Unesco has been advocating the teaching of mother tongues in early primary education since 1953. There is much empirical evidence from across the globe indicating that when children start school in their mother tongue, as the language of instruction and initial literacy, they tend to like school more and perform better. Based on this, they can later make a successful transition into the standard language of the country such as Thai and then into an international language such as English.
Also, orthographies (studies of alphabets) for languages with no script can be developed into Thai, which will help facilitate an easier transition from the mother tongue to Thai.
An implementation plan is being developed by a committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana, comprising representatives from the Royal Institute as well as key ministries.
Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang also seems committed to make this new policy a reality and has taken concrete steps to facilitate its implementation.
In addition to the new national language policy, there are other encouraging moves toward greater cultural democracy in Thailand. Mahidol University, for instance, has set up a Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, with Suwilai doing extensive research on the preservation of cultural and linguistic diversity.
Also in 2012, Meuang Phon Municipality received a grant of about 500,000 euros (Bt21 million) from the European Union to promote the use and preservation of the Isaan language. as the leader of a consortium including Ban Phai, Chum Phae, and Khon Kaen Municipalities together with the College of Local Administration (COLA) at Khon Kaen University.
Clearly a more culturally democratic Thailand will be better prepared to meet the diverse cultural and linguistic challenges during the era of the Asean Economic Community, once it kicks off in 2015.
_ Prof Gerald W Fry, from the University of Minnesota's College of Education and Human Development, can be contacted at gwf@umn.edu.