English blamed for poor literacy

MANILA, Philippines—The use of English as a medium of instruction even for starter learners may be the reason why some nine million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 find it difficult to read, write, compute and comprehend, according to an education official.

The use of a secondary language in classroom instruction inhibits learning among young students, eventually leading to poor literacy skills when they become adults, said Education Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano.

“Maybe it’s because our children are taught in English. They are trained to listen but because they don’t have the facility of the language they cannot answer back what they think and what they’re feeling,” said Quijano, a 43-year veteran educator.

The 2008 Functional Literacy and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) of the National Statistics Office, released this month, found that one out of every 10 Filipinos is functionally illiterate, meaning they have difficulty with basic life skills like reading, writing, calculating and understanding.

The FLEMMS survey, the fourth nationwide literacy study since 1989, found that nine million, or some 13.4 percent of 67 million Filipinos, fell below the literacy gauge pegged on these practical skills.

Graduates of high school and tertiary levels were considered functionally literate by the survey.

The survey placed the national functional literacy rate at 86.4 percent, higher than the 2003 figure of 84.1 percent.

Metro Manila registered the highest regionally with a 94 percent literacy rating while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao rated lowest with a 71.6 percent.

The use of a foreign language at the early stage of formal schooling has been identified as among the factors why students drop out early.

A student who leaves school even at fourth grade risks reverting to illiteracy, Quijano warned.

“When a student drops out at Grade 4, it’s possible that they revert to illiteracy, especially if they have no reading materials and lack learning stimulants in the home and community environment,” she said.

The Department of Education has initiated a program using the mother tongue for instruction of entry-level students, in the wake of local and international studies that pupils taught in their first language showed better rates of learning and retention.

Deviating from the traditional use of English in Philippine schools, the program, called the “mother tongue-based multilingual education,” advocates the use of regional languages in teaching early learners to build basic learning skills before teaching them secondary languages, including English and Filipino.

“We use the mother-tongue language in the way we think, the way we feel, but beginning Grade 4, we bridge what we have learned in the mother tongue and use those skills and competencies for oral fluency in Filipino and English,” Quijano explained.

Studies have proven that the mother tongue provides a strong foundation for learning secondary languages, math and science skills, among others. –Tarra Quismundo, Philippine Daily Inquirer