Present Status of the Mother Tongue Multilingual Education in Science Teaching in the Province of Abra: Its Challenges and Innovations

Abstract For many years, scholars worldwide have debated the importance of language as a medium for effective teaching and learning. The country’s MTB-MLE program uses vernacular to teach subjects like science 3. Recognizing the shift in instructional medium, this phenomenological study identically captured the collective responses of DepEd grade 3 science teachers in Abra, Philippines. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to discover teachers’ challenges and strategies in teaching science in their mother tongue. Warm analysis was used to reduce the phenomenological reduction of audio text and field notes. The analysis revealed three themes: language, material, and policy constraints. Teachers used strategies to deliver lessons well despite shortcomings. The emerging themes from the teacher respondents’ collective experiences help us understand what the grade 3 science teachers went through and still go through when using the vernacular in teaching. Overall, this study shows that teaching Science 3 in the mother tongue still needs work to fully implement the program’s goal of improved science teaching in primary education.