(VOVworld) - Education in mother tongue is essential to teaching, training, revisions to academic programs, and the creation of suitable learning environments.

The message was delivered by the UNESCO on the 15th International Mother Language Day on February 21. The UNICEF has helped Vietnam successfully implement an initiative promoting mother tongue-based bilingual education in Lao Cai, Gia Lai, and Tra Vinh province since 2008. Experiences of involved kindergartens and primary schools confirmed better educational outcomes for ethnic minority children taught in their native languages than their peers learning in Vietnamese.

A class of ethnic minority students in Mu Cang Chai district of the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai (Photo: VNA)

According to UNICEF Vietnam’s chief representative Abdel-Youssouf Jelil, the use of the mother tongue during the first few years of school, together with stronger national policies and public investments, has enabled Vietnam to preserve its linguistic and cultural diversity. 

International Mother Language Day was declared in November 1999 and has been celebrated annually since February 2000 to develop languages and promote cultural diversity and multilingualism.