THREE MMSU professors composed a panel which discussed ‘The Amianan Experience in L1 Instruction’ during the first ever Philippine Conference Workshop on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MLE) held Feb. 18-20 at Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City.

Dr. Alegria T. Visaya, president of NAKEM Conferences-Philippines, Dr. Josephine R. Domingo, and Prof. Edna C. Nagtalon spoke to almost a thousand teachers, school managers, teacher educators. and other education stakeholders across the archipelago and from other countries like Bangladesh, East Timor, and Hawaii, USA gathered in a plenary session. Prof. Noemi Rosal of the University of the Philippines was also in the panel.

Anchored on the theme, \"Reclaiming the Right to Learn in One’s Own Language\", the conference-workshop aimed to equip the participants with the needed know-how to fulfill the mandate embodied in DepEd Order No. 74, series 2009 otherwise known as \"Institutionalizing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education.\"

Through the keynote speech, messages, lectures, plenary sessions, parallel sessions, and workshops, the participants were provided with opportune time to reflect together on the challenges and possibilities of harnessing the Philippines’ rich cultural resources which include 170+languages, and to discuss the philosophy of MLE.

\"It is within our reach now! We will ensure that our children and grandchildren grow up fully convinced that their local language and culture are not inferior or a barrier to their learning and full development as proud and valuable citizens of this country and the world,\" emphasized DepEd Undersecretary Dr. Vilma L. Labrador in her message during the opening ceremony.

Based on a primer, mother tongue-based multilingual education (MLE) is the use of more than two languages for language and instruction. It starts from where the learners are, and what they already know. This means learning to read and write in their first language or L1 and also teaching subjects like mathematics, science, health, and social studies in the L1.

As they develop a strong foundation in their L1, children are gradually introduced to the official languages--Filipino and English--as separate subjects, first orally, then in written form.

MLE aims to produce learners who are multi-literate, multi-lingual, and multi-cultural in the sense that they can read and write competently in the local and national language and in one or more languages of communication, such as English. They can use these languages in various situations and can live and work harmoniously with people whose cultural backgrounds are different from their own.