Jephunneh T.

Tohol MAT English

Bilingual Policy

Bilingual policy on Bilingual Education aims at the achievement of competence in both

Filipino and English at the national level, through the teaching of both languages and their use
as media of instruction at all levels. The regional languages shall be used an auxiliary
languages in grade I and II. The aspiration of the Filipino to enable them to perform their
function and duties as Filipino citizens and in English in order to meet the needs of the country
in the community of nations.

Language can make a difference to people’s lives in many ways. On one dimension,
language empowers by serving as a resource for individuals to constitute and transform social
and personal identities and by providing access to important socio-economic and political
markets

Through the help of bilingual education policy the people will be able to communicate
easily and naturally in responding to the community. The ability to use bilingual languages is a
very good tool as a Filipino Citizen in their daily lives. We have the so called regional language
that uses particular language and only them living in that place understands it. When other
people enter to that place the very best thing to do is to use English or Filipino to have good
conversation.

The disadvantages are all linked to the scarcity of instructional materials which hinder the
enhancement of the reading, listening, speaking and writing skills of the learners. Added to
these is the lack of training to prospective teachers to teach mother tongue. The Mother
Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) Program has found a solid basis to claim that
is the most viable and fastest route towards the acquisition of basic concepts in the primary
years. However, its manner of implementation has created challenges that affect the way
children are learning skills and content. The difficulty in understanding concepts, pronouncing
and using archaic terms, code switching, performing low in competitions carried out in English,
and widening gap between parents and children in scaffolding process as the major challenges
encountered by primary students, teachers and parents. The use of local dialects as substitute
for scientific terms, mix-up of terms from three languages, teaching mother tongue as a
separate subject, is a difficult task to do. Results will be a mismatch between trainings and
expected outcomes, divergence of mother tongue at home from school and lack of relevant
materials. Parents and children still prefer English to mother tongue while teachers reluctantly
choose mother tongue with a compromise that it will only be used to facilitate learning and not
considered as a new language to be taught and learned. Only Americans can benefit with this
program considering that English is widely used in the global arena.

In fact, even though numerous initiatives have been made to enhance the standards of
English without the intervention of using mother tongue, the results have been quite
disheartening, threatening and discouraging. How much more if we will go back to our own
dialect which is not yet ready to compete with the world.
 Moreover, There is no doubt that there is an acute deterioration in the grasp of English in
many parts of the world such as Thailand, Turkey, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and
Philippines to name a few. An indication that a certain country is developing is when its citizens
are using English language to compete globally.

Recommendation;

 Using Contextualized and localized instructions for better understanding. Teacher should
employ applicable and effective strategies in dealing with real world problems.

 Programs should be improved with respect to both their global overall quality and their
use of specific dual language and cultural supports to meet these children’s
developmental needs.
 Specification of qualifications for teachers to handle MTBMLE.
 Direction on family engagement strategies.
 Guidance on conducting community needs assessments.
 Assistance in creating partnerships with community organizations and schools to
increase access to high-quality education programs,
 Guidance on instructional practices, and Learning standards for infants and toddlers as
well as pre-schoolers.
Students’ indigenous heritage languages are crucial to their social, cultural, and emotional well-
being and to the continuation of their communities’ ways of life, just as English is crucial to their
participation in the economic and political life of the larger society.
 Ensuring that teachers acquire in-depth understanding of the cultural realities of their
students and the Philippine educational context through on-going mentoring and
intensive professional development
 Prepare educators and allied professionals (school psychologists, researchers, and
others) and assessment developers to ensure that assessment literacy is part of
continuing education and improvement programs and that these professionals are well
prepared to work. Design educational policy based on current theory and research
regarding the benefits of an equitable education for emergent bilinguals.
 Support and expand educational programs that have demonstrated success in providing
a challenging, high-quality education and that build on the strengths children and youth
bring to school, particularly their home languages and cultures.
 Support and expand student access to high-quality materials, including new
technologies, especially in high-poverty schools, to facilitate access to the changing
communication medias cape and give students a better chance to reach academic
attainment.
 Start bilingual educational support early — through meaningful bilingual early childhood
programs. Pay particular attention to the middle school years. Policy makers must pay
particular attention to the middle school years, for students who continue to be categorized as
English language learners after having received 5 to 6 years of education may have serious
educational impediments.

 Support strong programs for emergent bilinguals at the secondary level.

 Sultan Kudarat State University
ACCESS, EJC Montilla, Tacurong City

Assignment
In
MTE 611/A

Submitted by;
Jephunneh T. Tohol