[lg policy] Philippines: Never again: A nation of ‘5th graders’

[Harold Schiffman]

Never again: A nation of ‘5th graders’

By: Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco
@inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:47 AM August 23rd, 2015


‘ALIBATA’ Writing “alibata” or “baybayin” (a prehispanic script) amuses two
Grade 1 students at St. John’s School in Malaybalay City during its Arts
Week that promotes indigenous culture. GRACE CANTAL-ALBASIN/INQUIRER
MINDANAO

1   What is the current state of Philippine education?

“A nation of ‘fifth graders,’” the late Dr. Josefina R. Cortes, former dean
of University of the East College of Education, said of our country that
has long suffered from poor learning outcomes. Evidence of this is aplenty:

In 2013, around 7 million Filipinos did not know how to count and 17
million had poor comprehension skills.

In 2014, the general scholastic ability of our high school students was a
dismal 44.48 percent.

Filipino students fared poorly in the 1999, 2003 and 2008 Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) tests.

TIMSS strongly hinted then that it was time to reform many of our education
practices, including the language of learning.

2   What is mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) or first
language (L1)-based MLE?

MTB-MLE is the country’s new language-in-education policy. For learners,
this means learning to speak, listen, read, write and think in the first
language or L1 (Binisaya, Tagalog, Ilocano and Waray, etc.).

It also means studying math, science, history and social studies in the
language, lived experience and sociocultural realities they grew up with.

3   When will learning in Filipino and English start?

As they develop a strong foundation in their L1, children are gradually
introduced to their second language(s) or L2 (Filipino and English). When
L1 and L2 instruction is adequate, cognitive skills and subject content
acquired in L1 can be transferred to L2.

In the process, learners can use both languages for higher education.
Contrary to earlier formulations, MTB-MLE is an L1 and L2 additive system,
not an L1 to L2 subtractive system.

4   Does MTB-MLE mean changing the medium of instruction (MOI) and
translating materials into L1?

MTB-MLE involves: (a) well-trained teachers in the subject’s content, in
the required languages and in instructional methods; (b) cognitively
demanding L1 and L2 curricula; (c) original, error-free and culturally
relevant readings; and (d) an empowered community.

In the 2012 and 2013 proficiency tests, our elementary teachers scored 49
percent and 54 percent in English, respectively, and 46 percent and 49
percent in Math-Science, respectively. MTB-MLE won’t work by simply
changing the MOI or translating existing materials.

5   What kind of learners does MTB-MLE want?

Multiliterate. They can read and write competently in L1, Filipino and
English.

Multilingual. They can use these languages in various situations.

Multicultural. They can live and work harmoniously with people of cultural
backgrounds different from their own.

6   Why use L1 in school?

One’s own language enables a child to express himself or herself easily, as
there is no fear of making mistakes. Through this language, children can
immediately articulate their thoughts and add new concepts to what they
already know.

Because they can now express themselves, their teachers can more accurately
assess what has been learned and where they need help. L1-speaking parents
can now participate more actively in educating their children.

7   But our children already know their language.

What they know is L1, which is used for daily interaction. Success in
school depends on the academic and intellectualized language needed to
discuss more abstract concepts. This takes four to seven years or longer
for children and teachers to acquire.

8   Why use the national language or Filipino in school?

The Philippines is a multilingual and multicultural nation. A national
language is a powerful resource for interethnic dialogue, political unity
and national identity. That language is Filipino, which is predominantly
Tagalog but spoken nonetheless throughout the country as an L2.

9   Why use English in school?

Languages of wider communication like English should be part of the
multilingual curriculum of a country. Most world knowledge is accessible in
English and, therefore, knowledge of English is certainly useful. It is not
true, however, that students will not learn science and mathematics if they
do not know English.

The educator Paulo Freire has cautioned teachers “never to allow the
students’ voice to be silenced by a distorted legitimation of the standard
language.”

10   Has MTB-MLE been legislated in the Philippines?

Yes. In 2012 and 2013, Congress passed the Kindergarten Act, the K-12 law
and the Early Years Act. These laws contain language provisions which state
that:

Basic education shall be delivered in languages understood by the learners.

L1 shall be the primary MOI in early years, kindergarten and elementary
education.

The shift from L1 to L2 as primary MOI should be gradual and should be
completed in high school.

Schools can indigenize and localize the curriculum based on their
sociocultural contexts.

The production of local teaching materials will be devolved from the
central authorities to the regional and division units.

11   Is L1 use up to Grade 3 only?

No. The law provides for the gradual shift from L1 to L2 as primary (not
exclusive) MOI beginning in Grades 4 to 6. The transition is expected to be
completed sometime in high school when learners are competent enough to
receive L2 instruction.

This means that L1 should remain the primary MOI up to the elementary
grades. Once L2 takes over as the primary MOI in high school, L1 becomes an
auxiliary MOI. The law authorizes the Department of Education (DepEd) to
lay down the conditions under which L2 becomes the primary MOI.

12   What does studies show on early exit programs?

Early exit programs (where L1 is used up to Grade 3 only) are weak programs
because:

Children need at least 12 years to learn their L1.

Older children (10 to 12 years old) are better L2 learners than younger
children.

It also takes six to eight years of strong L2 teaching before L2 can
successfully be used as MOI.

Premature L2 use can lead to low achievement in literacy, science and math.

13   Will L1 and L2 use facilitatelearning?

Yes. Many studies indicate that students first taught to read in their L1,
and then later in an L2, outperform those taught to read exclusively in an
L2, as shown in the Lubuagan Kalinga MTB-MLE program. Here L1 experimental
classes scored nearly 80 percent compared with just over the 50 percent
scores by L2 control classes in Grades 1, 2 and 3 tests.

14   Will increasing the time for English or making it the exclusive MOI
improve our English?

Large-scale research in the past 30 years has provided compelling evidence
that the critical variable in L2 development in children is not the amount
of exposure but the timing and manner of exposure.

The 11-year Thomas and Collier’s US study showed that nonnative English
learners who were schooled under an all-English curriculum scored lowest
(between the 11th and 22nd percentile ranks) in national tests. English
learners, who were given L1 support for six years, scored the highest
(between the 53rd and 70th percentile ranks), which were well above the
norm for their English-speaking peers.

15   What is the best way to attain English proficiency?

For nonnative speakers of English, like us, the best way is to teach it
well as an L2. This depends on the proficiency of teachers, the
availability of adequate models of the language in the learner’s social
environment and opportunities to use the language outside the classroom
setting.

Andy Kirkpatrick of Griffith University argues that becoming bilingual in
the national language and a local language will provide L2 learners with a
positive concept in their own identity before they come to learn English.

16   Don’t we need English for the country’s economic development?

Yes, but English is not enough. Steve Walter of Summer Institute of
Linguistics has shown convincingly that countries whose populations have
access to L1 education are the most developed. Those countries whose people
are denied L1 education are the least developed. Worse, a mismatch exists
between the needs of industry and our educational system.

The consensus among employers is that our high school graduates are weak in
their ability to communicate, to think logically and to solve problems,
making it hard to employ them.

17   Will the use of local and regional languages be detrimental to
building one nation?

No. On the contrary, it is the suppression of local languages that may lead
to violent conflicts, disunity and dissension. This is what happened to the
former East Pakistan whose rulers wanted Urdu to be the sole and exclusive
official language. As a result, the people of East Pakistan who spoke
Bangla rebelled and formed a separate Bangladeshi state.

18   Does MTB-MLE violate the national language provision of the 1987
Constitution?

No. The Constitution empowers Congress to regulate the use of Filipino as
the official medium of governance and of education. What Congress wisely
did was to divide the instructional space among L1, English and Filipino
pursuant to the early years act and the new K-12 law.

19   Can local languages be used as MOI?

The late national artist Rolando Tinio once spoke of a basic fear among us
that our languages are undeveloped for use for higher learning. He reminded
us that the advanced state of the English language was reached through the
efforts of its users.

We can intellectualize our languages only by continuously using and
cultivating them to produce new knowledge and original research in the
basic, intermediate and higher learning domains.

20   Is it costly to practice MTB-MLE?

An L2-based education produces more dropouts, repeaters and failures than
the L1 and L2 systems. This wastage makes L2-based systems costlier than
the L1 and L2 systems.

21   What about classrooms with several L1s?

One option is to use the area’s lingua franca spoken in the children’s
multiethnic surroundings. The downside here lies in the possible impairment
of learning for those unfamiliar with the lingua franca.

A more challenging solution is to use two or three L1s in a “mixed”
classroom. Melting pot areas usually have gifted teachers who are fluent in
two or three languages. Diglot (with two L1s) and triglot (with three L1s)
learning materials can be produced for this type of classroom.

Diverse learners are exposed to multiple L1s and negotiate meanings as they
interact with each other, thereby producing multicultural subjects. Many
educators frown upon organizing classrooms on the basis of language because
of the segregationist, discriminatory and exclusivist mind-set that this
practice may engender.

22   Does MTB-MLE also apply to tertiary education?

Yes. A language policy for tertiary education must uphold the principle
that instruction should be delivered in a language or languages understood
by the learners. The pervasive sociolinguistic diversity in the country and
our colonial history add to the difficulty in choosing the appropriate
language of instruction.

An option may be to use L1 or Filipino for some subjects, English for
others, and even mixed varieties for the rest provided real learning takes
place and the course objectives are met. But in no case should L1 or
Filipino be discarded at the tertiary level, especially in the general
education curriculum.

23   What is the state of MTB-MLE in the country today?

Problems are piling up as evidenced by:

English is still the MOI in many public and private elementary schools.

L1 will be used only up to Grade 3 and the L2s will take over as MOI in
Grade 4.

Unexplainably, only 19 Philippine languages can be used as MOI. The DepEd
curriculum is still congested and biased for the dominant L2s.

Teachers are being trained haphazardly or not being trained at all,
especially in subject content.

L1 and L2 materials are merely translated, of inferior quality and hastily
produced.

Despite numerous lapses in MTB-MLE implementation, teachers and officials
are creatively finding ways to make the plan work. “Big” books, “small”
books, manipulatives (learning tools), posters, vocabularies and “lesson
study groups” —all in the local languages—are being produced at a furious
pace at the school level.

Tertiary education institutions are reviewing and revising their curricula
for teachers in accordance with the country’s new policy on L1 and L2
education.

All these form part of the apoy sa ilalim and apoy sa ibabaw solutions that
will help this country leapfrog from being a nation of fifth graders to a
country of achievers and high-skilled professionals in the foreseeable
future.

(Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco, PhD., is a faculty member of the Department of
Linguistics of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.)

Read more:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/87835/never-again-a-nation-of-5th-graders#ixzz3jemmL7kA
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