UNIT 1: DEFINITIONS: REGIONAL LANGUAGESAND MOTHER TONGUE
UNIT STRUCTURE
1.1 Learning Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 What is a Regional Language
1.3.1 Constitutional Provisions
1.3.2 Constitutionally Recognised Languages in India
1.3.3 Regional Languages in the Context of Assam
1.3.4 Regional Languages Vs. Minority Languages
1.4 What is a Mother Tongue
1.4.1 Mother Tongue and the First Language
1.5 The Need and Relevance of Mother Tongue Teaching
1.5.1 Double Disadvantage
1.5.2 Disruption of the Development of the Learning Skills
1.5.3 BICS and CALP
1.5.4 Intergenerational Transmission of Heritage Language
and Culture
1.6 Let us Sum up
1.7 Further Reading
1.8 Answer to Check Your Progress
1.9 Model Questions
1.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you will able to-
� describe the concept of regional language and mother tongue
� discuss the constitutional provisions for regional languages and
mother tongue
� explain the need and relevance of teaching mother tongue in your
school and
� familiarize yourself with various theoretical underpinnings of the
teaching of mother tongue and its positive effect on the learners.
5Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
1.2 INTRODUCTION
Language plays a pivotal role in the overall development of a person
and the society. It helps people to exchange ideas and information, and to
communicate with the outside world. Even right now when you are going
through these lines, think for a moment, how the language has helped you
to understand what is written here. A transmission of information and idea
from the book to you has been taking place through a specific language
(English, in this case).
Think about your own classroom. While teaching a lesson, you
always use a language both in the spoken and written form to put across
the ideas to the students. And the students also communicate with you
through a specific language to express their views and answer any questions.
Now think about the time that you spend with your family. Don't you
use your language to talk with each of your family members? Imagine a
situation where none of your family members knows a language. Or just
imagine the next morning you find yourself in the planet Mars with some
aliens around you. You do not understand their language at all, neither can
they understand yours. In such a situation will you be able to communicate
even a simple message across to them?
The above situations and examples probably help you to understand
the importance of language in our lives. It is one of the most indispensable
elements in human lives which enables us to communicate, exchange
opinions, information and express our emotions in an effective way.
Language also plays a very crucial role in the teaching-learning
process. As has already been mentioned, in the classroom you always need
to use a particular language in order to teach the lessons in various subjects
like English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science etc. But India being a
multilingual and multi ethnic country, in almost all the classrooms around
the country, there are students from different language backgrounds. Have
you ever wondered whether all the students in your class understand the
language you are using to teach the lessons? Have you ever come across
confused looks mostly among the back benchers who do not seem to
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understand what is being taught? You must have talked to this set of students
and have tried to understand the root cause of their difficulty in understanding
the lessons. In that process you might have found out that one of the reasons
behind this problem is their difficulty in understanding the language used in
the class. They face this difficulty because that language is different from
the language they use in their homes, with their family members. Just think
about a situation where these students could have been taught the Science,
Mathematics or Social science lessons through their home language or the
language they are most comfortable with. It would have made life a lot easier
for these students to learn these lessons.
But at the same time all your students also need to learn the regional
language, state language and other languages of wider communication.
There is a need to develop their skills to use these languages in various
situations for all types of practical reasons such as doing well in the school
examinations and other academic performances to getting a job or to run a
business. So the question remains - how do you help these learners to
acquire required skills to use these languages in its various forms and
functions.
So in the following sections in this chapter, we will familiarize you
with the concept of mother tongue, first language and regional languages in
the local context. We will also discuss the need and relevance of mother
tongue teaching in our schools. These sections will help you to understand
some of the important issues in the teaching learning process. This in turn
will further empower you to provide better teaching of the mother tongue for
your students. It will be extremely useful for you to keep in mind your own
classroom situation and your students while reading through these sections.
That will help you get the maximum benefit from this course.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
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Q 1: What is the basic function of language in
our lives?
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Q 2: What is the reason cited here for some of your students not
being able to understand the classroom teaching?
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1.3 WHAT IS A REGIONAL LANGUAGE
India is a country with many languages spoken by its vast population
right from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Rann of Kutch to the far east
in Arunachal Pradesh. Each of these languages is perceived/ considered
by its speakers and also by others in the neighbourhood either as a distinct
language or as a dialect of a related language depending on various factors.
These factors include the number of speakers, the status of the language in
terms of its use in the official matters, availability of written materials in the
language, the store of literary publications, whether that particular language
is used as medium of instruction in the schools or as a language subject
etc. Depending on such criteria, some of these languages are considered
as regional languages, while others are known as minority or small
languages. In most cases the regional languages enjoy a lot of government
patronage for its development in terms of its literature, production of materials
and also in introducing that language both as a subject and also as a medium
of instruction in the school, colleges and even at the University level.
1.3.1 Constitutional Provisions
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The Indian Constitution, in the Chapter-II of the Part XVII, deals
with the regional languages of India. In Article 345, it states,
Subject to the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of
a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in
the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or
any of the official purposes of that State:
Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise
provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for
those official purposes within the State for which it was being used
immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.
So the Indian constitution has actually provided the respective
states with the power to decide what the official language for the
state should be. Therefore, in the context of Northeast India, we find
different languages being adopted as the official languages of the
respective states. For example Assamese has been considered as
the official language in the state of Assam, while the state of Manipur
has Meitei as the official language. Similarly, there are other languages
which are being used as official languages in different states of India.
1.3.2 Constitutionally Recognised Languages in India
The Indian Constitution has, in its Chapter I and II of the part
XVII, clearly mentioned about the official languages of the country. In
Article 343: Official language of the Union, it has stated Hindi with
Devanagari script as the official language of the nation and has made
the provision for continuous use of English as a subsidiary official
language. In Chapter II of the same part, the Constitution has
empowered the state legislature of each of the states under the Union
government to decide upon the official languages for their state.
The Union government has specified the exact extent to which
and the exact areas where the use of Hindi and English will be used.
It has been determined by provisions in the constitution under the
Official Languages Act, 1963, The official Languages rules, 1976
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and statutory instruments made by the Department of Official
languages under these laws.
The Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution has enlisted
22 scheduled languages. Inclusion of a language in this list means
that the particular language is entitled for representation in the Official
Language Commission. This Commission was constituted by the
President of India in pursuance to the provisions stated in Article
344 of Indian constitution for dealing with issues of promoting Hindi
as the official language along with other language related issues.
Inclusion of any particular language in this list means that the
government of India will remain responsible for promotion and
development of these languages through all different government
provisions and apparatus. Table 1.1 below provides the names of
the 22 languages listed under this schedule along with its language
families, number of speakers and the states where they are spoken.
Table 1.1: Languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian
Constitution
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Himachal
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Initially only 14 languages were included in the Constitution. But due
to the growing demand from other language communities, the government
decided to include more number of languages in this list. Accordingly, Sindhi
was included in 1967, whereas Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included
in 1992. The more recent inclusions into this list were Dogri, Maithili, Santhali
and Bodo languages in the year 2004.
However, there are demands for including more languages in this
list. At present there are demands for including 38 more languages in the
Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Q 3: Which types of language enjoy government
patronage?
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Q 4: Who has the power to select the official language of an
Indian State as stated in the Indian Constitution?
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Q 5: How many languages have been listed in the Eighth Schedule
of the Indian Constitution till now?
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1.3.3 Regional Languages in The Context of Assam
The previous section /sub-sections (1.3, 1.3.1 and 1.3.2)
might have given you an idea about the regional language in general
and also in the context of Indian Constitution. Keeping that discussion
in mind, let us now consider the issue of regional languages in the12 Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
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specific context of our state Assam. If you go back to the Table 1 in
the 1.3.2 you will notice that the word Assam in the column under
the heading of 'States' is shown in bold. This is to draw your attention
to the number of languages in the Eight Schedule which are spoken
in Assam. So how many of these languages do you find in the list?
We are sure that you will find three such languages namely
Assamese, Bodo and Bengali.
Assamese is the state language in the state of Assam. It is
spoken by around 13 million people in the state. It has a rich body of
literature and reading materials. It belongs to the Indo Aryan language
group and has a rich heritage of written literature in various genres
such as stories, novels, dramas, songs, poems, histories, ballads,
folk songs etc. It is used both as a medium of instruction and also
as a subject of study at schools, colleges and at the university level.
As a result, there is a large number of study materials published in
this language. Hence Assamese has been aptly included as one of
the major languages in to the Eighth Schedule and also is considered
as one of major regional languages in India.
Bodo, on the other hand belongs to the Tibeto-Burman
language family. At present there are around 1.4 million speakers of
Bodo language who are spread across the lower Assam on the North
bank of River Brahmaputra. It is one of the oldest ethnic languages
spoken in the state of Assam. It has been included into the Eighth
Schedule of Indian constitution comparatively recently, i.e. in the year
2004. As a result, now this language is also used both as a subject
and as a medium of instruction in the schools under the Bodoland
Territorial Council formed in the year 2003. This language also has a
rich heritage of published written materials and it expresses the
cultural and traditional characteristics of the Bodo community in the
North east India. The Bengali language enjoys official status in some
districts of the Barak Valley.
Apart from these two languages, there are many other
languages also which are spoken by a sizable number of people in
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Assam. These are Rabha, Mishing, Khasi, Garo, Tiwa etc. But these
languages are yet to get recognition by the Constitution of India.
1.3.4 Regional Languages Vs. Minority Languages
Reading through the previous sections, you must have got a
fair idea about the nature and function of the regional languages
both in the larger context of India and also in the specific context of
Assam. We mentioned at the end of the previous section that there
is a large group of languages in Assam used by speakers in varied
numbers (from as small as a few thousands to comparatively larger
numbers in lakhs) as their mother tongues. Most of these languages
are spoken by people belonging to the various ethnic groups in the
state. Some of these languages are Mishing, Singpho, Tangsa, Nocte,
Tai Phake, Tai Khamyang, Tai Turung, Tai Khamti, Tai Aiton, Garo,
and many more. These languages are used by their speakers mostly
in their homes with their family members and also within the
community. But beyond that, there is no scope for using these
languages as the number of speakers of these languages is
comparatively smaller than those of the regional languages. Hence
this set of languages are referred to as minority languages and the
speaker communities are known as minority language communities.
If we compare these minority languages to the regional or
the official languages in India, we can identify three basic areas of
difference viz. number of speakers, domains language use,
availability of written literature.
Number of speakers
As has already been discussed, comparatively small number
of speakers use most of these minority languages. For example,
the speakers of languages like Singpho, Tai Aiton, Turung, Khamti,
Phake, Khamyang etc., who use the respective languages as mother
tongues, are limited to numbers that range within 50 and10,000 at
the most. In most cases, unfortunately, the number of these language
speakers is gradually decreasing for a host of factors such as
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influence of major languages, shifting of ethnic population for
economic and social security, educational needs etc. In contrast,
the regional languages are much healthier in terms of the number of
speakers. For example, the number of speakers of the Assamese
language has been recorded at around 13 million.
Domains of language use
If we consider the use of the minority languages that we have
been discussing, we will see that the speakers use most of these
languages in the home domain and at best within the community.
There is hardly any scope for using these languages beyond these
two domains. In some areas, such ethnic languages are partially
used in markets. There are very few minority languages which are
used in the schools even as a subject. None of these languages are
used for official purposes in Assam or elsewhere in India. The regional
languages, on the other hand, are used in a varied number of domains.
For example, just think about the Assamese language. Apart from
being used as the mother tongue or the first language by the native
speakers, it is also used as a lingua franca by various sections of
people in the state. It is used both as a subject and also as a medium
of instruction in the schools, colleges and universities. It is also used
for official work and is extensively used at different levels in the daily
life by almost all people in the state.
Availability of written literature
Most of the minority languages are oral. In other words, many
of these languages are still in spoken form only; but there is no system
to write it down. In some cases like the Singphos, and the Tais, they
have their own ways of writing their languages. But still there are a
lot of other small ethnic languages which are yet to develop a written
system. As a result, there is very little written literature in these
languages which can be used by the future generation to learn these
languages. Availability of written literature plays one of the crucial
roles in sustaining a language among its native speakers and also
among other language speakers. In case of regional languages like
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Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Manipuri etc, there is a comparatively
large body of written literature relating to various fields of knowledge.
Since these languages are also used for educational purposes, it
becomes imperative to produce appropriate written literature available
for learners.
CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Q 6: How many languages spoken in Assam are
listed in the Eight Schedule of the Indian
constitution and what are these?
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Q 7: What are the main areas of difference between a regional/
official language and a minority language as cited here?
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1.4 WHAT IS A MOTHER TONGUE
India being a multilingual country, we often come across terms such
as 'mother tongue' 'first language', 'second language' etc. In order to
understand the significance of these different labels, we need to know what
they refer to. There are several explanations for these labels.
For example, a mother tongue can be referred to as the language
that a child grows up speaking. Think about your own childhood. In which
language did you start meaningful communication with your parents and
other close relatives? Hence, the language that you first spoke is normally
referred to as your mother tongue.
Mother tongue is also generally related to the ethnic identity of an
individual. For example, for an Assamese person, his/ her mother tongue is
Assamese. Similarly, for a person belonging to the Bodo community, his/
her mother tongue will be Bodo as long as he/she communicates in this
language.
These are some of the simple ways of defining or understanding a
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mother tongue of an individual. At the same time, there are complicated
issues relating to the definition of mother tongue. Quite often, defining the
mother tongue of a particular individual is not so simple. For example, just
imagine the following situation.
A child belonging to a minority language community like the Singpho
grows up in a completely Assamese language environment right from day
one. This is because before the child is born, his/ her parents shifted from
the village with a Singpho speaking environment to a town area where they
have assimilated into the dominant Assamese language and culture for many
years. So after birth their child naturally picked up the Assamese language
and has started speaking it fluently with no trace of Singpho language. Now
in this situation, what will be the mother tongue of the child -.Singpho or
Assamese? Just think about it for a moment.
Even though ethnically that particular child belongs to the Singpho
community, he has started all kinds of communication in Assamese.
Therefore, from that point of view, the mother tongue of the child would be
Assamese rather than Singpho.
1.4.1 Mother Tongue and the First Language
'First Language' is another term which is often used as a
synonym of the 'Mother Tongue' of a particular person. It is also
defined as the language that a child uses for the first time in life. It
also refers to a particular language that the child can use fluently.
From this perspective, this term is almost the same as the term
Mother Tongue. But at the same time, there are exceptions. There
are situations where a person belonging to a minority language
community can hardly communicate in the language of his/ her
parents. This is because the language has already lost its speakers
substantially. As a result, he/she has grown up speaking the state
language or the dominant language. In this case the first language
of that person can be the state language in which he/ she can fluently
express himself/ herself, whereas the mother tongue can be his/her
parents' language as it signifies the ethnic identity.
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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Q 8: Fill in the blanks
a) Mother tongue is also generally related
to the ...................... of an individual.
b) ‘First Language’ is another term which is often used as a
....................... to the ........................ of a particular person.
1.5 THE NEED AND RELEVANCE OF MOTHER
TONGUE TEACHING
After having discussed briefly the concepts of regional language and
mother tongue in the previous sections, we shall now discuss the need and
relevance of mother tongue teaching for the children of minority language
communities.
Since 1990s, there has been a growing concern among
educationists, psychologists, linguists and experts from other fields of
knowledge regarding the lack of mother tongue teaching for the children all
over the world and its consequences. This concern has led to a concerted
effort at the international level for creating awareness about the benefit of
mother tongue teaching especially for the children of minority language
communities all over the world. Researchers have investigated into the
aspects of mother tongue teaching and its impact on the learning capability
of children belonging to minority language communities.
Such scientific research has established the fact that the best
medium of learning for the child is his/her mother tongue or the language
that he/she is most familiar and comfortable with. Scientific evidence has
shown that children starting their education through their mother tongue
first and then transitioning or moving on to the other languages are much
more academically proficient than those who begin education through their
second or third language. Based on such research findings, we will
discuss the need and relevance of mother tongue teaching in our schools
in the following sections.
There are a number of factors in the teaching-learning process which
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are directly influenced by the choice of language (home language/first
language/ mother tongue versus other languages) as the medium of
instruction used in the schools.
1.5.1 Double Disadvantage
In order to understand the phrase 'Double disadvantage', think
about your classroom situation. In most of the schools we have
multilingual classes. In other words, there are students from different
language backgrounds, whose mother tongue is different from the
medium of instruction used in the schools. Have you not come
across students who are very quiet in the class or who often give a
blank stare irrespective of whatever you teach? You must have come
across students who, in spite of your sincere efforts, find it hard to
understand even a simple concept while studying science,
mathematics, social studies etc. While there may be different
possible reasons behind it, one very common reason is that those
students actually find it difficult to follow what you are saying in the
classroom as classroom instruction. Because the language used
as the medium of instruction is different from their mother tongue or
from the language that they are most familiar with.
As a result, these students face two challenges in the
classroom. First, they struggle to understand the language in which
the teacher is teaching. Second, it is challenging for them to
understand the contents, i.e. the educational concepts and lessons,
because the language is unfamiliar to them. These two challenges
are known as double disadvantage. These challenges really hinder
the understanding of the learners and discourage them from enjoying
the class. As a result, these groups of students gradually stop coming
to the class as they often perform poorly in the class test and other
assessments they are put through.
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1.5.2
A challenging environment as discussed in the previous
section discourages the learners from developing their learning skills.
When we talk about learning skills, we refer to the six stages of
learning skills a learner needs to develop so that she/he can learn
new concepts and knowledge. The following table presents these
six stages, which are also known as Bloom's Taxonomy.
Table 2: Bloom's taxonomy
Description
This is the highest and most abstract skills and
it enables the learner to bring in his knowledge
and skills and form new knowledge out of it. It
involves critical thinking and the ability to analyse.
This skill enables the learner to think critically.
The learner should be able to make judgement
on the given concept.
This is a more abstract skill which requires the
learners to see patterns and compare and
contrast. The learner should be able to break a
whole into pieces and understand the structure.
In other words this skill enables the learners to
analyse any given context and then look at the
essential components embedded into the whole.
This skill requires the learners to use what is
taught. This is possible only if the learner
understands well what is taught. With a better
and correct understanding he/ she will be able
to apply the same in a different context or
situation.
This skill requires the learner to understand what
is taught and then to construct meaning out of it.
He/she should be able to exemplify, classify or
explain what is taught.
This is the simplest skill which enables the
learners to recall what is taught. In other words
this is what is called rote memorization
Abstract
Concrete
Skills
Synthesize
Evaluate
Analyse
Apply
Understand
Remember
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These six skills, which start off with a fairly simple skill like
remembering and advances towards more complex and abstract
skills like analysing, evaluating and finally synthesizing, needs to be
systematically developed among the learners. But if the learners
find it difficult even to understand the classroom instruction, then it
is never going to be easy for these learners to develop the higher
learning and cognitive skills like evaluating or synthesizing. The use
of a language other than the mother tongue of the learners thus
seriously disrupts this development of learning and cognitive skills.
This results in the academic failures of the learners from the minority
language communities and subsequent school dropouts at a higher
rate.
Such a progressive development of learning and cognitive
skills as shown above is possible only if the teaching-learning in the
classroom is done through the mother tongue of the learners. The
use of the mother tongue will help the learners to follow the classroom
instruction with understanding. It will also encourage them to
participate in the classroom interaction more actively and that will
further develop their analysing, evaluating and other complex skills.
Therefore, it is very important that the learners are provided with the
opportunity to learn through their mother tongue.
1.5.3 BICS and CALP
In Section 1.5.1 we discussed the 'double disadvantage' that
the learners suffer from, when taught through a language different
from their mother tongue. While going through that section the
following question might have come to your mind.
In my school, I have seen that learners from different language
backgrounds are comfortable communicating with their fellow
students in the language of classroom transaction, even though the
language of classroom transaction is different from their mother
tongues. They do not seem to face any problem at that point. So
how is it that the same language hinders the learning ability of the
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learners in the classroom?
In order to understand your observation and the subsequent
question on this issue, let us discuss two important concepts
proposed by the renowned educationist Jim Cummins.
The first one is known as Basic Interpersonal Communicative
Skills (BICS). BICS refers to the ability of a child to communicate
with his/her friends, peers in the second language provided he/ she
is sufficiently exposed to the second language environment.
According to Cummins, it takes 1-3 years for a language learner to
develop BICS. This means such a child will be able to express his/
her basic feelings, needs etc through the second language. It is
comparatively a cognitively less demanding skill. But this skill should
not be mistaken for a higher grade of proficiency in the second
language learning for the same child. This is where Cummins has
talked about Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).
CALP is a cognitively more demanding language skill which needs
to be developed for attaining academic proficiency. It refers to the
manipulation of language skills at a more abstract level. It enables
the learner to think, analyse critically and then infer or produce new
knowledge which eventually helps him/her to perform better in the
academic pursuit. According to research by Cummins, it takes 5 to
7 years for a young learner with a strong mother tongue foundation
to acquire CALP in second language. But for a learner without a
strong mother tongue foundation, it takes 7 to 10 years to acquire
the same in the second language.
Therefore in order to help the learners acquire CALP for a
better performance in the second language or the language of the
school, mother tongue teaching should be promoted in the schools.
Research all over the world has come up with some effective
strategies and tools for teaching of literacy skills and other educational
concepts through the mother tongue of the learners. We will discuss
some of these strategies in the subsequent units.
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1.5.4 Intergenerational Transmission of Heritage
Language and Culture
One of the serious challenges that the human race is facing
of late is the extinction of languages at a fast pace. This extinction
has been so rapid that it has been estimated that by the end of this
century, the human kind will lose almost half of the total number of
around 7000 spoken languages today in the globe. Apart from the
loss of language, it has other serious implications. One of them is
the extinction of a vast storehouse of traditional knowledge related
to the history of mankind, culture, indigenous life, society, agriculture,
indigenous way of co-existence with nature etc. One main reason
for this extinction is the gradual decline in the number of speakers of
minority languages. With the passing of time, more and more
speakers of such ethnic languages are embracing the modernity by
way of assimilating into the dominant language and culture. As a
result, the trend of passing on the language and other related
knowledge from one generation to the other in a community has
been affected considerably. The blocking of this intergenerational
transmission of the heritage language and culture in the community
has resulted in the eventual loss of the language and culture in many
instances around the world.
In this kind of a worrying situation, the teaching of mother
tongue in the schools can be an effective way of preventing such
language loss. The use of the learners' language in the school will
encourage the learners to learn their own language. In this process,
the elders in the community can also be engaged in the teaching-
learning process in various ways so that they can transfer their
linguistic and cultural knowledge to their children. This can be done
through various strategies which can be included in the curriculum.
Such strategies will help the learners not only to acquire educational
concepts and basic literacy skills, but also to maintain their mother
tongue and culture.
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CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
Q 9: Fill in the blanks
a) Scientific research has established the
fact that the best medium of .............. for child is through his/her
..................... or the language that he/she is most familiar and
comfortable with.
Q 10: How many stages are there in Bloom’s Taxonomy?
.................................................................................................
1.6 LET US SUM UP
� Language plays one of the most pivotal roles in the overall development
of a person and the society. It helps people to exchange ideas and
information, and to communicate with the outside world.
� In many cases learners from a different language background do not
perform well in the school just because they find it difficult to follow the
classroom transaction done through a language different from their
mother tongues.
� The regional languages enjoy a lot of government patronage for its
development in terms of its literature, production of materials and also
in introducing that language both as a subject and as a medium of
instruction in the schools, colleges and university level.
� The Indian Constitution, in the Chapter-II of the Part XVII, deals with
the regional languages of India.
� The Indian Constitution has, in its Chapter I and II of the part XVII,
clearly mentioned about the official languages of the country.
� In Article 343: Official language of the Union, the Constitution has stated
Hindi with Devanagari script as the official language of the nation and
has made provision for continuous use of English as a subsidiary
official language.
24 Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
Definitions : Regional Languages and Mother TongueUnit 1
� In Chapter II of the same part, the constitution has empowered the
state legislature of each of the states under the Union government to
decide upon the official languages for their state.
� The Eighth Schedule of the Indian constitution has listed 22 scheduled
languages. Inclusion of a language into this list means that the particular
language is entitled to representation in the Official Language
Commission.
� Assamese, Bodo and Bengali are the three languages spoken in
Assam that are included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian
constitution.
� If we compare the minority languages to the regional or the official
languages in India, we can identify three basic areas of difference viz.
number of speakers, domains language use, availability of written
literature.
� Mother tongue is also generally related to the ethnic identity of an
individual.
� Learners from a language background different from the language of
instruction often suffer from the double disadvantage in the classroom.
� There are six cognitive skills or learning stages according to Bloom's
taxonomy which need to be acquired by the learners. In order to help
learners acquire these skills, the learners should be provided with a
favourable learning condition where the teaching-learning process
takes place through the mother tongue of the learners.
� Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills (BICS). BICS refers to the
ability of a child to communicate with his/her friends, peers in the second
language provided he/ she is sufficiently exposed to the second
language environment
� CALP refers to the manipulation of language skills at a more abstract
level enabling the learner to think, analyse critically and then infer or
produce new knowledge which eventually helps him/her to perform
better in the academic pursuit.
� One of the serious challenges that the human kind is facing of late is
the extinction of languages at a fast pace. This extinction has been so
25Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
Definitions : Regional Languages and Mother Tongue Unit 1
rapid that it has estimated that by the end of this century the human
kind will lose almost half of the total number of around 7000 spoken
languages today in the globe.
� One of the main reasons behind this extinction is the gradual decline
in the number of speakers of minority languages.
� Teaching of mother tongue in the schools can be an effective way of
preventing language loss.
1.7 FURTHER READING
1) Dutcher, N. (2004). Expanding Educational Opportunity in
Linguistically Diverse Societies. Washington DC: Center for Applied
Linguistics.
2) Jhingran, D. (2005). Language Disadvantage: the Learning Challenge
in Primary Education. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation.
3) Kosonen, K., Young, C., & Malone, S. (2007). Promoting Literacy in
Multilingual Settings . Bangkok: UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional
Bureau for Education.
1.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR
PROGRESS
Ans to Q No 1: Language plays one of the most pivotal roles in the overall
development of a person and his society. The basic function of
language is to help people to exchange ideas and information, and to
communicate with the outside world.
Ans to Q No 2: This is because the students do not understand the language
through which the classroom transaction takes place. In other words,
the medium of instruction in the school is different from their mother
tongue.
26 Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
Definitions : Regional Languages and Mother TongueUnit 1
Ans to Q No 3: Regional languages enjoy government patronage for the
development and promotion of the language development in terms of
its literature, production of materials and also in introducing that
language both as a subject and also as a medium of instruction in the
school, colleges and even at the University level.
Ans to Q No 4: The Indian constitution has provided the respective states
with the power to decide upon the official language for the state.
Ans to Q No 5: 22
Ans to Q No 6: 3. These are Assamese, Bodo and Bengali
Ans to Q No 7: The main areas of difference between the regional/ official
language and the minority languages are 1) Number of speakers, 2)
Domains of language use, 3) Availability of written literature
Ans to Q No 8: a) ethnic identity
b) synonym, Mother tongue
Ans to Q No 9: a) learning, mother tongue
Ans to Q No 10: Six
1.9 MODEL QUESTIONS
A. Very Short Questions
Q 1: In which year was the Bodo language included in the Eighth Schedule
of the Indian Constitution?
Q 2: What are the stages mentioned in Bloom's Taxonomy?
Q 3: What are the full forms of BICS and CALP?
B. Short Questions (Answer in about 100-150 words)
Q 1: What is the importance of language in the life of a human being?
Q 2: What kind of role does language play in the teaching learning process?
Q 3: How would you describe a regional language in the context of India?
Q 4: State briefly about the constitutional provisions for regional languages
in India.
Q 5: What do you understand by the term 'Mother tongue'?
27Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
Definitions : Regional Languages and Mother Tongue Unit 1
Q 6: What are six stages of Bloom's taxonomy? Elaborate the significance
of this taxonomy.
Q 7: Why is it important to sustain the intergenerational transmission of
language and culture?
C. Long Questions (Answer in about 300-500 words)
Q 1: Discuss the concept of regional language and minority languages in
the context of India.
Q 2: Discuss the constitutional provisions for regional languages and the
Eighth schedule of in the Indian constitution.
Q 3: State your concept of Mother tongue and first language.
Q 4: Discuss and elaborate on the need and relevance of mother tongue
teaching in schools.
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28 Pedagogy of Regional Language and Mother Tongue
Definitions : Regional Languages and Mother TongueUnit 1
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