President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in May 2003, under Executive Order 210, mandated that English be taught as a second language beginning Grade I and shall be used as the medium of instruction for the learning areas of English, Mathematics and Science starting Grade III.
English shall also be used as the primary medium of instruction in all public and private schools in the secondary level, including laboratory and experimental schools as well as vocational and technical institutions.
Tagalog and the vernacular is the first language of Filipinos and is the language of the huge mass of poor Filipinos. To use English as the medium of instuction in the classroom would effectively deprive a huge segment of Filipino society of a meaningful education. When lessons are taught in a language they do not understand, it leads to ineffective communication in the classrooms and serious difficulties in learning among many school children in public elementary and high schools. Educating them should not be hinged on their having to learn a foreign language, a very difficult task for most poor kids, that is a hindrance to literacy. And teaching English as a second language in public elementary and high schools is sufficient for practical needs and purposes, given that many of the poor are not even able to attend college.
Our leaders need to have more vision. In another 50 years, America may no longer be the dominant economic power and English will go the way French did. America has only been the economic powerhouse in the world only after WWII. China has been there for centuries. So, do we learn Chinese then?
Maganda ang matuto ng ingles. Pero marami sa mga maralita hindi naman marunong mag-ingles. Kaya mahirap din matuto at makaintindi ng ingles ang kanilang mga anak. Karamihan sa maralita nakakatapos lang ng high school. Konti lang sa kanila ang may pag-asang makakapasok sa mga call center at iba pang trabaho kung saan importante ang ingles. Kung maging OFW man sila, hanggang domestics at "blue collar workers" lang ang marami. Konti lang naman sa kanila ang makapunta sa mga bansa kung saan ingles ang salita.
Marami pang mas importanteng bagay kay sa ingles na dapat ituro ng mga paaralan. Halimbawa, pagbasa, pagsulat, matematiko, kasaysayan, literatura, sibiko, siyensya... Kung ituro ito sa ingles sa mababa at mataas na paaralang publiko, marami sa mga maralita ang hindi makaintindi o mahirapan makaintindi sa mga paksa. Nagiging "functional illiterates" lang sila.
Gagaling nga ang ingles ng mga pinoy kapag ito ang gamitin na wika sa pagturo, pero hindi naman matuto o konti lang ang matutunan ng mga maralita sa ibang mas importante pang mga liksiyon.
Pilipino is the verbal manifestation of our culture and our history. It is, as the venerable UP Professor Zeus Salazar says, our oneness. We should treasure and take pride in it a little more.
Pilipino is the verbal manifestation of our culture and our history. It is, as the venerable UP Professor Zeus Salazar says, our oneness. We should treasure and take pride in it a little more.
Sa Aking Mga Kabata - Jose P. Rizal Kapagka ang baya'y sadyang umiibig Sa kanyang salitang kaloob ng langit, Sanglang kalayaan nasa ring masapit Katulad ng ibong nasa himpapawid.
Pagka't ang salita'y isang kahatulan Sa bayan, sa nayo't mga kaharian, At ang isang tao'y katulad, kabagay Ng alin mang likha noong kalayaan.
Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita Mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda, Kaya ang marapat pagyamaning kusa Na tulad sa inang tunay na nagpala.
Ang wikang Tagalog tulad din sa Latin Sa Ingles, Kastila at salitang anghel, Sapagka't ang Poong maalam tumingin Ang siyang naggawad, nagbigay sa atin.
Ang salita nati'y huwad din sa iba Na may alfabeto at sariling letra, Na kaya nawala'y dinatnan ng sigwa Ang lunday sa lawa noong dakong una. English translation This poem was originally written in Tagalog by Rizal when he was only 8 years old. Below is an English translation.
Our Mother Tongue
IF truly a people dearly love The tongue to them by Heaven sent, They'll surely yearn for liberty Like a bird above in the firmament. BECAUSE by its language one can judge A town, a barrio, and kingdom; And like any other created thing Every human being loves his freedom. ONE who doesn't love his native tongue, Is worse than putrid fish and beast; AND like a truly precious thing It therefore deserves to be cherished. THE Tagalog language's akin to Latin, To English, Spanish, angelical tongue; For God who knows how to look after us This language He bestowed us upon. AS others, our language is the same With alphabet and letters of its own, It was lost because a storm did destroy On the lake the bangka in years bygone.
