R. Thompson

Situations in the Philippines

1957-drop-out prevention programvernaculars were used in grade 1 and 2 to

teach literacy skills with English and Tagalog being taught as subjects

Before the schools could switch from English, three problems had to be resolved:

Which language would be used?Who would teach the classes especially in

non-Tagalog speaking areas?Where would the teaching materials come

from?

Bilingual policy of 1974

1990s- time of crisis for English

1998 Solidarity Seminar on Language and Development

English instruction losing its direction

Situation in/of Schools48% no water61% no electricityelementary – 7.62% are privatesecondary – 1/3 are privatetertiary – 85% are private65% of elementary and secondary schools have no

library10 yrs. - shortest course of basic education (13 in

most industrialized countries)13000 communities or barangays do not have a

school buildinglack of facilities and textbooks

Situation of Students97-99% - started school at age 731% did not finish Grade 654 % entered High school50-70 students in class1.5 million children attend classes in

stairways, hallways, or even outside under trees

Situation of Teachers68% teacher education programs were private10.6% of those who studied in private institutions who took

the teacher exams at the end of their B.A. passed1997 – doubled salary15% high school graduates enter teacher education

programs (typically those who score the lowest on college entrance exam),

85% women,71% graduate25% pass licensing exam1/3 of the passers became teachersamong the 533 teacher education institutions, 20% are

accredited

Situation in the government1988 – all public schools were nationalizedDECS – most corrupt of the governmental

agencies65% of textbook funds goes to bribes1996 – issued new curriculum guidelines for

teaching English in public secondary schools but this new curriculum IGNORES THE CALL OF THE solidarity Seminar in 1988

TAGLISH

Halo-halo ‘mix-mix’

Engalog Taglish

• 1960s• spoken language with no body of literature except in tabloids• Filipino street English

Filipino English

Pronunciation

• stress patterns of polysyllabic academic words

• missing vowel contrasts

• no distinction between the pairs/š/ and /ž//s/ and /z/// and //

• lack of reduced vowels in unstressed syllables

Grammar• overuse of perfect tenses

• overuse of the progressive, as with habitual action

• verb agreement (present tense)• transitive verbs used as intransitives• mass nouns classified as count nouns

ESL or EFL?

Vocabulary

• loan translations

• English words with new meanings

• verb agreement (present tense)

Changing Attitudes Towards EnglishEconomic DevelopmentAversion toward using the “pure” form of

English rather than Taglish or even Filipino

When are these languages used?Forces that Encourage the Acquisition of English-Medicine -Engineering-Law -Accountancy-Nursing -Optometry-Business management -education

Day-to-day transactions in business, commerce and industry:

-English, Tagalog, Taglish

Language Situation

Taglish

Replacing English in various domains assigned to it in everyday life…

English in ESL Setting

The Philippines will be only an ESL country for the educated elite.

Is English dying in the Philippines?

Key to Maintaining English

CONCLUSION