Lost in Translation: A Phenomenological Inquiry on the Discontinuation of Mother Tongue Subject

Abstract

The main objective of this qualitative study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of elementary teachers who formerly taught the mother tongue subject, exploring how they navigated the removal of the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) subject and how their teaching practices and perspectives were shaped by these changes. To achieve this aim, purposive sampling with clear objectives was used to identify ten elementary teachers from various schools in West district Schools of Kapalong Davao Del Norte using the phenomenological approach. The study revealed several key experiences among these teachers, including the continued use of the mother tongue as natural instructional tool, challenges in addressing students reading and comprehension difficulties without formal MTB-MLE subject support and also the reliance on bilingual teaching methods to fill the gaps. In response to these challenges, teachers developed various coping strategies, such as integrating bilingual resources, implementing flexible teaching methodologies, encouraging language exploration, and adapting their instructional techniques. Upon reflecting on their experiences, they highlighted key insights: the importance of maintaining the mother tongue as a learning aid, the necessity of adapting to curriculum changes, the significance of managing workload effectively, and the value of continuous professional development. Overall, the findings of this study provide meaningful insights for both elementary teachers and curriculum developers, highlighting the retention of the mother tongue not only as a subject but as an essential medium of instruction as well as practical ways to support language learning and preparing educators for future curriculum shifts in order to maintain inclusive and effective classroom practices