“English Carabao”

It’s always been a laughingstock to most Filipino’s when ex-President Estrada speaks in English in a meeting or even in casual occasions. Right now, English language is being tagged as the universal language in the world; in school, in the office, malls and market, even you order something over the phone, English is you’re medium of communication.

It’s very alarming that coming from the mouth of those who supposed to help students in learning the language are the one who pursue to use our own language in teaching. According to the news, Education Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano blames the use of secondary language in classroom instruction inhibits learning among young students, which eventually leading to poor literacy skills when they become adults.

In relation to this, Dr. Nilda Sunga, consultant for English book of the Department of Education (DepEd), we should not force or required elementary students to speak in English in subjects who don’t require the use of it.

“Para sa akin it’s a mortal sin, ‘yung ipipilit mo ‘yung Ingles, sa mga bata kung gusto nilang magsalita ng Tagalog kahit na sa asignaturang science at math, e ‘di gawin nila, huwag nilang pilitin, ang mahalaga ay maintindihan ng mga bata ang lesson,” ayon kay Sunga.

Moreover, students must clearly understand the message not the language itself. Allegedly, children must understand what is taught based on the book and not the language for a simple reason that we will not be able to apply it to our work and even we get old because we are Filipino.

I think this is so pathetic. Her reasoning is so stupid!
She is not aware that when you apply for work in any company, English is the medium of communication especially if you’re pursuing a higher position. Even in fast-food like Jolibee, McDonald’s, they hire service crew who can speak and understand English. Even we speak English or any other languages, our roots will never change. It’s not a mortal sin for anyone to strive for more than you ask for as long as you don’t step anyone to achieve it.

The use of English as a medium of instruction even for starter learners may be the reason why some nine million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 finds it difficult to read, write, compute and comprehend. The use of a foreign language at the early stage of formal schooling has been identified as among the factors why students drop out early.

The Department of Education has initiated a program using the mother tongue for instruction of entry-level students, in the wake of local and international studies that pupils taught in their first language showed better rates of learning and retention.
Deviating from the traditional use of English in Philippine schools, the program, called the “mother tongue-based multilingual education,” advocates the use of regional languages in teaching early learners to build basic learning skills before teaching them secondary languages, including English and Filipino. Studies have proven that the mother tongue provides a strong foundation for learning secondary languages, math and science skills, among others.