Teachers' Perceptions on Using MTB-MLE in Teaching Grade 3 Mathematics

Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) has gradually impacted attention among Filipino mathematics educators as one of the strategies in developing learners' performance particularly in the lower grades. Although the Philippines' Department of Education has ordered its implementation in the early 2012, full blown implementation has been unlikely. Collectively, results from different studies conducted on MTB-MLE proved to be beneficial among learners. An attempt to describe the perceptions of the teachers in using MTB-MLE in teaching Grade 3 mathematics is the main focus of this study. Interview was the primary source of data considered, which involved teachers (n = 15) teaching Grade 3 Mathematics. Results indicated that using MTB-MLE as a medium of instruction is beneficial for both teachers and the learners. Mathematics teachers find it more meaningful and useful when using the learners' mother tongue (MT) as they can explain the lessons with more ease. Also, using MTB-MLE makes the learners obtain a deeper understanding of the lesson, participative in the classroom, express their ideas freely which triggers better communication among leaners and boost their confidence, and improve higher order thinking skills. However, teachers find difficulty in translating mathematical terminologies and are not comfortable using L1 with L2 assessment, resorting to using English language in the classroom. Mathematics teachers recommend that for MTB-MLE to be more effective and meaningful, assessment tools need to be aligned with the instructional materials such as teachers guide and manuals for effective use in teaching. To ensure effectiveness of using MTB-MLE in teaching mathematics, the use of bilingualism in teaching and more training on MTB-MLE in teaching mathematics and in preparing instructional materials were deemed essential by the teachers.