Mother tongue education, Part 2

DepEd Order No. 74, series of 2009, entitled “Institutionalizing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MLE),” is the latest in a series of attempts since 1863 by the government to improve basic education by mandating the mediums or languages of instruction. Last week, I listed the efforts from 1863 to 1970. Let me continue the list.

In 1973 the Department of Education ordered the use of three languages of instruction – the mother tongue for Grades 1 and 2, Pilipino for Grades 3 and 4, and Pilipino and English for secondary and tertiary levels.

In 1974 the Department of Education implemented a Bilingual Education Policy (BEP), making Pilipino the language of instruction for all subjects other than English, Mathematics, and Science.

In 1987 the Constitution replaced the regional language Tagalog or Pilipino with Filipino as the new national language and ordered Congress to take steps to make Filipino the sole language of instruction.

In 1991, complying with the Constitution, Congress adopted the recommendation by its Educational Commission (EDCOM) to make Filipino the language of instruction for all levels (including college), except for English language subjects. Congress mandated that Filipino should be the sole language of instruction by 2000, but that obviously did not happen.

In 1996, when I helped draft CHED Memorandum Order 59 on the “New General Education Curriculum” (GEC) for the Commission on Higher Education, I included the provisions that the two basic literature subjects may be taught in any language, including the mother tongue, and that all the humanities (except English) and social sciences subjects should preferably be taught in Filipino.

In 1999 Department of Education Secretary Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, started the Lingua Franca Education Project (LFEP), which mandated the use of Cebuano, Ilocano, and Tagalog as the sole languages of instruction for the first three grades in pilot schools. These languages were chosen because they were and are the three most spoken languages (the three lingua francas) in the country.

In 2000 the Presidential Commission on Educational Reforms (PCER) recommended the use of the lingua franca or the mother tongue as the sole medium of instruction for first grade in all schools.

In 2001, as DepEd Senior Undersecretary for Programs and Projects, I increased the number of mother tongues to be used in the first three grades of the LFEP. I added Bicolano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Samar-Leyte or Waray, Capampangan, Pangasinan, Maranao, Maguindanao, and Tausug. I also increased the number of pilot schools.

In 2007 DepEd ordered all public schools (not just pilot or selected schools) to use the mother tongue for the first three grades.

In 2008 the LFEP was expanded into a “Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Project” (MTBME), with more schools identified as pilot schools.

What is new about DepEd Order No. 74, series of 2009?

Since the LFEP and the MTBME projects proved to be successful, with students taught using their mother tongue consistently scoring higher in science, mathematics, and other examinations than students taught using English, the use of the mother tongue has moved from the pilot stage to the full implementation stage. All schools, not only selected pilot schools, are now going to use the mother tongue as the primary language of instruction.

Another change is based not on the pilot experiments in the Philippines but on educational experience in other countries. The new order expands the use of the mother tongue from the first three grades to the rest of the education cycle. Earlier government efforts concentrated on the first three grades. The rest of elementary and secondary levels used two languages – Filipino and English for specified subjects. The new Order relegates Filipino and English to the status of secondary languages, with the mother tongue as the primary language of instruction.

At one level per year beginning with preschool starting June 2010, the use of the mother tongue as primary language of instruction will be fully implemented across the basic education curriculum by 2021. Colleges and universities will start accepting high school graduates that were taught primarily in their mother tongue by 2021 or 2023 (the latter if current efforts to add two more years to basic education succeed).

 “WORDS OF THE DAY” (English/Filipino) for next week’s elementary school classes: Aug. 3 Monday: 1. cat/engkantada, 2. deer/epiko, 3. crab/eleksiyon, 4. snake/eksepsiyon, 5. carabao/editor, 6. tamaraw/electricity; Aug. 4 Tuesday: 1. cow/engkanto, 2. tail/ensaymada, 3. eagle/ensiklopedya, 4. monkey/ehersisyo, 5. tarsier/edisyon, 6. giraffe/ebidensiya; Aug. 5 Wednesday: 1. ant/elepante, 2. narra/engrande, 3. celery/emergency, 4. bear/eksakto, 5. marigold/editoryal, 6. sampaguita/ebalwasyon; Aug. 6 Thursday: 1. bee/fegnas, 2. pili/fandifandi, 3. carrot/fallowa, 4. lobster/faayan, 5. locust/falliwes, 6. bougainvillea/falawan; Aug. 7 Friday: 1. not/fekon, 2. atis/fangarak, 3. seed/fangaw, 4. prawn/faga, 5. tiger/fenligis, 6. eucalyptus/fatwa. The numbers after the dates indicate grade level. The dates refer to the official calendar for public elementary schools. For definitions of the words in Filipino, consult UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino.