The language that students understand the best should be used to teach them.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines responded to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s call for English to be used as the primary language of instruction in schools in a statement released on Friday, July 1.
The language barrier is a fundamental factor in the Philippines’ test-taking disadvantage, according to Vladimer Quetua of ACT Philippines, even though the metrics of international assessments like the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study are debatable.
The top-tier nations on these evaluations, according to Quetua, are those whose national language is the primary medium of instruction because “learning is highly facilitated, and they do better on tests that were conducted in their own languages.”
Quetua stated that because English is the primary language of education in the Philippines, assessments are conducted in this language.
“This is a big impediment to student learning because they have to master the English language first before they can learn science and math concepts. In the classroom, they also cannot freely express themselves because English is not their vernacular,” he said.
The learners’ capacity for “critical thinking and in developing arguments” is also hampered by the problem, according to Quetua.
Even though there is the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) Law and the Bilingual Education Policy, according to Quetua, “the reality is that English remains to be the language predominantly used in our educational system” and that English is the language in which subjects like Mathematics and Science are taught.
Quetua noted that local language writings are still few compared to the majority, if not all, of instructional resources that are published in English.
In order to aid pupils in learning and comprehending the courses more effectively, ACT lobbied the Marcos administration to increase the use of Filipino as a medium of instruction in schools.
According to the group, initiatives to institutionalize Filipino as a language of instruction and to strengthen it should receive adequate funding.
In response to Marcos’ call to “rethink the education curriculum so that students will acquire better employment,” ACT noted that national development should also be a priority.
