MOTHER TONGUE PROGRAMMES

ISPP believes that it is vital that all students have the opportunity to maintain and develop their Mother Tongue (the main language that the student uses at home) wherever feasible. The following extracts are recommendations from the IB.

The research relating to mother-tongue maintenance and development (Cummins and Danesi, in Baker and Prys Jones, 1988) is particularly significant. This research indicates that students following a mother-tongue maintenance and development programme receive the following benefits:

• They avoid language loss and the resultant negative effects, for example, subtractive bilingualism (where the development of a second language is detrimental to the first language).

• They perform at least as well (often better) in mainstream subjects (science, humanities, etc) as monolingual students.

• They perform at least as well (often better) as second-language students who don’t maintain their mother tongue and are schooled wholly in the second language.

• They retain a positive attitude toward their mother tongue and cultural background when the school shows acceptance of the mother-tongue language, accounting for increased self-esteem and its resultant benefits.

Based on educational research, ISPP believes that students with a strong mother tongue, and those who continue to develop, are far more successful in learning and functioning in another target language. Therefore, ISPP is continuously looking for innovative ways to facilitate the maintenance of your child’s Mother Tongue.

The Mother Tongue Programme – Not a Foreign Language Course

The purpose of the Mother Tongue Programme is to provide the opportunity for all students to develop appropriate skills in their mother tongue according to their age level. The Mother Tongue Programme is not a foreign language course. Therefore children should be fluent speakers in a language that is spoken at home with at least one parent. The school may determine if a particular student meets the requirements to join a Mother Tongue class.