Republic of the Philippines

Northwest Samar State University

Rueda St., Calbayog City 6710
Website: http//www.nwssu.edu.ph
Email: main@nwssu.edu.ph
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Telefax: (055) 2093657

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

Name: Cortiz, Leonido Jr.

Course/Program: BSED-ENGLISH
Year: 3
Course Description: Language Education and Policies in Multilingual Societies
Instructor: Mr. Albros Mañanita
Activity No: 2

NATIONAL LANGUAGE POLICIES IN THE PHILIPPINES: CRITIQUE PAPER

Spanish colonization, education under the Americans, education under the Commonwealth, education under the
Japanese, Article XIV, Sections 6 and 7 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, The Philippines
Bilingual Education Policy (BEP), Executive Order No. 335, The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher
Education, K12 program, Mother TongueBased Multilingual Education (MTB MLE), and H are the language
policies in the Philippines. The national language rules stated above have had a significant positive impact on the
Philippines' educational system overall as well as on communication and instruction.This essay's goal is to discuss
some of the problems and influences that some of the national language rules in the Philippines have. One reason
why creating language policies is crucial, particularly in the Philippine context, is that it helps to meet or satisfy the
demand of the demands and changes for new literacies, for communication within the Philippine educational
system, and for instruction. It does not simply concentrate on the positive viewpoints; it also explores how people
feel about some of the national language policies in the Philippines from a pessimistic perspective. This essay exam
ines the effects of national language policy on children, instructors, schools, and the general public in both positive
and negative ways. Moreover, national language policies in the Philippines has of huge impact and capability
especially on achieving and reaching the international standards of language and literacies in education and of
communication to the students. It shows how the national language develop through time because of the demands
and changes.

The national language strategy seeks to promote the intergenerational retention of minority languages, including in
digenous and immigrant, while ensuring minority populations' access to well-known forms of the national standard
languages and literacies. Spanish colonization is the first policy. The government issued several decrees during the
time, including the Decree of 1550, Instructions of 1596, Decree of 1603, Decree of 1634, Decree of 1686,and Decree
of 1792. In order to facilitate the need to learn Spanish, the colonial government issued several laws during the
Spanish colonization, including the Education Act in 1863, which made Spanish the only language of instruction.
As a result, Spanish literacy seemed to be the primary goal of the curriculum.In order to do this, the decree
stipulated that indigenous would not be allowed to take salaried government positions if they were unable to read,
write, or speak Spanish five years after the assurance. This served as the primary incentive for the Filipinos to
learn the language. The second is American education, where it was a priority to teach English to Filipinos. The
Commonwealth's education system comes in third. To counterbalance the American cultural influence among
Filipinos, President Quezon strongly advocated the rebirth of national culture as well as desired Filipino principles
(Code of Ethics).Fourth is the Japanese education system, which promoted Nippongo and made the Filipino
language the nation's official language for the teaching of Philippine history and character education. Fifth, Article
XIV, Sections 6 and 7, of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines addressed the question of the
country's official language, which was unclear at the time. The Philippines' policy on bilingual education is next
(BEP). This policy's main tenet is to differentiate between using Filipino and English as the medium of instruction
for various subject areas. Since two languages are being used—Filipino and English
this is very advantageous for education or the pupils to receive a great education.
In Executive Order No. 335, the use of Filipino in official transactions and communications serves as a tool for
promoting peace and harmony in the country. Next, the General Education Curriculum (GEC) of tertiary courses
leading to an initial bachelor's degree covering four (4) curriculum years was changed in accordance with the Lang
uage Policy of the Commission on Higher Education, CHED. Last but not least, the Mother Tongue-
Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE) and K-12 program sought to develop competency through language
(MTB MLE). The laws listed serve as examples of how language changes over time. In education, literacy has
progressed from Spanish to English, then to both Filipino and English, and finally to Filipino, English, and Mother
Tongue. In that regard, we are able to clearly illustrate the requirements of the constantly evolving curriculum.
To adapt the curriculum to the needs of the next millennium, this was done.If there is a good side to national langua
ge policies, there are some that are currently quite divisive, which acts as
the policy's downside. The goal of the bilingual education policy is to achieve national proficiency in both Filipino
and English through the teaching of both languages and their use as a medium of instruction at all levels. Given that
it was once used, both students and teachers are accustomed to using both languages for instruction. All public
schools now offer mother tongue based multilingual education, with a focus on grades 1, 2, and 3. It is intended to
foster the growth of competent and well-rounded people, according to Medilo (2016) and Ricablanca (2014). It
contends that instructors should begin where the students are and progress with them.According to this, teachers
should meet their charges where they are and expand on what they already know. Students learn more effectively
and perform better when taught in their native language. And as a result, certain problems exist. Since Grades 1, 2,
and 3 serve as the cornerstone of knowledge and education, it is essential to teach these levels, and integrating
mother tongue has been a huge concern for instructors as well as students and parents. The use of mother language
is a significant barrier to student comprehension and the development of literacy skills.The learners can become
confused by some mother tongue terms that are sophisticated, which can make it difficult to convey knowledge.
The flip side of the coin still exists, notwithstanding the possibility that a mother tongue foundation may also help
learners' ethnic identities. As a result, English is used to achieve the worldwide literacy standards because using an
other language for instruction can be challenging, especially for Grade 1 students, 2 and 3.

Finally, investigations into the many elements and facets of MTB-MLE have been done. The national development
of literacy is sustained despite the fact that national language policies deal with significant concerns or have
negative aspects. The government and organizations like DepEd have seen that developing learners or persons to
have a strong mother tongue foundation has a huge positive influence. Additionally, they contend that indigenous
languages must be saved from extinction. Despite having a negative outlook, it has had a significant positive
influence. Since the world is constantly changing, we must adapt to the requirements and needs of the curriculum
for the development of, as well as on developing new literacies.