Soc Tuason

2014-77411
English 1 WFY2 Position Paper
Adapting to global integration through multilingualism beginning from the medium of instruction
One reason why Filipinos today are having difficulties in learning is due to the ineffective and inefficient
system of education, specifically the language used in instruction of education or the medium of education or
instruction. The Philippines has many distinct linguistic groups that formed, due to the country being an archipelago,
thus leading to the ineffective spread of knowledge cause by isolation coupled by a language-barrier (Durban and
Durban-Catalan). According to Durban and Durban-Catalan (2013), the state of education is further worsened by the
imposition of a foreign language as the medium of instruction from an early age. The Philippines should adopt a
policy wherein (1) the early years of formation (i.e. pre-school to primary and even to secondary) use the native
language as the medium of instruction with a preparatory in English during the last years, (2) that English proper be
used from secondary to higher education and (3) that both the native language and English be coupled with Filipino
from the beginning of schooling to higher studies.
Ever since 1974, the Philippines implemented the Bilingual Education Policy or BEP therefore the
Philippines already practiced a bilingual system of education, instruction being in English and Filipino. It was
implemented when the then Department of Education, Cultural and Sports (DECS) issued Department Order No. 24
series of 1974 (Gonzalez) and was further reinforced by the Department Order No. 53 series of 1987 (Mondez).
According to Mondez, the BEP aimed to:
for Filipino citizens to achieve competence both in English and in Filipino (1) Enhance learning through
two languages; (2) propagate Filipino as the language of literacy; (3) develop Filipino as a linguistic symbol
of national unity and identity; (4) cultivate and elaborate Filipino as a language of scholarly discourse; and
(5) maintain English as an international language for the Philippines and as a non-exclusive language of
science and technology

It is shown in these examples that the Philippines already had a bilingual system of education wherein English and
Filipino are the languages of instruction. As a consequence, students are forced to learn another language in addition
to Filipino which leads to deficiency in both languages. Furthermore, the policy is primarily aimed at native-Tagalog
speakers in the Luzon area where Filipino and English are dominant; it does not take into consideration the provinces
wherein Filipino is not the native language forcing students to learn two foreign languages and their native language
(Gullas; Gonzalez; Mondez)
There are those who argue that the language of instruction should be Filipino only, because it is the national
language (Naumann). This is difficult to achieve because the Philippines is an archipelago with more than 170
languages (Fe Aldave Yap), in which case Filipino would not be the mother tongue as explained in the above
argument.
Studies have revealed that learning in a foreign language is detrimental to the educational process. It was
reported that the use of a foreign language as the medium of instruction in early education led to failures in subjects,
loss of interest or stop schooling (Mondez; UNESCO; Ball; Almario and Villanueva). The imposition of another
language without the mastery of native language led to deficiency in both languages (Durban and Durban-Catalan).
In the same paper, it was shown that the use of the native language as the medium of instruction was more effective
than the use of a foreign language. These studies have shown that the use of a foreign language in the formative
years is destructive to a students learning process but these same studies have shown that the mastery of the native
language affects the proficiency of the student.
Therefore the use of the native language during the formative years led to better performance by the
students as said in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO, 2011) review on
bilingual or multilingual education, the paper stated that the use of the native language in earlier years resulted in a
better performance in school. It was also shown that students learn more from another language when they use their
mother tongue as the medium of instruction. According to Monsod (2009), not teaching in the native language is a
counterproductive to learning. For example, in an old study in Iloilo, students taught in their native language

outperformed their counterparts who were taught in English in Reading, Social Studies and Mathematics (Mondez).
In the study The impact of Word Study Intervention on Adult English Learners Spelling and Reading, Shaw learned
that students that understand a primary language learned a secondary language faster and easier.
English is now the language of globalization, in which case proficiency in English would be a basis for the
integration of the Philippines to the world market. Even in Japan where nationalism is widespread Japanese leaders
advocate the use of English as a second language to cope with the changing global stage (Villegas). Furthermore,
the removal of English as the medium of instruction would lead to the decline in proficiency in English leading to less
job opportunities. Philippine representative Del Mar said about English, it is the language of research, science and
technology, areas which global business and employment are very much into. Furthermore, English is also the most
popularly used language in the internet, the global stage of communication (Mondez). Through communication,
English affects employment status. Communication skills have always had an impact on employment; there are
cases where graduates with impressive credentials but lack communication skills have difficulty finding and working
in a job properly (Nigro). Though not the most important aspect, reading, writing and speaking or in general,
communication nonetheless plays an important role in employment (Arkoudis, Baik and Bexley). It can be said that
because of globalization, learning the global language is a factor in the integration of the country to the world market.
With the result of similar studies, others reason that the use of English as the medium of instruction should
be imposed in the Philippines starting from primary school. Nolasco (2008) stated that Filipinos learn English easier
because of their phonetics. Representative Del Mar said that English should be taught in the early years because
language proficiency starts in the formative years and that learning a language is more difficult at an older age. This
is manifested by the Executive Order No. 210 of 2003 of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wherein:
English

shall

be:

(1)

the

secondary

language

starting

from

the

First

Grade;

(2) the medium of instruction in English, Mathematics and Science starting from the Third Grade; and,
(3) the primary medium of instruction in both private and public schools beginning in the secondary level

Furthermore, Nolasco (2008) also cited Philippine representative Villafuerte arguing that most of the best educational
materials are in English and that it would be inconvenient to translate the books to Filipino wherein errors of
translation could occur. Additionally, they believe that the removal of English as the medium of instruction would only
have negative effects. This would have adverse effects on the economy caused by the decline of English-proficient
worker because only the rich families would be able afford alternative learning in English (Martin). But this idea is
disproven by the UNESCO (2013), stating that changing to a secondary language before the student was able to
master the primary language is damaging to both the primary and the secondary language. This is further supported
by the results of the National Achievement Test in English and Filipino of the years 2003-2004, 2004-2005. 20052006 and 2006-2007 reported by Nolasco (2008), only 50.08%, 47.73%, 51.33% and 51.78% were proficient in
English and N/A, 40.51%, 42.48% and 48.89% were proficient in Filipino respectively.
Today, multilingualism has more benefits than monolingualism. In the study of Cloud, Genesse and
Hamayan (2000), bilingual-program students have better performance compared to non-bilingual-program students
in the United States. Monolingualism is no longer the norm but the exception, the global integration of the worlds
cultures brought about by the internet and technological advancement and globalization have made multilingualism
as an effective and efficient standard to measure integration. But in order to promote multilingualism in the
Philippines, the use of the native language should be implemented during the early stages of education and the
foreign language be only added after proficiency in the first language and that there be a transition between the
languages.

Bibliography
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