BRENFEL CASTILLO-HAJAN

M.A.Ed in English Language Teaching

ELE 706: REFLECTVE PAPER 1

Curriculum refers to the planned learning targets and students’ experiences in a given
educational program. It encompasses the instructional methodologies, pedagogical strategies,
assessment tools, and alternative evaluation materials. Aside from its broader sense in learning
outcomes, curriculum dictates the continuity of subject areas to be taught so as to attain
coherence in prerequisite skills. Curriculum development is a very dynamic and tedious process
in which it calls for an active involvement of legislators, teachers, curriculum developers, school
heads and administrators, stakeholders, and of course, the students. As it aims to keep pace in
the changing needs on students’ demands, interests, and conditions, curriculum must be flexible
enough to accommodate these changes and added knowledge for it to be significant.
The English curriculum in the Philippines is quite very old and is approximately one
hundred six years old from 1901. From the basic literacy skills of 3Rs (Reading, Arithmetic,
Writing) the ELT in the Philippines has undergone several revisions and improvements in the
educational system. To date back the periods, as stated by Mindo (2013), 1.) Period 1 (1901–
1925): The Speak, Read and Write Movement 2.) Period 2 (1925–1935): The Indigenization of
English Movement 3.) Period 3 (1935–1950): The Vernacular and Wikang Pambansa (Local and
National Language) Movement 4.) Period 4 (1950–1974): English as a Second Language
Movement 5.) Period 5 (1974–1993): The Bilingual Education Movement 6.) Period 6 (1993 to
2014): Communicative Language Teaching Movement, and 7.) K-12 Curriculum (from 2014 to
present. Sibayan and Gonzales (1990) added that the primary curriculum of English in the
Philippines (1924-1925) was the beginning improvement of ‘pedagogical idiom’ which includes
included information about language, conversational English, good manners and right conduct
(GMRC), civics, hygiene and sanitation, exercises, phonics and writing by means of repetition
and object-action lessons as teaching strategies. Right after Monroe Educational survey in 1925,
this recommended the teachings of phonics, English as language of instruction, technical
grammar, and conversational English.
Provided the brief history of Philippine curriculum in English, I could say that we have
been through lots experiments –innovating, modifying, omitting, changing of styles and learning
parameters lead us to a very chaotic educational system. Our curriculum developers have been
so attracted to glares that they failed to see the real spotlight of the issue. They have been so
impressed with the rampant language researches, new trends of teaching styles and innovative
utilization of technology that they forgot how to contextualize those factors which they
considered ‘up-to-date’, however, these, drastically diminishing the real scenario.
The K-12 program, though it may sound so ambitious because we are ‘cramming’ in its
implementation, has a very good learning outcomes, from schooling to employment. We,
teachers and students are the ones who are so much affected by these changes. From
situational analysis to implementation process, teachers are indeed the front liners. If power will
be vested in me as a policy maker, I would love to be in the administrative department so I can
amend the current protocols of DEPEd and CHED. I will help teachers attend free trainings and
seminars, new inputs for teaching strategies, focused group discussion for every specialized
subjects, and hone teachers’ motivation (maybe salary increase) and values through
professional talk and sessions.
BRENFEL CASTILLO-HAJAN
M.A.Ed in English Language Teaching

ELE 706: REFLECTVE PAPER 2

We are governed by our own emotions and perceptions towards everything we do. And somehow, it
is difficult for us to see positivity if we are in a dark situation. As I pursue in becoming one of the experts
in language teaching field, I believe that I have so much to unlearn. Unlearning in the sense that,
forgetting the unnecessary and embracing what’s optimal. Thinking beyond thinking our educational
policies and curriculum in English, there are so many factors to pinpoint. First, K-12 curriculum highlights
and acknowledges the country’s multilingualism aspects. Revising the approach for dialects in the
country, K-12 commands the implementation of MTB-MLE (Mother Tongue Based Multilingual
Education) in Grades 1-3. This factor is flawed considering that DEPEd and CHED reached the consensus
that there will be only 8 major languages to be used as medium of instruction in MTB-MLE. This is
stupidity! Imagine, you are taking only 8 out 177 languages in the Philippines? And if this is true that
they are blinded with new trends of teaching (though this is not a new concept), supporting the notion
of L1 sustains and affects the acquisition of L2, they could have reflected how our country depicts socio-
linguistic roles in the society. Second, our teachers for this subject, some sorted by chance and personal
reasons, may not represent the quality mentors that curriculum developers have expected them to be.
Regions like Zamboanga, Ilocos, Bicol, Benguet, these locations are enriched and differed by their unique
culture, language, identity, and societal roles. Bisayan teachers can speak Chabacano but they are not so
fluent compared to a native-Zamboangueno, Ilocano teacher can speak Pangasinense, but he/she
cannot be compared with a 10-year old Pangasinan boy. Third, for HUMSS strand, if we are to look into
the course content in the DepEd’s guide, the subjects like Political Science, Governance, Humanities,
Social Studies are impractical. You may be overwhelmed with the bombard ideas, but the problem is,
how would the teacher simplify the terms and ideation which are significant topics of a Social studies
major? and Political Science experts? It’s like adding soy sauce in your Jollibee curry-spaghetti meal. It’s
horrendous!

However, in a lighter side of the boat, I am thankful that K-12 offers a wide array of training
opportunities for teachers. The additional two years is indeed a blessing in disguise for all the batches
since it fills the gap of employment status. Moreover, teachers are boost strongly in continuing higher
education and some of them were granted scholarship programs

As such, if proposals will be accepted, I would love to offer integration of learning competencies of
similar alternative subjects like English for Academic Purposes with Reading and Writing, Practical
Research II (Quantitative), Statistics, and Research Immersion, and Culture and Contemporary Arts, etc.
It’s like three subjects honing similar skills and achieving the same target learning competencies. For
teachers in MTB-MLE, there should be some qualifying factors for teachers before teaching the subject.
Demographic profiles and language backgrounds shall be well-acknowledged by school heads. Other
thing, senior high school program should at least follow the guidelines in giving performance tasks
supporting OBE (Outcomes Based Education) which was proposed by Carlo Magno (of Dela Salle)
inspired by William Spady. I will propose that the last semester for Grade 12 students should only be
focused on work immersion to ease the hardships of teachers and students.