The use of Orang Asli mother tongue in community-based education in Malaysia

This article reports on an interpretivist study aimed at understanding the perspectives of volunteer teachers of young Orang Asli children within informal community classrooms in remote Malaysian village settings. Teacher perspectives on the use of their mother tongues in the classroom were sought through the use of semi-structured interviews, which were conducted in their classrooms in remote areas of Malaysia. Grounded theory methods of analysis were employed, and four themes were generated that described participants’ commitment to using the mother tongue in the classroom alongside Bahasa Malaysia to maintain cultural heritage, facilitate learning, prepare students for formal schooling and mainstream society, and highlight the value of Orang Asli culture and identity in society. The findings will be useful in informing education policy for indigenous education in Malaysia and in other settings where mother tongue is used in the classroom, particularly where volunteer teachers without formal qualifications are involved.