4th graders do Math better in Filipino, says UP prof

MANILA, Philippines—In Valenzuela City early this year, fourth graders were given a Math quiz in Filipino while sixth graders took the same quiz in English.

Who fared better? Surprise, surprise: The fourth graders who had taken the quiz in Filipino scored higher marks.

Two years ago, first graders in Lubuagan, Kalinga, wowed observers when they composed two paragraphs of prose in their native Lilubuagan.

In a country where intellect is often equated with one’s facility for the English language, linguistics experts welcome the revival of the use of the local language—all 170 of them—as the medium of instruction in schools.

In his 10-point basic education agenda, President Benigno Aquino III has included the use of local language in teaching entry-level students under a multi-lingual education system

With the planned extension of the 10-year education system by two more years, the use of the local language as the medium of instruction may finally get its big break, linguistics experts told the Inquirer.

Bursting at the seams

“The L1 (first language) industry is going to burst at the seams,” said Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco, an assistant professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman Department of Linguistics.

“This is the right opportunity. You need two more Presidents for things to become better, but we have to do it now,” said Nolasco, who is also president of the 170+ Talaytayan MLE Consortium, an umbrella of organizations advocating the use of mother-tongue based multilingual education (MTBMLE).

Education that begins with the mother tongue is a long-proven teaching strategy, he said.

“It’s very basic. It’s common sense. You start from the known to the unknown. That means you use the student’s first language as a resource and teach them the basics in their L1,” Nolasco said.

Under the program, students will be taught using their mother tongue—Cebuano, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon or Ilocano—during the first few years of study.

Secondary languages or L2, which include Filipino and English, will be gradually introduced with the goal of equally developing a student’s skill in all languages, said Ched Arzadon, an MLE advocate from UP Diliman College of Education.

The Department of Education planted the seed for multilingual education last year through Department Order 74, which institutionalized multilingual education following years of English-based instruction.

“MLE will eventually strengthen English because you are building a strong foundation and a strong bridge towards learning secondary languages… it’s equal proficiency in all languages,”Arzadon said.

Studies conducted both locally and abroad have proven the advantages of using the mother tongue in education. English-based instruction in the Philippines has, time and again, yielded poor results among high school students in international math and science tests, while countries like China and Japan, that use their own language in schools, have fared among the best.

Sore thumb

“We’re the only sore thumb. We’re proud of a 10-year system that’s taught in English,” Nolasco said in mixture of English and Filipino.

But the system is not bent at killing any one of the languages in formal education, he added.

As educators and academicians take baby steps towards mainstreaming MTBMLE, the advocacy has been gaining ground, MLE advocate Arzadon said.

“We discovered that there are many grassroots organizations who are already doing it and they are developing materials with local writers,” she said.

Teachers have also been teaching their local languages more widely—an experience Arzadon describes as “liberating” for educators whose hands have long been tied to using English in their classes. –Tarra Quismundo, Philippine Daily Inquirer