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| Mabolo National High School |
Of the many languages, English is one of the most important and widely used languages in the world. In fact, it is spoken by billions of people and is the lingua franca for many nationalities. But how important is the English language to Filipino learners and how do they fare in the global reading assessment of the English language?
An essential tool
No doubt, the English language has become an indispensable tool for a person who wants to achieve in life, be it in his/her professional or professional career.
The English language has its wide-ranging use: In Philippine schools, it has been used as a medium of instruction during class discussions and in other curricular activities.
In writing a reflection paper, responding to a teacher's question, answering examinations, in public discourse, and even texting to your loved ones, the English language is used.
Medium of instruction
Aside from the aforementioned, the language has been used as a medium of instructions in Philippine schools.
Regardless of their grade-level, learners are encouraged to speak in the English language during the teaching-learning process and other curricular activities.
The school curriculum requires teachers to use the English language during the teaching-learning process with the learners.
Teachers, aside from learning teaching pedagogy, are also encouraged to further improve their English language linguistic performance in the English language through in-service trainings.
Reading assessment
The country’s education system is facing a Herculean task of improving the Filipino learners' reading deficiency as causal link to their low performance in Mathematics and Science subjects.
Based on the global reading assessment in the English language, the Filipino learners found themselves in the bottom of the ranking in the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
With this unsatisfactory performance of the Filipino learners, the education department admitted that much work needed to be done to improve the performance of the Filipino learners.
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| Mabolo Elementary School |
Academic performance
Filipino learners ranked poorly despite the extensive use of the language in the country. What could be the reasons behind this low performance of the Filipino learners?
Being a teacher, I have observed some factors that could have contributed to the low performance of the Filipino learners in the global assessment on the three (3) core subjects.
● Cramped classrooms.
On the average, each classroom in the public schools has 40-50 students. With this number of students, classroom management really poses a challenge to the teacher.
● Inadequate Facilities
Unlike some private schools in the country which are equipped with air-conditioning units, public schools do not have.
Some classrooms in far-flung places in the country just use tents as roofs. Also lacking are table, chairs, and blackboards.
● Error-filled books
Some books being used by Filipino learners are riddled with factual and grammatical errors. An author discovered these errors and call the attention of the Department of Education officials.
● Administrative tasks
Teachers in public schools are burdened with administrative tasks not related to their teaching duties and responsibilities. Their time allocated for teaching their student is significantly affected.
It's good that Education Secretary and Vice-President Sara Duterte is planning to free public-school teachers of administrative tasks.
● Migration of teachers
Many experienced teachers are leaving the country to seek greener pastures abroad, thus, creating a vacuum of experienced teaching force in the country.
● Poverty
Filipino learners coming to class hungry is normal in Philippine public schools. They are forced to attend their classes with an empty stomach because they don’t have food at home.
Also, many pupils in public schools have been forced to be absent from their respective classes because they are encouraged to help by their families in the farms or any tasks that will help for their family.
But to them, their burning desire to learn is more important than their hungry stomach. In this case, they cannot be expected to do well in class with an empty stomach.
Fortunately, teachers, out of compassion, provide food with the learners and other educational materials using their own money.
- Digital divide - Digital divide or the inability of the students to access to the learning materials on the internet. These are the students who could not afford to buy digital learning devices.
- Another factor for the low performance of the Filipino learners is that they are not accustomed to reading context needing analysis.
● Inaccessibility to schools
Many learners in the countryside have to walk more than an hour every day before they can reach their schools.
During rainy days, their situation is doubly hard because of the muddy pathways they have to follow.
Some of them have to cross rivers, sometimes, amidst raging water just to be able to attend their classes.
● Curriculum
In the hope of making Filipino learners responsive to the prevailing challenges, the Department of Education, under the leadership of its Secretary and Vice-President Sara Duterte has made revision in the basic curriculum.
This revision in the curriculum is termed “MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa”
● Parental mentoring/tutoring
It was found out that those students who have engagement with their parents in their academic subjects scored higher in the global assessment for the three (3) core subjects.
Gov't intervention
To address the problem in Philippine education, the Department of Education, under its Secretary and Vice-President Sara Duterte has successfully revised the curriculum in basic education.
● This is the “Matatag: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” curriculum.
● School buildings destroyed by typhoons have already been repaired.
● Schools and universities have gone back to pre-pandemic in person classes.
“MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa” MATATAG stands for “Make the curriculum relevant to produce job-ready, Active and responsible citizens,Take steps to accelerate the delivery of basic education and provision facilities,Take good care of learners by promoting learner’s well-being, inclusiveness learning, and positive learning environment, and, Give support for teachers to teach better.”
It also aims to decongest curriculum and resolve misplaced learning competencies from Kinder to Grade-10.
It is our hope that this revision of the basic curriculum may help improve holistic performance of the Filipino learners.
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| Lum3n/Pexels |
Proficiency test
Before admission into public and private schools in the country, teachers desiring to teach are screened for their English proficiency.
They have to take and pass the English proficiency test. This test can either make or break a teacher’s dream of landing a teaching job.
Even in English as Second Language (ESLs) schools in the Philippines, proficiency in the English language is required.
To force learners to use the English language, there will be penalty if they do not use the English language inside the classrooms.
Although, this is just the discretion of some class officers to raise funds for a common goal like for Christmas party or other class celebrations.
The dismal performance of the Filipino learners is just one of the problems hounding Philippine education.
Being a teacher by profession, it bleeds my heart seeing Filipino learners struggling in their studies.
READ: CHED TO ADDRESS PH STUDENTS’ LOW INT’L ASSESSMENT RANKING | PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY (PNA.GOV.PH)
Author: Samuel A. Escabarte is a licensed English Language and Literature teacher. You may support this small website as I share with you the historical events, culture, traditional practices of my small, yet beautiful, culture-rich country, the Philippines.