Wednesday, December 20, 2006 Echaves: Meet ‘Globalese’ By Lelani P. Echaves
IF the House and Senate will brook no delays, English shall reclaim its dominant pre-Martial Law spot in the educational system starting next school year.
House Bill 4701 pushes for English as the medium of instruction from elementary throughout college, and the “language of interaction” in co-curricular activities. Filipino will still be taught, but only as a subject.
The shift to English is meant to equip Filipinos to be globally competitive. English is, after all, the main language of books, science, technology, sports, international competitions, and advertising. It is the language of diplomacy. Over two-thirds of the world’s scientists also read in English.
The task to sharpen and elevate the Filipinos’ skills in English is formidable. All that disuse of the English language took its toll on the Filipino tongue. Similarly, the rejection of foreign-authored books and textbooks, though initially a knee-jerk reaction, eventually contributed to the deterioration of the Filipinos’ skills in the sciences.
Note the all-time lows. At the 2nd National ICT in Basic Education Congress last September, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus shared two disturbing findings.
First, the 2004 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study placed the Philippines as 41st in math and 42nd in science among 45 countries. Second, this year’s National Achievement Test found majority of the students failing in all subjects tested.
To arrest the downward spiral, Bill 4701 was approved and endorsed by the congressional committees on basic education and on higher education. Co-authored by six congressmen, including Cebuano Reps. Raul del Mar and Eduardo Gullas, it calls for 500 minutes per week devoted to English from Grades 1 to 3, and 600 minutes weekly for secondary education.
For English to be learned well, students must hear it from people who speak and use it well. Are all the teachers good role models? No, per DepEd 7 Director Carolino Mordeno. Only 20 percent of the country’s public school teachers are (www.pia.gov.ph/).
In 1898, a journalist asked the aging first Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck what the decisive factor was in modern history. He said, “The fact that the North Americans speak English.” The prescient mind saw how technologies would develop and shape the world.
The push to kick English up into major roles in the educational system finds resonance in other countries. The European Commission says (www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content) that in the race for English proficiency, the Netherlands is 80 percent near the finish line. English starts in the first grade and is prominent on TV and radio. Germany is halfway to success; its children learn English earlier, generally at age 5.
The Internet also allows English to march in its world conquest. Of the estimated forty million Internet users, some 80 percent communicate in English. Linguists say English will be the native language of majority of the world in the next century. Thus, they suggest that the United Nations declare it as the official world language. But considering the new words and meanings it will absorb as it travels, it will not longer belong to any one speech community. World, meet “Globalese.”
