1

Challenges Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue (Maguindanaoan) as a

Subject in Kinder-Grades III

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The introduction of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)

is one of the changes brought about by the new curriculum K-12 program. The MTB-

MLE commence from Kindergarten, Grades 1, 2 and 3.

MTB-MLE refers to “first-language-first” education that is, schooling which begins

in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages particularly Filipino and

English. It is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Filipinos where language

plays a significant factor. Since the child’s own language enables her/ him to express

him/herself easily, then, there is no fear of making mistakes. It encourages active

participation by children in the learning process because they understand what is being

discussed and what is being asked of them. They can immediately use their mother

tongue to construct and explain their world, articulate their thoughts and add new

concepts to what they already know. Currently, there are twelve (12) major languages

or lingua franca that shall be language of instruction. The major languages are a)

Tagalog b) Kapampangan c) Pangasinense d) Iloko e) Bikol f) Cebuano g)

Hiligaynon h) Waray i) Tausug j) Maguindanaoan k) Maranao; l) Chabacano.

(www.cu.edu.ph.Retrieved 1/25/2019)
 3

Many studies have already revealed that teaching using the mother tongue in the

early grades enhances children’s ability to learn better compared to the use of a second

or foreign language (UNESCO, 2003; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2003 as cited by Rai, et

al.,2011).

This study was conducted to determine the difficulties and problems of

elementary school teachers in teaching mother tongue.

Conceptual Framework

This study was anchored on the Cognitive Theory. According to Jean Piaget’s

Cognitive Theory, language is subordinate part of cognitive development. Language is

mapped onto an individual’s set of prior cognitive structures.

A child has to understand a concept before he or she can acquire the particular

language which expresses that concept. For example, a child first becomes aware of a

concept such as relative size and only afterward do they acquire the words and patterns

to convey that concept. Essentially it is impossible for a young child to voice concepts

that are unknown to them; therefore, once a child learns about their environment, then

they can map language onto their prior experience.

 4

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Teacher’s Profile Difficulties Encountered

 Name  Problems, difficulties

 Sex  Benefits

 Grade Level  Coping mechanisms

 No. of years Teaching

 Highest Educational Attainment

 5

Research Questions

Generally, this study determined the challenges encountered in teaching mother

tongue as a subject in Kinder-Grades III.

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

1. What are the difficulties encountered in teaching mother tongue?

2. Is teaching mother tongue beneficial or not?

3. What are the problems encountered in teaching mother tongue?

4. How do teachers cope with the problems encountered in teaching mother tongue?

Significance of the Study

The results of this study will be significant to the following:

To the school administrators. The results of this study will give information as

basis of planning, designing programs, or otherwise making decisions on teaching

Mother Tongue as integral part of the curriculum.

To the pupils. The pupils will be given the chance and opportunity to learn with

various observable disadvantages and advantages using Mother Tongue.

To the teachers. The Teachers shall gain additional insights in making the

teaching-learning situation meaningful by maximizing the use of the Mother Tongue.

They will easily adjust on needs and appropriate remedies when pupils encounter

difficulties in learning.
 6

To the other researchers. Other researchers may utilize this study as a basis

for their own studies.

Finally, to the researcher herself, that she will be more inspired to give her

best in any endeavor particularly in teaching and to inspire future teachers to specialize

qualitative researches.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused on the difficulties encountered by teachers in teaching Mother

Tongue in Aguil Elementary School, Columbio, Sultan Kudarat. The participants of this

study were teachers from Kinder to Grade III of Aguil Elementary School. The teacher

participants are with teaching experiences ranging from five (5) years to nine (9) years.
 7

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally to give the readers clear

understanding of the study:

Beneficial-

Difficulties- refers to the difficulties and problems encountered by teachers in teaching

Mother Tongue

Mother Tongue - refers to the traditional term for a person's native language—that is, a

language learned from birth. Also called a first language, dominant language,

home language, and native tongue.

Problems-
 8

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter contains the related readings and studies that support this study.

The theories and concepts that strengthen this study were discussed in each

component below.

Mother Tongue Language Based Teaching

In the Philippines, the Department of Education through the Republic Act 10533

or the Basic Education Act of 2013 implemented the K-12 curriculum, which included

the use of mother tongue in the instruction from Pre-Elementary to Grade III.

Republic Act 10533 explicitly states that “the curriculum shall adhere to the

principles and framework of MTB-MLE, which starts from where the learners are and

from what they already knew proceeding from the known to the unknown; instructional

materials and capable teachers to implement the MTB-MLE curriculum shall be

available” (R.A. 10533, 2013).

MTB-MLE refers to “first-language-first” education that is, schooling which begins

in the mother tongue and transitions to additional languages particularly Filipino and

English. It is meant to address the high functional illiteracy of Filipinos where language

plays a significant factor.

The MTB-MLE Research conducted by the UNESCO stresses the fact that

children with a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities
 9

in the school language. Their knowledge and skills transfer across languages.

This bridge enables the learners to use both or all their languages for success in school

and for lifelong learning. In terms of cognitive development, the school activities will

engage learners to move well beyond the basic what-questions to cover all higher order

thinking skills in L1 which they can transfer to the other languages once

enough Filipino or English has been acquired to use these skills in thinking and

articulating thoughts.

According to Alberto, Gabinete and Rañola (2014) the main advantage of

teaching mother tongue is that the students are able to express their thoughts and ideas

resulting to high participation in class discussions. Moreover the students feel

independent in their choice of expression in classrooms and allow children to be

themselves and develop their personalities as well as their intellect.

Mallareddy (2012) on the other hand, emphasized the importance of the mother

tongue education in early learning. In his study, he found that neglected language skills

development in the mother tongue resulted in the failure of the education system

especially in the undergraduate level, which highlighted the need for the implementation

of MTB-MLE in the educational system.

Goal of MTB-MLE

The world has witnessed a great decline in literacy rate and a steady rise of the

number of out-of-school children (United Nations, 2015; UNESCO, 2015). These

 10

children either did not have access to formal education, or attended school only to leave

later because they did not understand the language of instruction.

In addition, the number of indigenous languages becoming extinct is rising

because the newer generations speak English or a foreign language more than they

speak their own mother tongue. UNESCO seeks to address these problems through

MTB-MLE (Stone, 2012; Wa-Mbaleka, 2015).In addition, UNESCO envisions more

children enjoying equal opportunity for education. It also sees the future with more

people fluent in their mother tongue, their national language, and other international

languages regardless of ethnicity. Furthermore, it foresees the preservation of

indigenous languages and cultures (Alcazaren & Rafanan, 2016; SIL International,

2009; UNESCO)

Another purpose of MTB-MLE is sustainable national development. Since MTB-

MLE develops individuals who have solid mother-tongue foundation, it can prevent the

death of many indigenous languages. Further, since language and culture coexist,

cultural heritage is also preserved. This fact solidifies the identity of the nation. A

country producing intellectually competent learners enjoys high productivity resulting to

economic stability (Mohanty, as cited in Malone, 2007;Ouane & Glanz, 2011; SIL

International, 2009; Stone, 2012; UNESCO, n.d.).

Many studies have already revealed that teaching using the mother tongue in the

early
 11

grades enhances children’s ability to learn better compared to the use of a second or

foreign language (UNESCO, 2003; Skutnabb-Kangas, 2003 as cited by Rai, et al.,

2011). It has also been reported that if children are taught in languages which are

different from their home language or mother tongue, they drop out from school, have

low academic performance, and repeat classes due to a high failure rate. This state of

affairs is still persistent in Nepal (Yadava, 2007; Awasthi, 2004 as cited by Rai, et al.,

2011).

Challenges Encountered

Benson (2004) mentioned that one challenge that may be faced in mother-

tongue based schooling is acceptability, apart from human resource. Human resource

could mean that of human resource development and teachers’ training. These trainings

should not be carried out without appropriate in-service and pre-service training. Along

with this challenge is the difficulty to find teachers who are competent in the MT. In

consequence, unqualified teachers with less training can be hired especially when

nationwide implementation is carried out. Another challenge according to Benson is on

the materials development. She said that special attention should be given to time and

resources in the implementation of mother tongue education. Educators and people in

the community should have time to work together with linguists to be able to produce

materials in the MT. Benson stressed that there are problems in the implementation

because people who are involved in the implementation fail to reach a consensus on

the allocation of resources.

 12

Moreover, Danbolt (2011) cited another challenge and this is on attitude towards

the language which is very important in learning to use one or two languages. Learning

a language goes with attitudes of its users and of persons who do not know the

language. When one has a positive consideration towards the language being used, a

feeling of belongingness and identity exists. Skutnabb-Kangas (1981) supported this

idea by saying that positive attitude towards language is in relation to the feeling of

being at home with the language. Benson (2009) postulated that the use of the mother

tongue in the classroom makes students feel good about school and their teacher. This

happens because they are becoming knowledgeable in the language familiar to them.

This makes them demonstrate what they know and participate in their own learning and

eventually express themselves.

Furthermore, Malone (2012) as cited by Kadel (2012) mentioned seven

challenges in planning, implementing and sustaining an excellent mother tongue-based

education. These are multiple languages with multiple dialects, absence of concrete

orthographies, shortage of mother tongue speakers with teaching materials, scarcity of

written literature, various mother tongues, large class sizes, and deficiency of curriculum

and instructional materials. Kadel (2012) also pointed that challenges may also be faced

on poor coordination among government agencies, misconception and differences in

the knowledge about mother tongue-based multi-lingual education, confusion of parents

about the notion of mother tongue-based multilingual education, qualms among

teachers in the government schools due to the apprehension of losing their jobs,

eagerness of parents to send their children to go to schools with English as medium of

instruction, making MTB-MLE inclusive for all since it aims for the utilization of non-
 13

dominant languages speaking children only, and the unfair allocation of financial

resources from the agencies.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design, locale of the study, research

respondents, research instruments, data gathering procedure, and statistical treatments

used in the study.

Research Design

Based on the nature of the study phenomenological research design was used to

determine the difficulties and problems encountered in teaching mother tongue.

Phenomenological research seeks to discover how individuals construct meaning

of the human experience (Creswell, 2004)

Participants of the Study

The target participants of this study were teachers from Aguil Elementary School.

The total number of participants are four teachers who are all teaching mother tongue

from Kinder to Grade 3.

 15

Locale of the Study

The study was conducted in Aguil Elementary School. The school offers basic

education following the curriculum mandated by the Department of Education. Aguil

Elementary School has a total enrolment of 245 pupils. The school is located in the

Municipality of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.

Columbio was a part of the Municipality of Buluan, of the then empire Cotabato

Province populated by the native B’laans practicing the old moors and tradition of their

tribe. It was still then called “COLON-BIAO” meaning cogon and nut trees for the place

was blanketed with ever-green cogon and towering nut trees.

In the latter part of 1952, waves of Christians came to “Colon-biao” with their

pioneering spirit to occupy a land they can call their own. Then, the name “Colon-biao”

was changed to Columbio for it is easier to pronounce, but still correlating to the

mysterious but captivating “Column of Views” of cogon and nut trees.

Columbio is located in the eastern most part of the province. It is bounded in the

north by the Municipality of Tulunan, Cotabato; in the east and in the west by the

municipalities of Koronadal, South Cotabato, Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat and Datu Paglas,

Maguindanao.
 16

Figure 1. Map of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat

Sampling Technique

Purposive sampling was used since participants are selected because of some

characteristic. According to Gentles et.al, (2015) purposive sampling is popular in

qualitative research. The notion of purposive sampling is sometimes used to indicate

that interviewees or participants are selected on the basis of their knowledge and verbal

eloquence to describe a group or (sub) culture to which they belong.

Data Gathering Instrument

An interview was used to gather all the responses of the participants. All interviews was

recorded using digital recorders. The researcher then transcribed their answers

honestly.
 17

Data Collection Procedure

An approved written permission from the school principal was obtained before

conducting the study. The teachers from Aguil Elementary School who are teaching

mother tongue was informed for their voluntary participation.

This study explored the difficulties and problems encountered by teachers in

teaching mother tongue. This topic ignited the interest of the researcher since she had

observed that teaching mother tongue have biggest influence to the learners nowadays.

Basically, the researcher’s role in conducting this study was to be an interviewer. The

researcher conducted interviews to the four participants and will assigned code to each

participants in order to ensure anonymity.

The transcripts of the interviews were translated together with the help of

colleagues. The researcher revised the translation for three times to ensure that the

important ideas from the responses of the participants will be kept. The researcher

generated various themes in line with the responses of the participants and picked the

significant thematic statements among the participants’ responses.

After the themes were generated from the transcript of the interviews, the

researcher started the interpretation of the data. The researcher then interpreted the

data and provide discussions on every essential theme that emerged in every question.
 18

Data Analysis

The responses of the participants were transcribed honestly. Thematic Analysis

was used to analyze the gathered data. This data analysis plan is perfect for both

novice and expert qualitative researchers because the steps are easy to follow but

rigorous enough to generate meaning finding from data. Clarke (2006), state that

thematic analysis is a foundational method of analysis that needs to be defined and

describe to solidify its place in qualitative research.

Trustworthiness of the Study

In order to provide a different set for criteria that can be used for ascertaining the

quality, Lincoln & Guba (1985) created a corresponding set of criteria for trustworthiness

of qualitative research: (a) credibility (b) transferability (c) dependability and (d)

confirmability.

Credibility depends on the richness of the data and analysis and can be

enhanced by triangulation (Patton, 2002), rather than relying on sample size aiming at

representing a population.

Transferability corresponds to external validity, i.e. generalizing a study’s results.

Transferability can be achieved by thorough description of the research context and

underlying assumptions (Trochim, 2006). With providing that information, the research

results may be transferred from the original research situation to a similar situation.
 19

Dependability aims to replace reliability, which requires that when replicating

experiments, the same results should be achieved. As this would not be expected to

happen in a qualitative setting, alternative criteria are general understandability, flow of

arguments, and logic. Both the process and the product of the research need to be

consistent (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Instead of general objectivity in quantitative research, the researcher’s neutrality

of research interpretations is required. This can be achieved by means of a

confirmability audit that includes an audit trail of raw data, analysis notes,

reconstruction, and synthesis products, process notes, personal notes, as well as

preliminary developmental information (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

As seen from the above criteria, qualitative research requires far more documentation

than quantitative research in order to establish trustworthiness.

 20

CHAPTER IV

RESULT AND DISCUSSION, PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION

This chapter contains the result and discussion, presentation, analysis, presentation.

Generally, this study determined the challenges encountered in teaching mother tongue

as a subject in Kinder-Grades III.

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

1. What are the difficulties encountered in teaching mother tongue?

2. Is teaching mother tongue beneficial or not?

3. What are the problems encountered in teaching mother tongue?

4. How do teachers cope with the problems encountered in teaching mother tongue?

After conducting an interview from the participants, the researcher transcribed it. The

analysis of the data was started by listening to the recorded answers of the participants during the

interview. Participants answered the interviews using directly the English language thus

translating it to English was needless. In addition, the process also involved critical decision

making about which data would remain to be used in this study. During the identification of the

themes; important phrases that emerged from the transcripts were identified as thematic

statements. They were listed and grouped accordingly to determine patterns and connections

between themes. In the first question, there were four essential themes identified as shown in

Table 1. In the second question there were two essential themes identified as shown in Table 2.
 21

There were six themes identified in the third research question and another four themes in the

fourth research question.

Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue

There were four essential themes drawn out with regards to the first research question

after conducting the interview. The participants were asked on the difficulties encountered in

teaching Mother Tongue.

Table 1. Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue

Essential Theme Thematic Statement

Comprehension  Some learners can comprehend
what I am saying in front of the
class.
 Understanding of Mother Tongue
among learners usually leads to
confusion.
Words are hard to understand  Some words found in the books are
very intricate and very difficult to
understand
Terminologies  Terminologies used are very difficult
to understand.

Not a speaker of the Language in the  Communication gap between the

Community teacher and the learners.
 That I cannot speak well in
Maguindanaon.

Comprehension

This is one of the essential themes identified by the researcher in the first research

question as shown in Table 1. It was found out that the participants have difficulties in

communicating mother tongue to their learners as well as learners understanding the mother

tongue.
 22

Based on the answers of the participants, some learners cannot really comprehend what

they are saying in front of the class that leads to their confusions.

According to Participant 1, when asked about the difficulties she encountered in teaching

mother tongue, she directly uttered:

“Translating words from their dialect to English or Filipino because some learners don’t

really understand/comprehend what I am saying in front of the class”. (RQ1a1)

In support of this, Participant 4 also said:

“Understanding of the mother tongue often gives confusion to my learners”. (RQ1a1)

Words are Difficult to Understand

This is the second essential theme identified by the researcher in the first research

question as shown in Table 1.

Based on the answers of the participants, some words in the books are very intricate and

very difficult to understand.

According to Participant 2, when also asked the same question, she stated:

“For me teaching mother tongue is very challenging especially if I cannot understand the

words in Mother Tongue books. Word are very difficult to translate and understand”. (RQ1a2)

When Participant 3 was asked, she stated:

“The difficulties I encountered in teaching Mother Tongue are translating and

understanding the words used in the books. The words are very complex.”

In addition when Participant 4 was asked, she directly answered:

“In my teaching, it is very difficult to understand some words from Mother Tongue books

especially when explaining these words to the learners. (RQ1a4)

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Terminologies

This is the third theme identified by the researcher as shown in Table 1.

Based on the answer of Participant 1, she said that:

“The Maguindanaon terminologies are very difficult to translate and give meaning.”

(RQ1a1)

Not a Native Speaker of the Language in the Community

According to Participant 2:

“Terminologies since Maguindanaon is not my native language." (RQ1a2)

According to Participant 3 said:

“It is difficult to explain the terminologies especially when you are not used in speaking

the Maguindanaon language.” (RQ1a3)

Is teaching Mother Tongue Beneficial or Not?

There were two essential themes drawn out with regards to the second research question

after conducting the interview.

Table 2. Is teaching Mother Tongue Beneficial or Not?

Essential Theme Thematic Statement

 24

Beneficial  Pupils can use their own dialect in

communicating with each other.
 Pupils could understand Mother
Tongue much better compared to
some subjects.
 Pupils could also give importance
and appreciation to their native
language.
 Lesson can be explained thoroughly
 Teachers can also learn and adapt
the native language of the
community
 Pupils could easily express
themselves especially during
discussions.
Confusions  It will cause confusions among
learners
 Miscommunications and
misinterpretations between
teachers and learners.

Beneficial

This is one of the essential theme identified by the researcher as shown in Table 2.

According to Participant 3, when asked if Mother Tongue is beneficial or not:

“Teaching mother tongue is beneficial because they can use their native tongue in

communication with clearer understanding as well as give appreciation to their native language.”

(RQ2a3) She further added that:

“Mother tongue really help us in teaching pupils easily compared to other subjects.”

(RQ2a3)

Participant 2 said:

“As a teacher, it is also beneficial on my part because I could learn new language and

become adept on it.” (RQ2a2)

Participant 4 stated that:

 25

“I could explain my lessons thoroughly and easily.” (RQ2a4)

According also to Participant 4:

“My pupils are very interactive during our class discussion because they could

express themselves.” (RQ2a1)

Not Beneficial

According to Participant 1:

“Mother tongue is not really beneficial because it often leads to confusions.”

(RQ2a1) Furthermore she added that:

“It gives many misinterpretations and miscommunications between teachers and

learners.” (RQ2a1)

Common Problems Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue

There were six essential themes drawn with regards to the third research question. The

participants were asked on what are common problems encountered in teaching Mother Tongue.

Table 3. Common Problems Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue

Essential Theme Thematic Statement

Comprehension  Comprehension of the learners is
very poor with complex words.
Learning the Language  Still trying to learn the learners’
mother tongue language.
 26

Difficulty in Speaking  It is very difficult to read and

pronounce the words

Complex words  Some words written in the Mother

Tongue books and references are
very complex that teachers and
learners cannot understand.
Communication  Difficulty in communicating and
expressing my thoughts to my
learners.

Comprehension

This is one of the essential theme identified by the researcher as shown in the Table 3. It

was found out that the one of common problems encountered by teachers in teaching Mother

Tongue is comprehension of learners.

According to Participant 2:

“I find very difficult to make my pupils understand complex words. They have poor

comprehension.” (RQ3a2)

Learning the Language

The second essential theme identified by the researcher was the teachers’ willingness to

learn the language of the community.

Participant 3 said that:

“It is very difficult to teach Mother Tongue especially on my part that I am an Ilongga

though I am married to a Maguindanaon. I am very willing to learn and practice the

Maguindanaon language so I can use them in teaching correctly.” (RQ3a3)

Difficulty in Speaking
 27

The third essential theme identified is difficulty in speaking. According to Participant 3,

when asked of the common problems encountered in teaching Mother Tongue, she stated that:

“On my part as a non-speaker of the dialect it is very difficult to read and pronounce the

words in Maguindanaon. Sometimes my pupils laugh on how I pronounce and read the words.

They even corrected me of how words should be stated.” (RQ3a3)

Complex Words

According to Participant 1:

“The words written in Mother Tongue books and references are very complex. As a

teacher it is very difficult to comprehend these words which are not familiar much more on the

part of my learners.” (RQ3a1)

Communication

Another essential theme identified as shown in the Table 3 is communication. Participant

3 stated that:

“As a Mother Tongue teacher who is non-speaker of the native language I cannot fully

express and explain to my pupils what I really want to teach them.” (RQ3a3)

Ways in Coping with the Difficulties of Teaching Mother Tongue

There were four essential themes identified with regards to the fourth research question

as shown in Table 4. It was revealed that the participants study the dialect first. They also tried to

engage more in seminars and trainings about Mother Tongue. The participants also socialize in
 28

the community to learn the dialect easily. The participants lastly researched and asked people

who native-speakers to translate terminologies.

Table 4. Ways in Coping with the Difficulties of Teaching Mother Tongue

Essential Theme Thematic Statement

Practice and learning the dialect  Practice and learning the
Maguindanaon dialect
 Find words that are closely
synonymous in Filipino or English

Seminars  Seminars and trainings are great

help in understanding Mother
Tongue
Socialize  Terminologies used are very difficult
to understand.

Translate  Research the meaning of difficult

words.
 Asking native-speaker to translate
it.

Practice and Learning the Dialect

According to participant 1:

“As a teacher, I know I have to study and learn the language.” (RQ4a1)

Furthermore she added that:

“I really practice how to read, pronounce and use the words correctly.” (RQ4a1)

Participant 4 also stated that:

“If my pupils cannot understand complex Maguindanaon words I find words that

are closely synonymous in English or Filipino for better understanding.” (RQ4a1)

Seminars
 29

Participant 2 also stated that:

“During the first year of the implementation of Kto12, seminars and trainings

conducted on teaching Mother Tongue is very helpful.” (RQ4a2)

Socialize

According to Participant 3:

“Whenever I got the change to socialize and mingle to the people of the

community I asked them to teach me Maguindanaon words.” (RQ4a3)

Translate

Participant 1 directly stated that:

“If I find the words difficult to understand I research the meaning of words.” (RQ4a1)

She also stated that:

“I ask some of my friends who are native speakers to translate the words that I cannot

understand.” (RQ4a1)

CHAPTER V- SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary, conclusions and recommendations of this research.

Summary

Generally, this study determined the challenges encountered in teaching mother

tongue as a subject in Kinder- Grades 1,2 3. Specifically, this study sought answers

to the following research questions: 1.) What are the difficulties encountered in teaching

mother tongue? 2.) Is teaching mother tongue beneficial or not? 3.) What are the
 30

problems encountered in teaching mother tongue? 4.) How do teachers cope with the

problems encountered in teaching mother tongue?

Based on the nature of the study phenomenological research design was used to

determine the difficulties and problems encountered in teaching mother tongue.

The target participants of this study were teachers from Aguil Elementary School.

The total number of participants are four teachers who are all teaching mother tongue

from Kinder to Grade 1, 2, 3.

The study was conducted in Aguil Elementary School, Lomoyon, Columbio,

Sultan Kudarat.

Purposive sampling was used since participants are selected because of some

characteristics.

An interview was used to gather all the responses of the participants.

The responses of the participants were transcribed honestly. Thematic Analysis

was used to analyze the gathered data.

The following are the salient findings of the study:

Based on the answers and responses done by the participants of the study there were

themes generated.

Difficulties Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue. Under this, there were four

essential themes generated after thorough analysis of data. The first essential theme

that was generated in first research question is comprehension.

 31

It was found out that the participants have difficulties in communicating mother

tongue to their learners as well as learners understanding the mother tongue.

Based also on the answers of the participants, some learners cannot really

comprehend what they are saying in front of the class that leads to their confusions.

Words are Difficult to Understand

This is the second essential theme identified by the researcher in the first

research question.

Based on the answers of the participants, some words in the books are very

intricate and very difficult to understand.

Terminologies

This is the third theme identified by the researcher. Based “The Maguindanaon

terminologies are very difficult to translate and give meaning.” (RQ1a1)

Not a Native Speaker of the Language in the Community

According to Participant 2:

“Terminologies since Maguindanaon is not my native language." (RQ1a2)

According to Participant 3 said:

“It is difficult to explain the terminologies especially when you are not used in speaking

the Maguindanaon language.” (RQ1a3)

 32

Is teaching Mother Tongue Beneficial or Not?

There were two essential themes drawn out with regards to the second research

question after conducting the interview.

Beneficial

This is one of the essential theme identified by the researcher as shown in Table

2. According to Participant 3, when asked if Mother Tongue is beneficial or not:

“Teaching mother tongue is beneficial because they can use their native tongue in

communication with clearer understanding as well as give appreciation to their native

language.” (RQ2a3) She further added that:

“Mother tongue really help us in teaching pupils easily compared to other subjects.”

(RQ2a3)

Participant 2 said:

“As a teacher, it is also beneficial on my part because I could learn new language and

become adept on it.” (RQ2a2)

Participant 4 stated that:

“I could explain my lessons thoroughly and easily.” (RQ2a4)

According also to Participant 4:

“My pupils are very interactive during our class discussion because they could

express themselves.” (RQ2a1)

 33

Not Beneficial

According to Participant 1:

“Mother tongue is not really beneficial because it often leads to confusions.”

(RQ2a1) Furthermore she added that:

“It gives many misinterpretations and miscommunications between teachers and

learners.” (RQ2a1)

Common Problems Encountered in Teaching Mother Tongue

There were six essential themes drawn with regards to the third research

question. The participants were asked on what are common problems encountered in

teaching Mother Tongue.

Comprehension

This is one of the essential theme identified by the researcher as shown in the

Table 3. It was found out that the one of common problems encountered by teachers in

teaching Mother Tongue is comprehension of learners.

According to Participant 2:

“I find very difficult to make my pupils understand complex words. They have

poor comprehension.” (RQ3a2)

 34

Learning the Language

The second essential theme identified by the researcher was the teachers’ willingness

to learn the language of the community.

Participant 3 said that:

“It is very difficult to teach Mother Tongue especially on my part that I am an

Ilongga though I am married to a Maguindanaon. I am very willing to learn and practice

the Maguindanaon language so I can use them in teaching correctly.” (RQ3a3)

Difficulty in Speaking

The third essential theme identified is difficulty in speaking. According to

Participant 3, when asked of the common problems encountered in teaching Mother

Tongue, she stated that:

“On my part as a non-speaker of the dialect it is very difficult to read and

pronounce the words in Maguindanaon. Sometimes my pupils laugh on how I

pronounce and read the words. They even corrected me of how words should be

stated.” (RQ3a3)

Complex Words

According to Participant 1:
 35

“The words written in Mother Tongue books and references are very complex. As

a teacher it is very difficult to comprehend these words which are not familiar much

more on the part of my learners.” (RQ3a1)

Communication

Another essential theme identified as shown in the Table 3 is communication.

Participant 3 stated that:

“As a Mother Tongue teacher who is non-speaker of the native language I cannot

fully express and explain to my pupils what I really want to teach them.” (RQ3a3)

Ways in Coping with the Difficulties of Teaching Mother Tongue

There were four essential themes identified with regards to the fourth research

question as shown in Table 4. It was revealed that the participants study the dialect first.

They also tried to engage more in seminars and trainings about Mother Tongue. The

participants also socialize in the community to learn the dialect easily. The participants

lastly researched and asked people who native-speakers to translate terminologies.

Practice and Learning the Dialect

According to participant 1:

“As a teacher, I know I have to study and learn the language.” (RQ4a1)
 36

Furthermore she added that:

“I really practice how to read, pronounce and use the words correctly.” (RQ4a1)

Participant 4 also stated that:

“If my pupils cannot understand complex Maguindanaon words I find words that

are closely synonymous in English or Filipino for better understanding.” (RQ4a1)

Seminars

Participant 2 also stated that:

“During the first year of the implementation of Kto12, seminars and trainings

conducted on teaching Mother Tongue is very helpful.” (RQ4a2)

Socialize

According to Participant 3:

“Whenever I got the change to socialize and mingle to the people of the

community I asked them to teach me Maguindanaon words.” (RQ4a3)

Translate

Participant 1 directly stated that:

 37

“If I find the words difficult to understand I research the meaning of words.”

(RQ4a1)

She also stated that:

“I ask some of my friends who are native speakers to translate the words that I

cannot understand.” (RQ4a1)

 38

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