CONTRARY to the belief of educators led by the Wika ng Kultura at Agham Inc. (WIKA), English as a medium of instruction is not anti-poor.
Before one jumps to the conclusion that it is indeed anti-poor and that it alienates Filipino school children from their Filipino heritage, he should ask himself whether knowing to speak English is an asset or not. If it is, then it is not anti-poor since it will benefit the poor.
In a global market where English is the medium of communication, the poor will be able to compete if they know how to speak the language. The reason why the country is surviving is because of the millions of OFW working abroad.
And how were they able to get jobs in these foreign countries? Well, they speak English. Today, you don’t have to go out of the country to need your English to be employed. Think about the thousands of jobs made available by the call center business. The reason why these foreign companies established these call centers is because Filipinos speak English well.
By using English as a medium of instruction, it does not necessarily compromise our Filipino heritage. You will never appreciate this truth unless you go abroad and speak to Filipinos who migrated years ago. They and their children speak Tagalog, Ilocano, Ilonggo, etc. and they eat pinakbet, sinigang, lechon, etc. This is true even to children born in those foreign countries. If we drop English as a medium of instruction, this will be a loss not only for the Filipino people in general, but to the poor in particular. Whether we like it or not, we are now living in a global economy. Let us, as a nation, compete globally.
– Teck Uy, Ontario, Canada (via e-mail)
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October 2nd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Lets’ be realistic that in our nation ,we really need to learn to speak English for we can communicate with others.Only those hypocrites would say that English kills our language.In order to survive ,we must accept and learn new and different things.
May 6th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
– Teck Uy, Ontario, Canada (via e-mail)
I beg to disagree with your premises. The issue is not about the importance of English for Filipinos to qualify for overseas jobs. The issue, as it is a policy of how to educate the Filipino children…., is which way a child will learn better so as to become employable for global markets when he becomes an adult, is it through the use of Tagalog as a medium of instructions from first grade and on, or the use of English? The situation now as it is in the Philippines is that there seems to be a disparity between the achievements of students coming from private schools and children coming from public schools. It is assume that private schools start teaching their students through English instruction right from first grade and up while the students in the public schools are not getting this same instructions. Most of them are being taught in their vernacular from first grade through third, and then English instructions are to be introduced in the fourth and on until the only subjects Tagalog is being used is in their special subjects like Philippine literature. Even Philippine history is started to be taught through English as early as in their fourth grade, or as early as possible. I don’t ever remember reading Philippine history in Tagalog.
Since it is the process of learning that we are dealing here if what Gloria’s wants is followed, I will have to refer you to my postings, 5-7-07, (2) of them in response to Homerson Uy, Sarawak (via e-mail) Medium not the issue, says reader 5/02/07..posted under Feedback.
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:05 am
Like it or not, English dominates world languages as a result of irreversible historical events. It’s easy for someone like myself who speaks English as a first language to take this point of view, but I sincerely I believe if I was a Filipino school student, I would want to have all the tools at my disposal that would equip me with the means to provide myself with a good livelihood.
English is the official language of aviation around the world except here in Canada. In Canada we have two official languages, English and French. Some of my fellow French speaking pilots agree with me that it’s a huge safety risk having two languages in aviation and Canada is the only country on the planet that allows it, but I’m starting to digress.
I would deem it a distinct advantage to speak more than one language and especially one that is so widely distributed and commonly used as English. Would it really dilute the culture of students by being tutored in English and then being tutored in their native language for subjects such as their national history, literature etc.?
As the global economy expands, some Asian governments who reverted to education using their national language, have seen the negative results when they now try to compete in this new economy with a work force that is week in it’s English skills. Now they are going back to English as the language for school tuition. This is just a pragmatic choice based on the need to be competitive in a world economy.
On the subject of English skills, I read the Inquirer on line every morning, not just for the news content about the RP. I find the level and quality of English written by the contributing journalists and editors to be of such a high standard, that it improves my own English skills especially my vocabulary. Thank you writers, you know who you are.
Richard Jones
Alberta
Canada.
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:27 pm
[...] issue, says reader,” “English ‘a must for development,’” and “English not anti-poor” for more on this issue. And tell us what you think. [...]
April 29th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Let’s face the reality. English is the universal language and everybody speaks in one tongue which is English. I supported the President and the Department of Education that the medium of instructions should be in English to all LEVELS….Elementary, high school and college. English language is not anti-poor! Even the Group of WIKA, they frequently speak and write English very well! Don’t pretend to be patriotism because you are not patriotic! You are stupid and idiots!