Mother tongue use in informal indigenous education: The perspectives of Orang Asli volunteer teachers in Peninsular Malaysia

This study explored the perspectives of volunteer teachers in the indigenous Orang Asli communities of Peninsula Malaysia regarding the use of their mother tongue in informal community classrooms. Through the interpretivist paradigm and the grounded theory approach, this study generated findings that indicate participants used the mother tongue and the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, through bilingual strategies such as translanguaging. The implications of these findings suggests that more direct consultation with Orang Asli regarding the education of their children should be encouraged and more avenues for the use of their mother tongue in formal classrooms should be considered.