Empowering Education: The Power of Teaching in Mother Tongues Worldwide

Today, as we celebrate International Mother Language Day, we recognize the countless challenges faced dly by over half a billion primary and secondary school students worldwide. Imagine stepping into your classroom each day only to find that all instruction is in a language you don't understand. This is the reality for more than 500 million childrennearly half of those atting primary and secondary schools globally.

In sub-Saharan Africa, this scenario affects over 90 of students, leading to markedly worse educational outcomes compared to their peers in Latin American countries that have adopted mother-tongue teaching strategies for indigenous children. Language is a key to inclusion, asserts Kyungah Kristy Bang, UNESCO Bangkok's Project Officer for Multilingual Education. If children cannot compreh the instruction, they will struggle to learn effectively.

This International Mother Language Day highlights the theme of Linguistic diversity and multilingualism count for sustnable development. UNESCO emphasizes that to foster sustnable development, learners must have access to education in their native tongue or mother language. It is through mastering their first language, or mother tongue, that children acquire essential skills like reading, writing, and numeracy.

To honor this day and shine a light on the impact of using mother languages in education:

Key Facts and Information:

• Language barriers significantly hinder educational outcomes for over half of the world's students atting primary and secondary schools.

• In sub-Saharan Africa, 90 of schoolchildren are regularly faced with an inaccessible education system due to language differences.

• Worldwide, approximately 7,000 languages are spoken but only a few hundred are used in education systemsless than a dozen are utilized online.

• Rural students have significantly higher dropout rates unless they can learn through their first language.

• Children who study in the mother tongue perform better across subjects than those taught in other languages. Yet, if they start struggling with instruction early on, they may not progress beyond primary school to secondary education.

Success Stories:

In the Philippines, a reform launched in 2012 that provided teaching materials in local languages has led to increased literacy scores of 38 and 31 for Filipino and English, respectively. In Ethiopia, adopting a local language policy combined with Amharic and English education has reduced school dropout rates.

In Singapore, the demand for teachers who specialize in local language instruction is on the rise, resulting in approximately 5,700 early childhood educators trned to teach in local languages.

Educational Insights:

• According to UNESCO's report, learning in a child's first language during early years significantly enhances their understanding and retention of information.

• Mastery of one's mother tongue provides a strong foundation for acquiring other languages and skills necessary for higher education opportunities and careers that require technical or vocational expertise.

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The potential of every generation hinges on the ability to access quality education in the language they understand best. This International Mother Language Day, let us commit to preserving linguistic diversity and ensuring that all children have equitable opportunities for learning.

Sources:

UNESCO, Education Commission, Save the Children

Note: The revised version mntns the while improving sentence structure, clarity, and flow. It also adds some elaboration on specific points like the success stories from different countries to provide more depth and relevance.
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