Whyshouldweteachourchildren inthemothertongue?

Before getting into a discussion about whether we should teach children in the Philippines in the mother tongue, it is important to consider the history and evolution of the Philippine educational system, specifically, the medium of instruction used. For example, during Spanish colonization, the Spaniards did not make education available for most Filipinos for fear of revolts, and those who did go to school were taught in Spanish. During the American period, Filipinos were given a chance to go to schools, and the medium of instruction used was American English. Our ancestors, who were educated in the American way became fluent in English.

In 1946, when the Philippines gained independence, the Philippine educational system still used English as a medium of instruction, but they also began to allow the use of the mother tongue in classrooms. In many studies conducted among schools, the results for the mother tongue as medium of instruction was favorable as students learned better using their native language.

But in 1974, with the introduction of bilingualism, English and Pilipino were the official languages of instruction in both elementary and high school, depending on the subjects. The English language was used in subjects like English Communication Arts, Mathematics and Science, while Pilipino was used in subjects which included Pilipino Communication Arts, Social Studies, and History. But in 1985, the program’s results indicated that the scheme only benefited the Tagalog-speaking regions, especially in subjects taught in Pilipino.

In the Tagalog regions, students perhaps may not encounter the same problems as their counterparts in other regions. Because Filipino is their first language, they comprehend lessonstaughtinFilipino suchasSibikaatKultura, Edukasyong PanathananatPangkabuhayan, Musika,Sining, Edukasyong Pangkatawan at Pangkalusugan. But public school students in other regions face even more difficulties as they will be more likely to have less exposure to the English language. Moreover, they would be less likely to use English at home or in the community. They also have a limited exposure to technology and media which can be useful in enhancing their knowledge of the use of the English language. Taking all these into consideration, it is a sad reality that exposing the children to a language that is foreign to them may not motivate them to learn.

It is know that language has a big effect on the cognitive development of children and the way they process concepts is determined by their understanding of the concepts. Problems arise for young learners when they encounter difficulties when they process concepts as they have to translate the lessons from English or Filipino to their mother tongue. Thus, if the language of instruction is English, this may inhibit the students’ understanding of the lessons.

Since the Philippines is an archipelago composed of multi-ethnic, multilingual groups, the students are not only exposed to two languages but to several languages, including their mother tongue. Students in the provinces in the Visayas, Mindanao and Northern Luzon regions are only exposed to the English and Filipino languages during class hours because they communicate in their mother tongues such as Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Ilocano, Bicolano at home and elsewhere.

But with the new K-12 program in the Philippines, it is now required for schools to use the mother tongue as a medium of instruction from kindergarten until the third year of primary school. The DepEd strongly believes that learning through the use of the mother tongue results in quicker comprehension. Studies and global trends also indicate that multilingual-based education using the mother tongue is becoming the standard teaching method. According to the K-12 curriculum, the language of instruction will then gradually shift to English from grades four to six in primary school.

Education officials are confident that using the mother tongue as a method of instruction will facilitate learning, since young children who are most fluent in their mother tongues will be less hesitant to participate in class. There are also studies that prove that learning with a mother tongue makes it easier to learn a second or even a third language. Students who learn using mother tongue also have a better performance than those who were taught in Filipino or English. In addition, many studies postulate that learning math becomes easier for students if they are taught in their mother tongue.

Whether the use of the mother tongue as a language of instruction will benefit and improve the quality of education remains to be seen, but the DepEd is to be lauded for introducing educational reforms to help our students.

—oOo— The author is Master Teacher II at Pampanga High School