Constructive alignment of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) language policy implementation to the practices of a multilingual classroom

This descriptive observational study examined the implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) language policy to the classroom practices of a grade three multilingual classroom in the Philippines. The constructive alignment of the said language policy implementation was evaluated in terms of: (1) Mother Tongue (MT) as a subject area, examining specifically the coherence of the teaching and learning activities and assessment criteria used; and (2) MT as a medium of instruction. Findings revealed that there were discrepancies, incongruences, and insufficiencies in the administration of assessments in the alignment of MT as a subject area. These issues resulted in the underdevelopment of the four macro skills of the learners and caused misalignment of the classroom implementation to the language policy. The same is true with the implementation of MT as a medium of instruction in the classroom; however, the use of translation and code-switching of L1, L2, and L3 helped in the comprehension and participation of the students. These findings call for the attention of the policymakers and teachers for a rigorous review of the policy and its actual implementation as it significantly affects the holistic development of the students. This study further contributes to the continuous improvement of the educational system in the country particularly in the K-12 and MTB MLE implementation. This is an open access article under the CC–BY-SA license.


Introduction
The Department of Education (DepEd) has enacted many policies in recent years that are pertinent to the current language-in-education policy. The DepEd Order No. 74 issued in 2009 institutionalized Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) nationwide and mandated the use of the learners' mother tongue (MT) in improving learning outcomes from Kindergarten to Grade Three (DepEd, 2012). The DepEd Order No. 16 issued in 2012 indicated the starting school year of the implementation (i.e., [2012][2013] and ordered all public schools to adopt it as part of the K-12 Basic Education Program. This order also included objectives emphasizing the four developments that MTB MLE would greatly influence specifically: (1) language development, (2) cognitive development, (3) academic development, and (4) sociocultural awareness. With the MTB MLE's implementation, two modes stipulated in the guidelines were expected to be carried out: (1) mother tongue as a subject area, and (2) mother tongue as a medium of instruction in all learning areas excluding Filipino and English, in kindergarten to grade three levels (DepEd, 2013).
However, since its implementation, it has been facing several issues and criticisms. For instance, the challenges on how to implement it such that it is aligned with the desired mother-tongue approach (Eslit, 2014) and the challenge implied by Lartec (2014) to the Department of Education to initiate a mechanism wherein the teachers' innovative strategies and problems are assessed, monitored, and evaluated. The interpretation and implementation in the classroom define the success of the enactment of the policy; what happens on the ground level will contribute either directly or indirectly to the successful implementation of the language policy. It is in this premise that this study was anchored on. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: How is MTB MLE policy implemented in a grade three level classroom specifically as (1) a subject area, examining the coherence of: (a) teaching and learning activities, (b) assessment criteria; (2) a medium of instruction? What alignment issues are observed in the classroom policy implementation?

MTB MLE Language Policy
The inauguration of the language-in-education policy in the Philippines was prompted by several studies such as the Lingua Franca Project (1999to 2001) and Lubuagan Project (1999, as mentioned by Walter & Dekker (2011), which provided inputs that motivated the government to develop a policy that would bridge the learners from their first language to other languages of instruction (Filipino and English). According to Fillmore (2014), several studies proved that the use of second language in basic education programs may be linked to "under-achievement, poor literacy development, and high dropout rates".
Thus, DepEd integrated MTB MLE in the new K-12 Basic Education Program and explicated one of the language policy's wider purposes; the four forms of child development that MTB MLE should influence to the students. These are language development, cognitive development, academic development, and sociocultural awareness. Language development means "a higher-level cognitive skill involving auditory and oral abilities in humans to communicate verbally individuals' wants and needs" (Goldstein & Naglieri, 2011). It establishes a strong education for success in school and for lifelong learning. Cognitive development focuses on Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) based on various taxonomies of learning, such as Bloom's taxonomy. Critical thinking skills are distinguished from low-order learning outcomes (e.g., rote memorization) because HOTS involve synthesizing, analyzing, reasoning, comprehending, applying, and evaluating (Watson, 2017). Academic development prepares students to acquire mastery of competencies in each of the learning areas. Students shall be given the opportunity to master essential skills and knowledge before they move on to the next level. Lastly, sociocultural awareness means the "awareness of the societies and cultures of the target language, and therefore of the contexts the language is used in. Teachers themselves transmit information subconsciously about culture and society through their behavior and interaction with students" (British Council 2019; Vitalaru, 2020). It enhances the pride of the student's heritage, language, and culture.
DepEd also provided specifications in the guidelines on how to implement Mother Tongue (L1), which in the case of this study is Sebuano, as the medium of instruction, and the integration of Filipino (L2), and English (L3). L1 is mandated to be continuously used as MOI in a transition or bridging process through grade three; L2 shall be introduced in the first semester of grade one and have the four macro skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) continuously developed from grades two to six; and, L3 shall be introduced during the second semester of grade one and the four macro skills shall be integrated and developed starting from grade two until grade six. It is also suggested that the story track (meaning) and primary track (accuracy), a method that sets the standard in teaching for meaning and accuracy affecting the four macro-skills, be employed to ensure that students gain proficiency in both comprehension and critical thinking skills (See D.O. No. 28, s. 2013, DepEd, 2013. Squires (2012) stated that "in aligning the curriculum to the standards, it must first be acknowledged that standards are general while curriculum is specific". Thus, in a classroom setting, the intended learning outcome can be carried out through different assessment practices whether informal or formal, or it could be manifested in the content of the literature found in the materials used. Assessment, as defined by , is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain. Assessment is administered depending on the context and the outcomes required to be achieved. However, the problem of what and how the particular outcome can be practiced and assessed in a classroom arises.

Constructive Alignment and Classroom Practices
Moreover, factors like how the teachers carry out the lesson in which it is aligned to the outcomes of the policy or how the assessment practices are related to what has been taught, up to the curriculum and how it is being administered at the classroom level, highly affect the successful implementation of MTB MLE. For instance, in Burton's (2013) study on the implementation of the MTB MLE top-down policy implementation, she asserted that language policy is not simply defined by the national level statements; rather it is also important to understand the role teachers play in the enactment of the policy.
With this, a constructive alignment which was introduced by Biggs (2003), was used as an approach to determine the quality of learning employed in the classroom. This approach consists of two aspects, the constructive and alignment aspects. Constructive aspect banks on the meaning of the learning activities that the students do while alignment aspect focuses on what the teacher does to achieve the desired learning outcomes (Ajjawi, 2020).
This approach examines the interconnectedness of the relationship of the intended outcomes of the guidelines of the language policy, classroom practices (i.e., teaching and learning experiences and assessment), and medium of instruction which are essential in the success of the language-ineducation policy. Aside from the fact that it is important in the development of the educational system in the country, this language-in-education policy must be properly exercised on the ground level because according to Watermeyer (2012), if the core elements of the educational structure are inappropriately or inadequately aligned then the coherent message of what is valued in the educational process is blurred which will directly contradict to the goals of the policy.

Method
This study utilized a descriptive, observational method in examining how MTB-MLE curriculum is put into practice, particularly in a grade three level multilingual classroom. This type of research design was used in order to record the classroom situations in a natural, uncontrolled, and non-manipulative manner. Hence, field observation was done to yield qualitative data. .

Locale of the Study
The study was conducted in Iligan City, located in Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Philippines. It is an urbanized and diverse place which is inhabited by people with different cultural backgrounds and languages such as Cebuano, Maranaos, Higaonons, Tagalogs and some minorities such as Waray, Ilocano, and Chavacano. The primary language spoken in the city is Sebuano, followed by Meranao. English, on the other hand, is used as a third language (L3). This study employed one of the best and biggest schools in the area.

Research Participants
Purposive sampling method was used in choosing the participants of the research. A class of grade three students in the tenth section served as the participants. Grade three students were relevant for the study because this level is the last grade where MTB MLE is implemented, making the academic level a transitional stage for the students as they will no longer have the local language either as MT subject or as the medium of instruction in the succeeding years of their elementary level. Further, the tenth section was chosen because based on the teachers' assessment, this section demonstrated a low level of comprehension and academic competence, which is significant to the implementation of MTB MLE. Lastly, this class was composed of fifty-six (56) students with thirty-five (35) males and twenty-one (21) females, ranging from 7 to 9 years old.
Four teachers were also involved in the study. All of these teachers gained degrees in Elementary Education in their different respective fields. They were appointed to teach and handle classes based on their seniority, evaluation of the school principal, and recommendation from senior Master Teachers. However, one of the teachers taught several subjects in the chosen class participant and another one of the teachers filed a leave of absence during the duration of the class observation; thus, a substitute teacher was designated.

Data Gathering Procedures
Before the conduct of the study, the researchers sought the permission of the division superintendent, school principals, school heads, and teachers through a letter and a closed-door discussion regarding the goals and intent of the study.
For the visibility of the study, the researchers conducted a direct classroom observation where narrative descriptions of the situations were recorded through field notes. Field notes were recorded accurately that even the side details were included as they might contribute during the analyses of the research data. The researchers only watched and observed, rather than participated, to maintain objectivity and avoid biases. The direct classroom observation lasted for one month, and the researchers were able to record thirty-one (31) class sessions. Since the study focused on two aspects of MTB MLE language policy implementation: MT as subject and as the medium of instruction; the researchers stayed in the school for the entire day within a month to observe all six subject areas that used MT as the medium of instruction. These subjects were: Science, Mathematics, Araling Panlipunan (AP), Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (ESP), Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health (MAPEH), and Mother Tongue (MT). Also, it should be noted that English and Filipino were excluded since English and Tagalog, respectively, were the languages used as the medium of instruction in these subject areas.
The researchers also procured the Curriculum Guides (CG) or better known as K-12 Mother Tongue Subject Curriculum Guide (DepEd, 2016) and Daily Lesson Log (DLL) of the teachers. The Department of Education provided these CGs and DLLs to serve as reference and guidance of the teachers for the lessons, content standards, performance standards, and learning competencies that are supposed to be achieved through the teaching and learning experience in the classroom. This initiative was intended to produce a top-down approach of delivering the standard competencies and outcomes of K-12 Basic Education Program (D.O. No. 21, s. 2019). However, as mentioned by Marinas and Ditapat (2000), in Genon and Torres (2015), the curriculum is designed to be interpreted by the teachers and implemented with variations for as long as they meet the requirements of the said curriculum. However, Peterson and Cruz (2014) exclaimed that instructional alignment may seem to be a simple idea but, it is more challenging to implement than understand. This is why the researchers obtained the CGs and DLLs of each subject area because these were subjected to constructive alignment to determine if the classroom practices, MTB MLE language policy implementation, and outcomes or competencies from the DLLs and CGs were achieved. The data were subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis during the process of data presentation.

Examining coherence of teaching and learning activities and assessment criteria of Mother Tongue as a subject area
In examining Mother Tongue as a subject, the researchers observed that in aligning MT subject to the outcomes found in the daily lesson logs (DLL) provided by DepEd, most of the teaching and learning activities were not aligned to it. For instance, the learning competency intended to be Vol. 4, No. 2, 2021, pp.  achieved in one of the DLLs of this subject area required students to initiate and participate in an extended social conversation about unfamiliar topics by asking questions and soliciting information, however, the actual observed teaching and learning activity administered was that the students were only asked to draw a picture of a pineapple from the folktale read by the teacher. From this, the researchers inferred as the misalignment of tasks since the given assessment was insufficient in order to assess and achieve the required learning competency. This is what argued by Genon and Torres (2015) that misalignment also occurs when assessments are inadequate in operationalizing the intended learning objectives, or there are tasks that may target the intended objectives yet still considered misaligned because performance-based learning objectives are reduced into knowledgebased assessments. In this case, the drawing activity administered was insufficient in achieving the intended competency and was therefore misaligned (see attached Appendix A for more examples of alignment of TLAs and competencies in the DLL of MT as a subject area).
Conversely, in aligning it to the guidelines on the implementation of MTB MLE language policy, language and cognitive development and sociocultural awareness were developed because of some teaching and learning activities and assessment administered in the succeeding class sessions such as oral recitation that required the students to share their opinions using the MT. In terms of the skills that the students needed to develop, only reading and speaking skills were emphasized because some activities and assessment enabled the students to express their thoughts, and ideas through speaking. Meanwhile a quiz was used to assess the students' reading skill. Unfortunately, there were no empirical findings that led to the development of the other two skills: listening and writing. Based on the observation, MT became one of the subjects, however, the teachers only asked the students to write down definitions of the concepts. They did neither discussion nor assessment with the students' reading comprehension. This was problematic because assessment, as explained by Young (2011) must contain clear instructions and the purpose of the activity must also be established clearly. Additionally, Brown (2001) explained that assessment must be a "method of measuring a person's ability or knowledge in a given domain". Schofield (2020) added that a test is said to be valid if it tests what is taught and how it is taught. Considering these arguments, therefore, it can be said that the alignment of the expected outcomes to the assessment and learning outputs of the students were not achieved.

Examining the use of medium of instruction in all subject areas
In terms of the implementation of mother tongue as a medium of instruction, which is mainly used during the discussion sessions in all subject areas, it greatly helps students improve their comprehension and active participation in the classroom. Abao, et al (2016) argues that the level of development of children's mother tongue is a strong predictor of their second language development. The use of L2 and L3 as an aid also proves to help them comprehend the lessons and enrich their lexicon. In contrast to the argument, according to DepEd Order No. 28 s. 2013, stating that the macro-skills in L2 and L3 shall continuously be developed from grade 2 to 6, L2 and L3 use is only limited to the translation of specific terms and not entirely used in activities that assess the macro skills in these languages. The development of language, cognitive, academic, and sociocultural awareness promotes and enhances students' achievement and life-long learning, which became a few of the main goals of the MTB MLE in the Philippines, besides being one of the language policy's broader purposes as well. Based on the observation, however, it is evident that the students somehow acquired the four forms of development, except that it was limited and not entirely developed. In the Araling Panlipunan class alone, none of these four forms were developed. The failure to assess the macro skills, especially in L2 and L3, and the four forms of development was mainly because there was a lack of appropriate activities that were fundamentally needed to achieve the goals of MTB MLE.

Discrepancy or incongruence between the assessment and the policy guidelines
This is the first alignment issue that the researchers observed in examining the alignment of the policy to its implementation in the classroom. Assessment is a broad term. This is corroborated by Genon and Torres (2015), who said that assessment encompasses any forms like tests or quizzes, assignments, performance tasks, etc. The researchers have observed that teachers lacked assessment, whether informal or formal, to test whether the students were listening or comprehending what the lesson was all about. This was very prominent in Mother Tongue as a subject such that there were some assessments conducted which were not enough to cater and facilitate learning for the students. As such, it did not satisfy some of the areas of development mandated in the implementation of the policy. When the teacher introduced a lesson, assessment was concluded by letting the students wrote passages from a book. For instance, in teaching grammatical awareness in MTB subject, the lesson about "panagtandi" (degree of comparison, in English) was introduced only through the same activity (writing its definition), instead of discussing and explaining the concept to the students. This lesson was supposed to target the language aspect or development of the subject and could have also led to the academic development of the students; however, the discrepancy of the assessment administered hindered this achievement. Another discrepancy in the assessment was when the teacher tasked the students to draw a pineapple as their activity. This drawing activity could have been a "useful strategy to use in assessing the students' understanding of concepts", according to Young (2011), however, this activity was not contextualized and the teacher did not specify the importance and relevance of it. In fact, this activity did not guarantee the students' comprehension of the story.
The assessments were also insufficient in acquiring the skills required for this subject. For example, there were no assessments administered in determining if listening and writing skills were really acquired. A mere "copy and answer" (sequencing events) quiz was the only assessment given to the students for developing their writing skills. Although this activity tapped reading skill, it was not enough to assess their writing skill because the students could not write to communicate or express ideas that were supposedly to be the goal of this skill. The same was true with listening skill, wherein there was no assessment to determine if the students comprehended what they heard when the teacher read the story or not. These problems have made the assessment useless because there was no learning developed.
Furthermore, assessment also affects the use of mother tongue as a medium of instruction. The assessment supposedly helps facilitate learning and development of different areas specified in the policy; however, the researchers observed that there were some discrepancies in the implementation in the classroom. One of the discrepancies was that there was a dearth of assessment that enhanced the L2 and L3 in the classroom sessions. This was problematic because, in this grade level, which was the transitional stage of MTB MLE, other languages (L2 and L3) were supposed to be enhanced and integrated into the discussion. The macro skills should be well developed in this level as preparation for the next grade level wherein there will be no more MTB subjects, and the other languages will be greatly used in the classroom. Unfortunately, this was not employed and achieved by the observed class. The problems in the alignment of pedagogical tasks were also present in a study conducted by Deocampo (2013) wherein it showed problems such as the mismatch between instruction and test, and misalignment and/or insufficiency of the tasks and assessment to fulfill the learning objectives.

Assessment is limited to the first level/stage of Bloom's taxonomy
Another issue that occurred in this study was that the assessment, which greatly affected the coherence of the implementation of the policy, did not address or did not test what it was supposed to be tested. The tendency that underlies herein is that the assessments given addressed a different level of cognition. This also contradicts the notion of constructive alignment, which according to Kurz (2012) et.al, "the extent to which expectations (i.e., standards) and assessments are in agreement and serve in conjunction with one another to guide the system toward students learning what they are expected to know and do". Kurz (2012) added that "an aligned test must comprise items that sample exclusively across the constructs expressed in the intended curriculum, which students (presumably) have the opportunity to learn during classroom instruction". Lawrence (2019) concurred that teaching and learning takes place in a whole-system, wherein all aspects of teaching and assessment are tuned to support high-level learning, so that all students are encouraged to use higher-order learning processes; otherwise, it becomes a poor system in which the components are not integrated, and are not tuned to support high-level learning. This explains that the assessment administered in the classroom should have met the intended outcomes. As for the context of the research, although some assessments under specific subjects did not have this kind of issue, some other assessments still fell under this classification. For example, in the MTB (Mother Tongue) class, the assessment which was in the form of quiz (sequencing events) tapped only the first level of Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains, specifically of the remember or recall level, when the supposed desired outcome was to achieve the performance and creative level.
Furthermore, assessments were not aligned with the expected outcome of MTB MLE, especially the HOTS, under the cognitive development, which explains that if a learner truly understands something, he/she can apply, analyze, evaluate, use, and create new ideas. These kinds of assessments were not structured and administered in such a way that they would qualify for the expected outcome of the policy.

Lack of contextualization
One of the main areas of development in the implementation of MTB MLE language policy is sociocultural awareness. For it to be achieved, one must value the ethnolinguistic and cultural heritage of the learners. As such, in the discussion, which includes the assessment and activities administered in the classroom, these factors must also be evident. Each lesson must have contextualization, and for this policy, sociocultural awareness must be integrated to strengthen the cultural heritage and identity of the learners.
Contextualization of lessons is essential in the discussion, as well as in assessment and activities. In Science and Mathematics for example, although there is no language aspect in these subjects, other areas, such as sociocultural awareness, can be achieved by using examples that are relatable to the students. For instance, in the discussion about living and nonliving things, the teacher may encourage the students to answer using things they can see in their community and environment. In the context of assessment, MTB subject can also achieve contextualization of assessment by using folktales and relating it with the students' community and experiences, which are coherent to the goal of this area.
Based on the observation, however, Araling Panlipunan class, the class which were supposedly expected to provide extensive discussions on socio-cultural awareness, failed to achieve this area of development because there was not enough evidence found. In fact, there were only three class sessions conducted during one month of the classroom observation. Moreover, the assessment done was not aligned to the expected outcomes of the policy. For example, in the assessment where the teacher tasked the students to write down the things they saw and got from the pictures in the book, the students were confused and did not understand what they were supposed to do because the teacher only gave them a brief and vague instruction. However, what the researchers found out in the guideline was that the intended activity was supposed to be: based on the pictures provided, the students should identify the products they could get in their locality. Furthermore, there was also another activity in the same subject, wherein the teacher grouped the students and tasked them to draw pictures which were, again, only found in the book without contextualization. Expectedly, through this activity, the students would have achieved the creative level of Bloom's Taxonomy as well as the academic development because of the nature of the activity; however, what the researchers found out during the observation was that the students were asked to identify the calamities depicted in the picture and the effects they could bring to their community especially to the products that their community produce. This way, the activity failed in itself because the expected outcome was not achieved, and the learners did not acquire the contextualization and sociocultural awareness.

Habit of code-switching
The implementation of the MTB MLE language policy is rooted in the fact that (1) the Philippines is a multilingual country and; (2) the learners' cognitive and academic competence need to be improved. This is also the reason why the government, primarily, DepEd pursued the idea that when the learners are able to achieve proficiency and fluency in the first language, the easier and quicker transference of knowledge from L1 to L2 to L3 will occur automatically.
In the context of this study, it is by mandate that three languages shall be used simultaneously in the instruction. This technique was very evident in the classroom that the researchers observed in which the teacher code-switched by translating words to other languages. For example, in the ESP class, the teacher translated the words "paglaom" and "sugilanon" into "hope" and "story" respectively during the discussion because the students no longer understood these Sebuano words. The same with the use of L2 (Filipino), some words do not have direct correspondence or direct translation in Sebuano, that was why the teacher retained the English words. For example, in science, words like wind vane, living things, barometer, etc. do not have a direct translation in Sebuano. As a result, the teacher no longer translated these words and used their English version during the discussion session. Meanwhile, in the use of L2, the researchers observed that as there were Sebuano words that are morphologically and semantically the same as the L2 (Filipino), it was inevitable for the teacher and students to use them eventually.
Regarding the use of the technique, Mondez (2013) criticized the inconsistency in the policy and the communicative efforts of the teachers to translate words for the students to understand as leading to a habit of code-switching to two languages rather than leading to fluency of one single language (Filipino or English). Several studies, however, argued that code-switching helps students enhance their cultural and language heritage by not hindering the students from changing to any language they prefer in conversation with peers and teachers (Algarin-Ruiz, 2014).
Furthermore, the researchers also observed that with this kind of technique, the students participated more in discussions that used Sebuano rather than English as a medium of instruction. The researchers observed this through comparing the Mother Tongue subject, ESP, and other languages, to MAPEH, wherein the assessment was written in English. The teacher had to translate the quiz in MAPEH into Sebuano word for word before the students answered it. Unlike subjects which were already written in Sebuano, so that there was no reason for the teachers to translate it rigorously. Consequently, only minimal words sufficed for further comprehension of the students. Through this technique, the researchers inferred that using these languages interchangeably as an aid for discussion and explanation of the lesson was helpful for the students to understand the lessons better. Lastly, the implementation of mother tongue as a medium of instruction also helped the students in comprehension and participation in the classroom which is backed up by Ricablanca (2014) in his study about the effectiveness of MTB instruction on pupil's achievement wherein it was claimed that MT allows children to express themselves and enables them to contribute to discussions and further develop their intellect because of the familiar language being used.

Focus is only on the story track in evaluating the four macro skills
Another issue that the researchers observed is that in evaluating the four macro skills, only the meaning (story track) was focused on both as a subject and as the medium of instruction. For example, in Mother Tongue, most activities were focused only on the meaning, such as reading activity, the sequencing event quiz, and the informal assessment after reading the story, which only developed the reading and speaking skills under story track. However, the activity on grammatical awareness, which should have focused on accuracy, was not administered properly.
The same is true with the use of medium of instruction wherein the learners' skills were assessed more on the meaning than accuracy. For instance, in L1, the listening skill was assessed in all subject areas except in Araling Panlipunan as the speaking skills were assessed only in ESP, Science, and Mother Tongue classes, while the other skills were not. Meanwhile, there were no activities that assessed the use of L2 and L3 which led to its misalignment in the guidelines mandated by the policy. This unequal assessment of the macro skills on both medium of instruction and subject area is crucial in language learning and teaching because what is tested will greatly affect what is taught and how it is taught. This could also further affect the proficiency profile of the learners (Powers & Powers, 2015).

Conclusion
After examining the alignment of the outcomes and the classroom practices (teaching and learning activities, assessment criteria, and medium of instruction), the researchers found discrepancies or incongruence between the assessment and the policy guidelines. There was an insufficiency of assessment to test the students' comprehension, competencies, and skills. Moreover, even though there were some assessments rendered, they were not aligned to the policy's guidelines, and some of them only addressed lower cognitive level which hindered the policy's goal from achieving HOTS. The failure to assess the macro skills, especially in L2 and L3, and the four forms of development was mainly because there was a lack of appropriate activities. In other words, the activities were insufficient to achieve the goals of MTB MLE. Lastly, the habit of code-switching was prominent in using the mother tongue as the medium of instruction. Fortunately, this factor elicited a positive effect on the teaching and learning of the students such that it allowed students' comprehension of the lessons and active participation in the class. From these alignment issues, the researchers found that the implementation of the policy was greatly affected by the assessment administered in the classroom, especially with its discrepancies and insufficiencies.
The researchers infer that because teachers play an essential role in implementing the policy, the conduct and manipulation of assessment and other activities that facilitate learning lie in their hands. The teachers must learn and realize the importance of assessment and any other teaching and learning activities in the classroom as they greatly affect the success of the policy. With that, more seminars and workshops must be done in order to educate the teachers more not just about the policy but also how to implement it such that it will be aligned to the intended outcomes of the policy.
With these issues, the policymakers need to rigorously review and pay attention to it such that they could address the lapses that the implementation of language policy has, which will directly contribute to the successful realization of the desired goals of the policy. Moreover, a constructive alignment of the policies and its actualization on the ground level must have a broader and more reflective research such that a multi-directional perspective may be achieved in the implementation of the educational policies (Gesa, et al, 2019). After all, as argued by Herman (2014), for an educational system to work, the significant elements, namely, teaching and learning activities, assessment, and curriculum standards, should be aligned with each other. Lastly, as this study limits only to a month of immersion and observation of a grade three multilingual classroom, it is suggested for other researchers to conduct a longitudinal research or more extensive research of which a longer span of time shall be spent and a wider scope shall be evaluated. Future researchers may also consider the following suggestions for further research: (1) focusing on one of the aspects such as evaluating the use of L2 and L3 in language acquisition and cognitive development of student; (2) making a comparative analysis of a multilingual and a monolingual classroom; (3) examining the effects of MTB MLE on the multilingual students; and (4) examining the learning materials used in MTB MLE subject area and medium of instruction.