"MOTHER TONGUE"

Mother Tongue was the first Multilingual Education...

The Multilingual Education typically refers to "first-language-first" education, that is, schooling which begins in the mother tongue and transition to additional languages. Typically MLE programs are situated in developing countries where speakers of minority languages tend to be disadvantaged in the mainstream education system.

Many children in international schools plan to return to their home country at some point to continue their education there. This is a strong reason to make sure they do not have gaps in mother tongue language or cognitive development. And secondly, ESL students who turn against or otherwise neglect their mother tongue can often suffer from problems of identity loss or alienation from their parents, and from their grandparents or other family members in their home country. For some students, developing mother tongue proficiency is easier because they have lessons each week in their native language. For students who are not in this fortunate position, there is still much that can be done to maintain the mother tongue. For example, parents can make sure that they have good reference books or textbooks at home - in the native language. Students should be encouraged to read good literature and to discuss school work. Some of the long summer vacation could be devoted to mother-tongue learning and reading.