The First Language (L1) or Mother Tongue Model Vs. The Second Language (L2) Model of Literacy Instruction

Abstract

In several developing countries with linguistic minorities where the colonial language is preferred for educational purposes, curriculum content is often presented in a language unfamiliar to a significant portion of children beginning school. Key Terminology In this paper, we will frequently refer to the mother tongue with the term first language (L1), indicating the child's native or first acquired language.We will also refer to the second language as L2: this is the language other than one's mothertongue being learned or studied in its environment, for example the country or the region where the language is mainly spoken. In the examples and case-studies presented in this paper, the second language is used for the purpose of instruction. Finally, FL refers to the foreign languagelearned or studied outside its environment. This terminological distinction is important because there are key differences-with consequential major teaching implications-between L1 and L2 or FL learning. 2 Education systems inattentive to mother tongue languages different from the second language (L2) used for instruction have not provided opportunities for acquisition of the L2 before literacy development, nor have given necessary support in learning literacy basic skills in the child's mother tongue.Interdisciplinary studies concerning language planning and policy in