K-12 champions Philippine languages, culture

By JULIEANNE DEE C. LANGCAUON, RAFI intern
August 12, 2013

CEBU CITY – The mother tongue-based multilingual education of the K-12 program allows efficient interactions between students and teachers in its second year of implementation.

“The use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction is very effective because students can interact with their teachers easily. Their familiarity to the language simplifies the processing of lectures,” Dr. Jolisa Arcilla, Department of Education (DepEd) representative from Lahug Elementary school, said during the August 10 episode of “Pagtuki”, the official radio program of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI).

Students have been enjoying their classes because they can associate with the language used in teaching, thus understanding becomes easier.

Arcilla stressed that children embrace their cultural identity when they realize that the school recognizes their mother tongue as it is used as the medium of instruction.

Dr. Angel Pesirla, linguist and professor of Cebu Normal University, sees the importance of using the mother tongue in dispelling a child’s misconception of his native language. Pesirla recalled that in the past, students are given the impression that English is the only medium of instruction in class and that speaking in their native tongue should be “penalized”, thus creating a sense of inferiority towards one's own language and developing inner conflict among students.

The implementation of the mother tongue-based multilingual education hopes to instil in schoolchildren appreciation and confidence towards local languages.

In an anthropological perspective, Dr. Jocelyn Gerra, RAFI’s Culture & Heritage executive director, explained that embracing one's native language makes it easier to advance to other mediums of instructions such as English and Filipino. For her, the stronger a cultural foundation is, the better the development becomes.

The mother tongue-based multilingual education introduces 12 languages to students in the school year 2012-2013. These languages are Bahasa Sug, Bikol, Cebuano, Chabacano, Hiligaynon, Iloko, Kapampangan, Maguindanaoan, Meranao, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray.