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Building Back Better: Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education for Ethnic Minority Children

Building Back Better: Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education for Ethnic Minority Children

Building Back Better: Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education for Ethnic Minority Children

Side Event for 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Education Minister’s Conference (APREMC-II)

Global research has demonstrated that children who speak ethnic minority languages at home yet study in majority languages at school exhibit lower levels of literacy and numeracy than their peers. More recently, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic these ethnolinguistic minority children have fallen even further behind, partly due to their inability to access distance learning materials in languages they understand. In addition, many of these children are representative of a ‘digital divide’ in their lacking electronic devices or internet access in low socioeconomic or geographically remote communities.

The side event, ‘Building Back Better: Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education for Ethnic Minority Children’ will discuss how mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB MLE) can significantly help such learners. Our expert panel will address fundamental issues with guiding questions, such as:

  • What is MTB MLE and how does it improve students’ learning outcomes?
  • How does MTB MLE help students learn other languages, including English?
  • What digital learning tools are most helpful for children who don’t speak the school language and have limited internet access?
  • How does MTB MLE engage local communities and promote social harmony and inclusion?
  • How would endorsing UNESCO’s Bangkok Statement on Language and Inclusion help a country achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4)?

 

Target Audience

The target audience for this side event consists of regional and national level education stakeholders, especially policy-makers and practitioners, to enhance their understanding of how multilingual education can play a role in the post-pandemic process of ‘building back better’ and achieving SDG 4 for all, especially ethnolinguistic minority children.

 

Working Language

English; no additional language accommodations provided.

 

Date, Time and Format

Sun, 5 June 2022
12.45 – 13.45 (Bangkok time; GMT+7)
Zoom Conferencing (Hybrid)

 

Registration

Registration is free but required in advance; upon registering, you will receive a unique join URL via email: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtceGgrzgtHNFKglDpoHF88tFDnBA7dMHi

 

Agenda

Sun, 5 June 2022, 12.45 – 13.45 (Bangkok time; GMT+7)

Moderator:

  • Brandon Darr, Consultant, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok)

12.45 – 12.50

Welcome and Introduction from the Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group

  • Kyungah Kristy Bang, Programme Officer, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok)

12.50 – 13.25

Panelists

  • ‘Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) 2019: Language and Learning Gaps’ – Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Director, SEAMEO Secretariat
  • ‘MLE Transformation in the Philippines: a Policymaker’s Perspective’ – Dina Ocampo, Professor, University of the Philippines and former Undersecretary for Department of Education, Philippines
  • ‘The Bangkok Statement on Language and Inclusion’ – Kirk Person, Senior Consultant in Literacy and Education, SIL International

13.25 – 13.35

Global Response

  • Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa, Director, Division of Education 2030 Support and Coordination, UNESCO Headquarters

13.35 – 13.45

Wrap Up/Closing comments

  • Erin Tanner, Education Specialist, UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO)

 

Resources

Event recording

Presentation slides

Concept note and agenda

Speakers' biographies

Webinar Q&A

 

For more Information

Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics

Bangkok Statement on Language and Inclusion

See the Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group (MLE WG) webpage for more information on the MLE WG and the regional webinar series.

Asia-Pacific Multilingual Education Working Group Secretariat
E-mail: mlewg@unesco.org

 

Event