Dagupan preschools to use mother tongue in classes

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1041543
• Tuesday, July 17, 2018

By Ahikam Pasion (PNA)

DAGUPAN CITY – Preschool teachers in this city will soon use the Pangasinan mother tongue as a medium of instruction in their classes, to gear up toddlers for their kindergarten learning transition.

Bacayao Sur Elementary School Principal Dr. Renato Santillan, in an interview on Monday, said the use of mother tongue in preschools is in accordance with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) initiative.

“As one of the major mother tongue languages in the country included in the MTB-MLE program, the Pangasinan language will be used by the Child Development Workers (CDW) in Dagupan City in conducting lessons,” said Santillan.

The implementation of mother tongue-based teaching will include basic writing, spelling and proper Pangasinan grammar, he added.

The MTB-MLE was already implemented in all public schools, from kindergarten to Grade 3, while Dagupan City’s program for preschools will be implemented as soon DepEd gives the green light, said Santillan.

The City Social Welfare and Development Office conducted a seminar-workshop on basic mother tongue for CDWs in the city last week, which aims to prepare them for the usage of Pangasinan as language of instruction, Santillan said.