Language in Philippine Schools

Here we go again on language issue.

This time in Philippine public schools on what medium of instruction is advantageous for the elementary pupils in their first three to four years in school to be academically dynamic.

The Philippines is slightly larger than the State of Arizona. Distributed in the 7,000-island archipelago are 120 to 175 languages according to Wikipedia.

One of the dominant proposals is for a child to be instructed in his first years in school with his mother tongue. The idea behind is the belief that children can communicate or relate better with what they learn if instructed with their house language.

I lack credentials to discuss that professionally. I believe, however, that language is NOT the issue but the quality of teachers and method of teaching have the final say in determining the intellectual progress of a child.

In my other articles, I mentioned the case of the Rosary College (now, St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur) and Divine Word College of Vigan, both private schools.

In the Rosary, from preparatory, toddlers were taught in English and as they progress in years, they were urged to speak the language of Mr. Shakespeare in the campus. In fact, a lot of middle-income families, not only from Vigan but from neighboring towns of San Vicente, Sta. Catalina, Caoayan, Bantay, San Ildefonso and even Santa or Cabugao wanted their children to enroll to St. Paul because of the English language.

To the best of my knowledge, St. Paul and Divine produced the better (if not the best) crop of students who passed their doors into the new world.

In public schools (Ilocos Sur), pupils were taught in Ilocano, the language of the province. In fairness to them and to their instructors, they also produced excellent products. The difference is, although I cannot present a scientific data, the English-instructed were more successful. Since English during my years long ago was the official language in public functions here in the province, it was easy to spot who were from private schools. They have a different academic mien which I must confess with apology --- better.

There is a point I want to say here. Filipino language proponents, leftists and nationalists, point out that it does not necessarily follow that an English fluent is smart to which I agree.

But the story does not end there. English fluency exposes the student to a wider learning. Most textbooks are still in English and it also the language of the internet and of the  world.  It is a mystery that Filipinos are fenced with their national language when the Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans and other Asian neighbors are learning English.

Consider that a family from Cebu, totally Ilocano illiterate, settles in Vigan. How could the children learn in a public school if Ilocano is the medium?

I am also against the establishment of Tagalog (the national language) as the medium of public instruction. Tagalog students have more advantage than those who are not Tagalog.

Why not English?

It is sad that most Filipinos look in a different way about the English language. Our eccentricity drives us to believe that English is a vestige of colonial mentality and it must be thrashed out. Jose Rizal indeed said that he who does not love his mother tongue is compared to a rotten fish. It should not be forgotten, may I stress, that Rizal wrote only a few in Tagalog.  Most were in Spanish, his lingua franca.

The government should instead study measures to improve the quality of teachers and the curricula in all levels to satisfy the academic craving of Filipinos. -30-