What is a Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program?

A Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program is a program which makes a strong effort to encourage the use of the mother tongue as a vehicle for literacy.

Here are some conditions that indicate the choice of a Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program:

• The mother tongue has low prestige.
• The mother tongue is no longer spoken in all social domains.
• There is a negative attitude towards the mother-tongue culture because the culture of dominant society is more highly valued.
• Literacy in a language of wider communication (LWC) is valued much more highly than literacy in the mother tongue.
• There is a lack of interest in mother-tongue literacy.
• There is a lack of interest in literacy at all, much less in the mother tongue.
• Few, if any, mother-tongue speakers are modeling the value of reading in the mother tongue.

Here are some typical program goals of a Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program:

• To raise the status of the mother tongue relative to the LWC used in the area
• To demonstrate the functional importance of the mother tongue for literacy
• To increase motivation for use of literacy in the mother tongue

Here are some recommended strategies for a Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program:

• Orient key opinion makers to the value of the mother tongue and mother-tongue literacy. These leaders could be in the church, the local community, or some small association of educated elite living in the capital city.

• Give people a lot of exposure to materials in print in customary settings.

  See:	Creating a print-rich environment

• Link literacy to common activities in daily life.

  See:	Exposing people to reading and writing

• Organize small-scale experimental literacy classes to show that people can successfully become literate in the mother tongue.
• Publish some prestigious material in the local language.
• Develop a biliteracy strategy, encouraging literacy in both the mother tongue and the LWC.
• Make available a large amount of mother-tongue literature on topics which respond to specific felt needs of mother-tongue speakers.
• Look for and promote any interest in literacy in the church and community

• Develop a promotional program with the local media.

  • Ask for space in newspapers for mother-tongue announcements, news, and advertisements.
  • Ask for radio and TV public service time for mother-tongue announcements and news.

• Types of literacy programs

• In support of vernacular in education An address given at the closing of the Tok Ples Ed...

• Concept module: Mother-tongue Promotion literacy program
• In overview module: Glossary (Literacy): M
• In modular book: Glossary of literacy terms
• In document collection: Reference materials
• In bookshelf: Literacy

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 4.0, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 27 July 1999

© 1999 SIL International