Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) — Members of various academic groups urged the Marcos administration to push for the use of Filipino as the primary medium of instruction in education.
“Tama na ‘yang polisiya na Ingles lang ang pinapahalagahan. Mas pahalagahan natin ang wikang sarili kasi nasubukan na natin na English ang pinapahalagahan saan tayo napunta?” Filipino advocacy group Tanggol Wika convenor Dr. David Michael San Juan said Wednesday in an online forum observing Buwan ng Wika.
[Translation: Enough of the policy that only promotes English. Let’s give more value to the Filipino language. We have valued the English language but where has it gotten us?]
The group blamed the use of English to teach major subjects in basic education for Filipino students’ poor performance in international assessments.
It cited the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study which found Filipino fourth graders who do not speak English at home scored significantly higher than those in English-speaking homes.
They also cited a study done in Poland that found people were less likely to recognize fake news when it is presented in a foreign language.
“Kung pananatilihin natin ang pag-iiral ng isang banyagang wika sa nakararami sa atin, magpapatuloy lamang ang disimpormasyon at nakikita natin kung papaanong ang wika nagiging balakid sa pagkaunawa mga tao,” said Dr. Jayson Petras from the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Sentro ng Wikang Filipino.
[Translation: If we keep on using a foreign language for the majority of Filipinos, disinformation will continue. We have seen how the language becomes a barrier to people’s understanding.]
In his Buwan ng Wika message, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. called on the public to empower the Filipino language, adding that speaking a foreign language is not the sole basis of intelligence.
Though in his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos noted he wanted Filipinos to maintain their advantage as an “English-speaking people”.
Under the K-12 program, the mother tongue should be used as medium of instruction from kinder to grade 3. The Department of Education is currently reviewing the K-12 program, as instructed by Marcos.
Tanggol Wika is hoping the administration would retain and strengthen the mother tongue program through higher funding.
“Hindi natin sinabing perfect ang pagturo sa mother tongue, again babalik tayo sa basic problem resources. Hindi maging maganda ang implementasyon sa ibang lugar dahil kulang ang resources, kulang ang teacher training doon mo mauugat,” San Juan explained.
[Translation: We are not saying that teaching using the mother tongue is perfect, the basic problem is the resources. The implementation of such teaching method will be poor in areas with limited resources and limited training of teachers.]
The group also called for the passage of House Bill 564, which requires at least nine units of Filipino and three units of Panitikan in the college curriculum.
Pambansang Samahan sa Sikolohiyang Pilipino, PUP Center for Philippine Studies, and DLSU Filipino Department are among those joining Tanggol Wika in its campaign.
Buwan ng Wikang Pambansa or National Language Month is celebrated every August by virtue of a proclamation signed by the late former president Fidel V. Ramos in 1997.
