Mother tongue
a foundation for dreams
- Available in:
- English
- Tiếng Việt
LAO CAI – Meet Viet, a 5th grader from Mong ethnic community. Gifted with linguistic ability, the bright-eyed boy is comfortable speaking three languages: Mong, Vietnamese and English. With a story uncommonly found in remote areas in Viet Nam, Viet shares his motivation to master the art of languages. “It’s important for me as an ethnic minority student to be able to learn in my mother tongue in school. Apart from acquiring mainstream education in Vietnamese like others, mother tongue-based education gives me the foundation and the confidence I need to pursue my studies,” said Luu Trung Viet.
“With bilingual learning, once I reached the level of efficient reading and writing in my language, I found it much easier to conceptualize and converse in another language. From there, I am able to study other subjects well in both languages,” explained he.
Viet and his Mong friends are attending an ethnic minority primary boarding school in Bac Ha District, northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. Ban Pho commune where his home is, located in the same district but far distant for daily travel to school, has been for the past 10 years supported by UNICEF’s mother tongue based bilingual education (MTBBE) programme. The initiative introduces bilingual education to students for efficient learning in their mother tongues. It aims at effectively develop cognitive ability, a solid foundation for students to learn academic knowledge whilst acquiring a second language, the national language and official language of instruction in general education.
After periods of piloting, Lao Cai educational authorities continued their investment to maintain, scale-up and develop this educational approach and model until today.
Like many others, Viet’s MTBBE journey started in preschool at the age of 5. Apart from Mong and Vietnamese, Viet also found passion in the English language. His hard work also paid off when he became one of the most outstanding students in his school, excelling in language competencies: excellent student for four years in a row, second prize winner in the district’s Vietnamese language contest.
“Having the foundational linguistic knowledge is helpful for me when learning English as a foreign language,” he said.
Apart from linguistic skills, MTBBE has proven, in Viet’s case and globally, crucial in promoting and preserving ethnic cultures and customs. A self-confident and conversant student, Viet has been leading organization of school activities. These extra-curriculum activities range from establishing all sorts of clubs from creative handicrafts making to cultural and musical learnings and dance and sports. Viet as captain and his club recently came second and third at the district and provincial contests for children and adolescents for the making of products made of locally sourced materials.
The young students often celebrate their Mong and Dao cultures through folk dances like mua khen and xenh tien at their school. They also play sports like badminton and table tennis.
Furthermore, they take actions as the first step to advocate for environment protection. With the support of teachers and parents, they took care of more than 200 orchids to raise funds for their school plans. They have also been planting trees and taking care of the green neighborhood where they live. “I want to become a tour guide when grown up. I can use both knowledge of my mother tongue and culture and English language to show visitors how beautiful our people, community and country are.” – ENDS
Long-term advocacy through an Action Research and Piloting on Mother tongue-based bilingual education (MTBBE)
From 2005 to 2018, the mother tongue-based bilingual education (MTBBE) model was introduced as an initiative and approach for the education of ethnic minority children in Vietnam, with support and funding from UNICEF through action research and piloting. Through this action research, ethnic minority students participated in mother tongue-based bilingual model, which was planned as a six-year cycle, beginning with 5-year-old preschoolers and ending when those students completed their primary school.
As a result, the five-year-old kindergarten children who participated in the action research on MTBBE outperformed their peers. They also advanced quickly in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes in their mother languages and the official language of instruction. Children who learn in their mother tongue are brave, self-assured, creative, and quick learners.
For more detail: https://vietnam.un.org/index.php/en/7759-research-confirms-mother-tongue-primary-school-can-improve-quality-education-children-ethnic
Sustainable Development of the MTBBE program in Viet Nam by national and local efforts.
Lao Cai has been a benefited province of UNICEF’s MTBBE initiative from 2008 to 2015. The province’s education sector tested this educational method for two groups of students in two different age groups (the first testing from 2008 - 2014; the second from 2009 - 2015). After this and with research-based evidence proving the efficiency of the MTBBE model, Lao Cai, with solid commitment, has replicated and advanced the model to 4 more primary schools compared to 5 preschools selected for the pilot in 2009-2015. For the 2020 – 2021 academic year, the model is scale-up and maintained in 5 preschools and 9 primary schools in the province.
In 2021 and 2022, UNICEF Viet Nam and Viet Nam’s Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) joined forces to hold an advocacy workshop on MTBBE in early childhood settings. MOET issued Decision No. 5006/QD-BGDDT on an action plan to implement Phase 2 of the national project titled "Strengthening Vietnamese language preparation for preschool children and primary school students in ethnic minority areas for the period 2016-2020, with a vision to 2025 based on children's Mother Tongue" on December 31, 2021. With this solid commitment, MTBBE will be scaled up in 8 provinces with a high population of ethnic minorities. By being aware of the critical roles of technology in delivering quality, gender-responsive, and enabling inclusive online learning environments, the MTBBE model has also been ensured through the provision of technology needed and the leverage of technology achievements in education services supply. Following this, knowledge and skills for MTBBE teachers and secondary school managers are also enhanced through virtual training opportunities at both national and sub-national scales.
