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Teaching Reading in Mother Tongue

Language I & II

Useful for: CTET, OTET, OSSTET, OSSC RHT — Regular High School Teacher, CTSA / STSS, Junior Teacher, OAVS, OSEPA Primary Teacher / JT Category-I

and 11 more exams

OSEPA Upper Primary — Arts, OSEPA Upper Primary — Science, OSSC Odia, OSSC Teacher Readiness, OSSSC Govt TGT Arts, Sainik Schools, Special OTET, SSB Language Teachers, SSB Lecturer (Degree Colleges), SSB School Teachers, SSB TGT Arts

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Overview

Teaching reading in the mother tongue first helps children understand what they read and transfer skills to other languages later.

Key points

NEP 2020 recommends the home language or mother tongue as medium at least till Grade 5, preferably till Grade 8.
Literacy skills transfer from the first language to the second.
Bridge programmes move gradually from the home language to the school language.
Odisha’s Multilingual Education programme supports tribal children in their mother tongues.
Familiar stories, songs and pictures make early reading meaningful.
Teachers should respect and use children’s languages.

Explanation

Bilingual materials help transition.
Community members can help create local-language materials.
Assessment can allow answers in the home language early on.
Avoid shaming children for their language.
A print-rich environment in both languages helps.

Step by step

Identify the concept, method or policy asked.
Recall the definition, thinker, year or rule.
Apply it to the situation and eliminate extreme options.

Examples

Santali-speaking children first read Santali stories, then Odia versions → bridging.
A teacher labels classroom objects in two languages → bilingual print.
A child explains a story in the home language before writing in Odia → transfer.

Traps and advanced points

Trap: Banning the home language.
Trap: Abrupt switch to the school language.
Trap: Ignoring tribal languages.

Quick revision

Mother tongue first.
Transfer of skills.
Bridge programmes; MLE in Odisha.

Practice MCQs

NEP 2020 recommends the home language or mother tongue as medium of instruction at least till —
1. Grade 10
2. Grade 12
3. Grade 2
4. Grade 5
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Answer: (d) Grade 5. At least till Grade 5, preferably till Grade 8.
Literacy skills learnt in the first language —
1. transfer to the second language
2. harm the second language
3. are unrelated
4. are lost in the second language
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Answer: (a) transfer to the second language. Reading skills transfer across languages.
A bridge programme moves learners —
1. away from reading
2. from the school language to the home language
3. gradually from the home language to the school language
4. directly to English only
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Answer: (c) gradually from the home language to the school language. Bridging builds on the home language.
Odisha’s programme supporting tribal children in their mother tongues is —
1. Mid-day Meal
2. DIKSHA
3. Multilingual Education
4. Operation Blackboard
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Answer: (c) Multilingual Education. Multilingual Education (MLE) supports tribal languages.
Banning children from using their home language in class —
1. is required by NEP
2. speeds up reading
3. improves learning
4. harms participation and self-esteem
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Answer: (d) harms participation and self-esteem. Respecting home languages improves participation.
Labels in two languages around the classroom create —
1. a bilingual print-rich environment
2. confusion
3. a test
4. punishment
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Answer: (a) a bilingual print-rich environment. Bilingual print supports transition.
Santali-speaking children first reading Santali stories, then Odia versions, shows —
1. bridging
2. rote learning
3. translation testing
4. streaming
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Answer: (a) bridging. Moving from home language to school language is bridging.
Early reading is more meaningful when it uses —
1. grammar rules
2. tests
3. familiar stories, songs and pictures
4. unfamiliar texts only
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Answer: (c) familiar stories, songs and pictures. Familiar material supports understanding.
Allowing early answers in the home language in assessment is an example of —
1. lowering standards
2. punishment
3. language-friendly assessment
4. cheating
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Answer: (c) language-friendly assessment. It lets learners show understanding while building the school language.
An abrupt switch to the school language in Grade 1 usually —
1. is recommended by NCF
2. has no effect
3. helps all learners
4. hinders understanding for many learners
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Answer: (d) hinders understanding for many learners. Gradual transition is recommended.