The problem of English in Philippine schools

It is incumbent upon schools to promote the goals of the educational system and the nation within the four walls of the classroom. The dilemma, however, is that educational systems use more of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) as basis for academic success, and less of Emotional Quotient (EQ).

The subjects relevant in testing IQ are English, Math and Science. IQ tests are being used by top colleges and universities for their entrance exam, as well as by companies to screen job applicants. The poor teaching of English, Math and Science thus in effect disenfranchises students with less or limited academic and economic opportunities.

Unfortunately, Filipino students are not doing very well in these three important subjects.

The Social Weather Station (SWS) conducted surveys in 1993, 2000, 2006 and 2008 on the self-assessed competence of Filipinos in English. From 1993 to 2008, either there was negligible improvement or a clear deterioration in English among adult Filipinos surveyed.

Those from classes ABC had higher self-assessed ratings compared to those in classes DE.

Considering that majority of the population is poor, with their children going to public schools, it is urgent that English in the whole country be improved for it will impact on the future of most Filipino children.

U.P. STUDY ON ENGLISH

In his research, University of the Philippines (UP) English linguistics expert Dr. Jonathan Malicsi found that students, teachers and professionals in the National Capital Region (NCR) have higher scores in English, and the scores go down as they live farther from the capital.

Professionals with the best scores in English are diplomats and managers from top multinational companies.

In the 1990s, Malicsi also found that improvement in English proficiency among college students was the same for those who took up English as their General Education (GE) communication course and for those who took up Filipino. This implied that the improvement was a function not so much of the English course but of the students’ exposure to subjects taught in English and readings in English.

TEACHING ENGLISH

Why is English proficiency in such a bad state in the country?

The obvious answer is because of bad teaching methods and bad materials. Many teachers cannot competently speak in English. Many English teachers in basic education, in fact, speak in Filipino or in other vernacular languages while teaching. Students tend to imitate the mistakes of their English teachers and the problem is ultimately revealed when students cannot find decent work because of deficient English skills.

What is common in Philippine schools is that grammatical rules are memorized, but students cannot apply the rules in real life because they do not practice speaking English daily. Considering that English is the language of Math and Science in basic education and an important tool in college education, students do not learn much because of their weak English language training.

The sad truth is that most schools do not implement the mandate to teach students English well. A serious systemic approach on the matter can not start from teachers but should be propelled by administrators. If administrators are not serious, the problem will simply languish.

There is a need for a strict implementation by colleges offering Education degrees. Their school’s English program for would-be teachers should be strong. Administrators ought to have an effective monitoring system to ensure that teachers themselves speak the language and that students do the same.

An alumnus and former faculty member of UP Diliman, PROF. ROLANDO S. DELA CRUZ is President of the Darwin International School System. He studied in Osaka University (Japan), the University of Cambridge (England) and at the University of Leiden (the Netherlands).



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