Multilingual Education

Reading is essential for a child’s success. All too often, the barriers faced by children with difficulty reading outweigh their desire to read and, without proper guidance, they never overcome them.
Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them (EnglishClub, n.d.). Learning to read is a sequential process; each new skill builds on the mastery of previously learned skills. Early on, for example, children learn to break down words into their most basic sounds in a process called decoding. Later, they begin to comprehend the meaning of words, sentences and, ultimately, entire passages of text.
Studies have shown that reading and understanding a simple text is one of the most fundamental skills

He also added that MTB instruction usually takes place exclusively in the language most familiar to children. In some cases, it may be provided as part of a bilingual or multilingual education program.
Furthermore, another study by Bachore (2014) discussed that in MTB programs, students have the opportunity to learn core concepts primarily in a familiar language, and, later, they learn the labels or vocabulary for those concepts in a new language. MTB education is especially beneficial in early childhood programs, preschool and the elementary (up to grade 6), when children are learning to read and gaining new concepts.
A recent review of research reports on language and literacy concludes that becoming literate and fluent in one’s first language is important for overall language and cognitive development, as well as academic achievement (Ball, 2010). Evidence from Cameroon, India, Mali, the Philippines, South Africa, and Vietnam attests to the benefits of learning in a familiar

Based on the 2008 FLEMMS survey, to check if readers read with understanding, they found out that 14% of Filipinos, aged 10-64, are not functionally literate and among the poor, this figure is over 30% in some regions (e.g. Region XII). In lieu with this, Bro. Armin Luistro, Secretary of Education in his “State of Education in the Philippines 2012” in 2013, for every 100 children that enter Grade 1, only 51 will graduate from high