Monday, April 07, 2008 PB wants Cebuano used in teaching
THE Cebu Provincial Board (PB) wants Cebuano to become the “bridge language” in elementary and secondary education.
The PB passed a resolution for the Department of Education to prescribe “Sugbuanong Binisaya as the indispensable bridge language in teaching English and Filipino” in grade and high schools.
The PB also asked the Committee on Education to conduct a public forum on the proposal.
The resolution, sponsored by PB Member Victor Maambong, noted that the recent results of the national achievement tests showed the students’ lack of understanding of the lessons.
The medium of instruction plays a “critical” role in the learning process of the students, Maambong said.
The PB also cited the results of a study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-Philippines.
Understanding
The scientific study stated that the medium of instruction in schools predetermines the students’ understanding of the lessons.
“The use of English and Filipino as the mandated language of instruction has greatly contributed to the poor performance of our students in national achievement tests since these languages may be foreign to the majority of the students,” the resolution read.
This is especially true in Cebu and other non-Tagalog-speaking provinces.
The use of the mother tongue or the first language, according to the PB, facilitates easy learning.
“The use of the first language to bridge English and Filipino will facilitate a more efficient cognitive process in the language development of our students as the facility of the mother tongue aids the compartmentalization of language into the sub-consciousness of our children, indeed making this method a very effective instrument in teaching and education,” the PB added. (JGA)
