Language is a human system of communication that uses arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures or written symbols as defined by Nordquit, grammar and composition expert. It is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily produced symbols. Through language we develop our thoughts, give meaning to our experiences, explore our customs, structure our community, construct our laws, articulate our values and give expressions to our hopes and ideas (Hoggang, 2012). Mother tongue is a language a person has learned from birth, the language that a person learns to speak first and learned at home as well as a language where a person speaks the best and so often the basis for sociolinguistic identity.

Teaching and encouraging young children to learn speak and use their mother tongue often in all their daily activities inside or outside school premises or even at home would help them to develop confidence, self-esteem and their unique identity within a multicultural society.

Some reasons for learning a mother tongue were as follows:

1. Communication – by the use of mother tongue young children will freely express their thoughts, feeling and emotions to anyone like their teachers, friends and classmates without any hesitation. It can also help establish and maintain good relationship with friends and family members.
2. Cultural Identity – one of the important features of a cultural identity is the ability to speak one’s mother tongue. In addition, literacy in the mother tongue strengthens cultural identity and heritage. Learners will develop an appreciation and understanding of the culture of the mother tongue language and they can use it as basis for comparison with other culture. The children who have a cultural identity learn to stand the pressure from peer groups of different cultures in schools, work places and society as a whole.
3. Cultural Heritage – mother tongue helps develop respect for and pride in their cultural heritage among the group and youth. It also supports the strengthening of transmission of a community’s linguistic heritage and prevents this cultural and linguistic loss or will prevent total disappearance of a certain dialect/ language in a society.
4. Benefits for the Person – the learning of the mother tongue will help children love themselves and their heritage first before they will introduce to the languages and cultures of other people. This will also preserve family bonds and lessen cultural conflicts between generations. Using mother tongue, the child develops good reading skills, understands the meaning of unfamiliar words from context, able to write an essay without any difficulty and accelerate the development of reading ability in the second language.

Man’s native speech is almost like his shadow, inseparable from his personality. Children will learn English more quickly and effectively if they continue to develop their proficiency in the mother tongue, concluded by Hoggang.

By: Angelica R. Magno | T-III | Luakan Elementary School