCEPTS WHICH
WILL BE INTRODUCED IN THE INTERMEDIATE GRADES. THIS IS FURTHER ILLUSTRATED BY A CHART
PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (2013, P. 4).
OBJECTIVES
• A) LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE OF THE STUDENTS IN THEIR MOTHER TONGUE;
• B) EXPOSURE OF THE STUDENTS IN THEIR FIRST AND OTHER LANGUAGES;
• C) TEACHERS COMPETENCE;
• D) QUALITY OF THE MATERIALS THE TEACHERS USE;
• E) LANGUAGE ATTITUDE, BELIEFS, AND SITUATION OF THE BARANGAY; AND
• F) OTHER PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED.
II. METHODOLOGY
• THE RESEARCHERS UTILIZED VARIOUS METHOD FOR THIS CASE ANALYSIS, SUCH AS BRAINSTORMING
DURING FOCAL GROUP DISCUSSION, THEY HAVE USE THE PARETO PRINCIPLE TO COME UP WITH THE
CASE TO BE CONDUCTED. THE IMPORTANCE, URGENCY AND MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEMS PRESENTED
WERE CONSIDERED UNTIL THE ENTIRE TEAM AGREED ON THIS TOPIC. THE SCHEDULE WAS SET TO
COLLECT THE DATA NEEDED FOR THIS STUDY. THE RESEARCHERS WORKED ON THE FIELD FOR A TOTAL OF
SEVEN (3) DAYS, SPENDING THE FIRST THREE (2) DAYS ON CLASSROOM OBSERVATION AND THE
REMAINING DAYS ON FOCAL GROUP DISCUSSION. THE DISCUSSION WAS HELD OVER THE INTERNET
THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE DUE TO CONFLICT OF SCHEDULE. ASSIGNMENT WERE DELEGATED
TO THE MEMBERS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE STUDY.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• PRIMARY GRADERS FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR WAS DIVIDED INTO 24 CLASSES IN KAPAMPANGAN.
CLASSES CONDUCTED THROUGH STRAIGHT TEACHING. ADVISERS ARE THEIR TEACHER IN MOTHER
TONGUE MLE. THEY INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS: EDUKASYON SA PAGPAPAKATAO (ESP), MTB-
MLE, MATHEMATICS, ARALING PANLIPUNAN, FILIPINO, ENGLISH, AND MAPEH. DESPITE OF THE ADVISED OF
DEPED TO SORT STUDENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR NATIVE LANGUAGE USE AT HOME BUT THE SCHOOL DID
NOT APPLIED IT TO PRACTICE. IN FACT, IT WAS OBSERVED THAT GRADE 1 DOES NOT STRICTLY FOLLOW
THEIR SCHEDULE. WHEN A LESSON IN A CERTAIN SUBJECT IS NOT FINISHED IN THE GIVEN TIME, THE
DISCUSSION MAY BE EXTENDED, THUS USING UP THE TIME FOR ANOTHER SUBJECT. MOREOVER, WHEN
THE STUDENTS ARE NOT AS PARTICIPATIVE ANYMORE ESPECIALLY WHEN NEARING LUNCHTIME OR
DISMISSAL TIME, THE TEACHERS ALLOW THEM TO LEAVE EARLY, AND THE LESSON CURRENTLY BEING
DISCUSSED WILL BE CONTINUED IN A LATER TIME.
• IN GENERAL, THE STUDENTS IN THE PRIMARY LEVEL ARE LIVELY AND PARTICIPATIVE DURING CLASS
LECTURES AND RECITATION. AS PUPILS ARE ABLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES MORE FREELY IN THEIR OWN
TONGUE, THE MORE THAT THEY BECOME ACTIVE AND ENGAGED IN CLASS. THE DOWNSIDE IS THAT THEY
BECOME NOISIER, ROWDIER, AND HARDER TO CONTROL FOR TEACHERS. SOME RANDOMLY STAND UP, GO
OUT OF THE CLASSROOM, AND SPURT OUT COMMENTS LIKE “MADAM, AKU NAMAN” ‘MADAM, ME TOO’
WHEN NOT PICKED TO RECITE IN CLASS, OR “DAM, DAM KINAYI NAKU PUNG KAYI, NE PU KAKAYI, SI X”
‘MADAM, O, X IS ANNOYING,’ WHEN A CLASSMATE IS CAUSING A DISTURBANCE.
THE FOLLOWING WERE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY TEACHERS IN
IMPLEMENTING MOTHER TONGUE - BASED INSTRUCTION IN A MULTILINGUAL
AS LANGUAGE OF LEARNING.
• ABSENCE OF BOOKS WRITTEN IN MOTHER TONGUE
• LACK OF VOCABULARY
• LACK OF COMMUNICATION AMONG AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT MTB MLE RESULT
• LACK OF PRELIMINARY RESEARCH RESULT
• LACK OF QUALIFIED MT TEACHERS RESULT
• IMPLEMENTATION MOVES TOO QUICKLY
• LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PROGRAM IMPACT, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
• IT WAS FOUND THAT THE SCHOOL WHERE THE STUDY CONDUCTED SEPARATED GRADES
1, 2, AND 3 STUDENTS ARE ALL IN KAPAMPANGAN GROUP. NO SORTING OF STUDENTS
WERE CONDUCTED DURING THE ENTRY OF PRIMARY LEVEL. GENERALLY SPEAKING,
STRAIGHT TEACHING IS PRACTICED, WITH THE MT AS THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF
DISCUSSION AS WELL AS THE MOI USED. THIS SETUP RESULTED IN ACTIVE
PARTICIPATION OF THE PUPILS, POSSIBLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY ARE MORE
COMFORTABLE USING A FAMILIAR LANGUAGE. ENGLISH AND FILIPINO ARE
INCORPORATED IN SOME TERMINOLOGIES AND TECHNICAL CONCEPTS, BUT FURTHER
DISCUSSION OF THESE LANGUAGES AS LEARNING AREAS EXCLUSIVELY STARTS FROM
THE SECOND AND THIRD GRADING PERIODS IN GRADE 1
•. IN GRADE 4, THE MOI SUPPOSEDLY SHIFTS TO FILIPINO AND
ENGLISH, BUT IT WAS OBSERVED TO STILL BE THE L1 OF THE
STUDENTS SINCE THE CHILDREN’S SKILLS REGARDING THE TWO
LANGUAGES ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE
LESSONS. HENCE, SOME OF THE STUDENTS’ ANSWERS ARE IN
KAPAMPANGAN. LIKEWISE, THE TEACHERS HEAVILY RELY ON L1 IN
CONDUCTING THEIR LESSONS.
• PROBLEMS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION WERE OBSERVED. THE MAIN PROBLEMS INDICATED IN THE STUDY
WERE THE SORTING OF STUDENTS, LEARNING AND TEACHING MATERIALS, TRANSITION FROM MT TO
FILIPINO AND ENGLISH, AND THE FACULTY AND THEIR SKILLS REGARDING THE SUBJECTS. THE SOLUTIONS
OFFERED BY THE RESEARCHERS ARE THE FOLLOWING:
• 1. TO PREPARE MATERIALS SUCH AS MODULES, IM’S BEFORE THE SCHOOL YEAR STARTS;
• 2. TO PROVIDE TACTFULLY SCHEDULED TRAININGS AND SEMINARS FOR TEACHERS;
• 3. TO CONDUCT CONSISTENT STANDARD EVALUATION OF THE POLICY;
• 4. TO DEVISE A STANDARDIZED PROCEDURE FOR CLASS ASSIGNMENTS;
• 5. TO ENRICH CURRICULUM;
• 6. TO FOSTER A SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY AND TO HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDING FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
•
• FROM THESE DATA, WE CAN CONCLUDE THAT MTB-MLE IS FAR FROM PERFECT AS IT FACES A LOT OF
PROBLEMS IN THE SCHOOL WHERE THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE CASES WHERE
THE STUDENTS ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE AS THE CLASSES ARE CONDUCTED IN THEIR L1, THE OBJECTIVE OF
THE POLICY (I.E., TO BRIDGE THE STUDENTS’ SKILLS LEARNED IN THE PRIMARY GRADES THROUGH L1),
BECAME A MAJOR PROBLEM AS THE TRANSITION PHASE FROM MT TO L2 AND L3 IS NOT SMOOTHLY
EXECUTED. THE STUDENTS ARE HAVING DIFFICULTIES SHIFTING FROM THEIR L1 TO FILIPINO AND ENGLISH.
THE TEACHERS ARE ALSO STRUGGLING SINCE THE TRAININGS THAT THEY UNDERWENT ONLY LASTED FOR
A WEEK OR SO AND THEY FELT THAT THESE WERE NOT ENOUGH. DESPITE ALL THESE THINGS, MTB-MLE IS
STILL CONSIDERED TO BE A POLICY WITH A PROMISING FUTURE, AS LONG AS THE PROBLEMS ARE TO BE
ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY. AS LONG AS EVERYONE IS OPEN TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND ADJUSTMENTS
FOR THE POLICY TO SERVE ITS PURPOSE, AN EFFECTIVE MTB-MLE CAN BE EXPECTED.
•