International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume: 3 | Issue: 2 | Jan-Feb 2019 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 - 6470

The Extent of Retention of Concepts of the Students in

Philippine Literature and the Medium of Instruction Used
Nennete D. Tan
Faculty, University of Eastern Philippines,
Main Campus, Catarman, Northern Samar, Philippines

ABSTRACT
This descriptive-correlational study at Leyte Normal University examined how well sophomore teacher education students
remembered themes from courses in Filipino and English literature. It specifically sought to: 1) ascertain the degree to which
LNU teacher education students retained concepts from a bilingual course on Philippine literature; 2) ascertain the attitudes of
the students toward English and Filipino as languages and as media of instruction; and 3) ascertain the degree to which there
were differences between language attitude, attitude toward the medium of instruction, and the degree to which the students
retained concepts.
In this investigation, six tools were used. Additional evaluations are provided for the literature in English and Filipino, for
attitudes toward English and Filipino, and for attitudes toward English and Filipino as teaching languages.
These instruments were used to collect data, which was then statistically evaluated using methods like means and percentages.
The standard deviation, Pearson product moment correlation, and t-test are all used. The significance threshold was set at 0.05
for evaluating the hypotheses.
Results showed that bilingually taught sophomore teacher education students' retention of the concepts they had been taught
in Philippine literature ranged from 20 to 67 percent.
The majority of these students fell short of the required 50 percent.
Only around 65 percent of students who took English-language classes could recall what they had studied.
These findings demonstrate that bilingual teacher education students recalled fewer knowledge than necessary (75 percent).
The results of the attitude variable revealed that although students' attitudes toward English and Filipino did not differ
significantly, their positive attitudes toward the latter language resulted in a significant difference in their ability to retain the
literary themes that were taught in Filipino.
Keywords: English, Filipino, attitude, bilingual, language

1. INTRODUCTION
Only after independence did executive directives from the
appropriate authorities start to cover mandates on the
language to be used as the medium of instruction. Language
policies had previously been decided by the government and
applied to the Hispanic and pre-World War II eras.
Recall that the topic of the medium of education has long
been a source of debate, which luckily may have been the
major impetus for research into it.
Education in bilingualism and bilingualism are now
significant national issues. The need for a common language
(Filipino and English) has been emphasized explicitly in the
Philippine constitution. Since the establishment of the public
education system, these languages have been used as both
the official language and the language of teaching from
elementary through college. This fundamental rule of the
land did, in fact, lay the foundation for bilingual education,
but it hasn't been fully implemented.
The language provisions in Article XIV, Sections 6 and 7, of
the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
serve as the legal foundation for the country's different
language policies. Since the 1935 and 1973 Philippine
Charters were ambiguous regarding this, the problem of
what the national language is was resolved with the
approval of the aforementioned constitution. Following are
the provisions:
Section 6. The national language of the Philippines is
Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and
enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other
languages, and for purposes of communication and
instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are
Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.
The Department of Education, Culture, and Sports (DECS)
established its language policy in accordance with the 1987
constitutional mandate and the National Board of
Education's (NBE) stated stance on bilingualism in schools
(NBE Resolution No. 73-7, s. 1973). When DECS released
Department Order No. 25, 2 1974, titled "Implementing
Guidelines for the Policy on Bilingual Education," the policy
was initially put into effect.
The independent use of Filipino and English as the medium
of instruction in particular subject areas is how bilingual
education is operationally defined in the Philippines. The
DECS Order No. 25 stipulates that Filipino (Pilipino was
changed to Filipino in 1987) shall be utilized as a medium of
instruction for social studies/social sciences, music, the arts,
physical education, home economics, practical arts, and
character education. On the other hand, science, math, and
technology topics get priority over English. The 1987 Policy
on Bilingual Education, which is made available through

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Department Order No. 52, s., stipulates the same topic teacher education students in Leyte Normal University
distribution. 1987. during the school year 2001-2002. Specifically, the study
sought to answer the following questions:
Through the teaching of both languages and their use as
instruction mediums at all levels, the policy on bilingual [1] What is the extent of retention of concepts of the
education seeks to develop proficiency in both Filipino and students in Philippine Literature classes conducted
English at the national level. In Grades I and II, the regional in English?
languages will be used as auxiliary languages. The Filipino
[2] What is the extent of retention of concepts of the
nation aspires to have fluent Filipino-speaking individuals
students in Philippine Literature classes conducted
who can carry out their roles and responsibilities and meet
in Filipino?
the demands of the nation within the international
community. [3] Is there a significant difference between the extent
of retention of concepts of the students in Philippine
The goals of the Bilingual Education Policy shall be enhanced
Literature and the medium of instruction used?
learning through two languages to achieve quality education
as called for by the 1987 Constitution, the propagation of 3. METHODOLOGY
Filipino as a language of literacy, the development of Filipino The methods and procedures utilized to address the issues
as a linguistic symbol of national unity and identity, the raised by this study are discussed in this chapter.
cultivation and elaboration of Filipino as a language of Additionally, the research design, research setting, study
scholarly discourse, that is to say its continuing participants, and the instrument employed are discussed.
intellectualization; and the maintenance of English as an
Research Design
international language for the Philippines and as a male non-
Data on students' attitudes toward Filipino and English, as
exclusive language of science and technology.
well as their recollection of ideas in Philippine literature,
Executive Order No. 335, which was enacted on August 25, were used in this study, which employed the descriptive
1988, mandated that all government departments, bureaus, technique.
offices, agencies, and instrumentalities take the required
Research Locale
efforts to use Filipino in all official communications,
This study was done at Leyte Normal University in Tacloban
transactions, and correspondence. The order was issued
City with College of Education sophomore teacher education
under the assumption that the use of Filipino in official
students. There were 3,897 teacher education students
business, communications, and correspondence in
enrolled in the College of Education for SY 2001–2002,
government offices would lead to a better understanding and
however only second year BEED students were included in
appreciation of government projects, programs, and
the study. All teacher education students are obliged to take
activities across the nation, acting as a bridge to peace and
Philippine Literature courses in both Filipino and English.
harmony and advancing the interests of the country.
Respondents of the Study
All of departments/ bureaus/ offices/ agencies/
200 student teachers in the second year of the Bachelor of
instrumentalities government were enjoined to do the
Elementary Education program participated in the study.
following: (1)Take steps to enhance the use of Filipino in
These students had studied Filipino and English courses in
official communications, transactions and correspondence in
Philippine literature. They were chosen at random from a
their respective offices whether national or local, (2)Assign
group of 819 second-year BEED sophomores. As previously
one or more personnel, as may be necessary, in every office
mentioned, 100 respondents each from the Panitikan ng
to take charge of communications and correspondence
Pilipinas and Philippine Literature classes participated in the
written in Filipino; (3) Translate into Filipino names of
survey.
offices, buildings, public edifices, and signboards of all
offices, divisions or its instrumentalities, and if so desired, Research Instruments
imprint below in smaller letter the English text; (4) Filipinize The study used six measures, including tests on Filipino and
the "Oath of Office" for government officials and personnel. English-language literature from the Philippines, language
(5)Make part of the training programs for personnel attitudes toward Filipino and English, and attitudes toward
development in each office the proficiency in the use of English and Filipino as instructional languages.
Filipino in official communications and correspondence. The
The 30 multiple choice questions on the Philippine
Commission on the Filipino Language, formerly Institute of
Literature examinations were used to gauge how well pupils
Philippine/National Language, was ordered to formulate and
remembered both English and Filipino language topics. The
implement programs and projects for the full and effective
values portrayed in the selections from Panitikan ng
implementation of the objectives expressed in the Executive
Pilipinas and Philippine Literature were the main emphasis
Order.
of these tests.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) was
The analyses focused on the value content in each selection.
established by Republic Act No. 7722, which was enacted in
Teachers of Philippine Literature and Panitikan ng Pilipinas
1994. The "Higher Education Act of 1994" establishes the
were asked to assist in studying and analyzing selections
CHED as an administrative-only department that is
covered in Philippine Literature. Each utterance that
independent of the DECS and affiliated to the Office of the
reflected a value element was either paraphrased or
President. Both public and private post-secondary
reproduced directly. Then the teachers assigned the
educational institutions as well as degree-granting programs
statement or phrase to the appropriate value in the UNESCO-
are included in its scope of coverage.
APNIEVE core values. The exams and comments on the
2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY directions were given to a randomly chosen group of
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of sophomores who were not involved in the study.
retention of concepts in Philippine Literature of sophomore

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The researcher's mentor was also asked to assess the tests Religious Tolerance
and offer recommendations for their improvement.
Unity and Interconnectedness
Respondents were then asked to check which value from the
list was illustrated in the text in the final exams. Following is For the benefit of responders from the Panitikan group,
a list of fundamental values based on respect for human these guiding principles were back translated by a
dignity: university-affiliated specialist in Filipino. A passing score of
75% was used as the basis for interpreting the examinations,
HEALTH AND HARMONY WITH NATURE
which had 30 multiple-choice questions testing how well
Physical Fitness Environmental Care pupils remembered concepts in English and Filipino (75
percent ). The test's determined median score was 22.5.
Respect for Life Holistic Health
(expected mean performance score).
TRUTH AND WISDOM
The Attachments, Attitudes, and Motivational Factors in the
Critical thinking/ Wholistic Thinking Learning of Filipino of Teacher Education Students in Region
VIII: Implications for Language Planning" dissertation study,
Enlightenment/Insight
which Arinto used it for, was adapted from Pascasio's study,
Futures Orientation and it is part of the Survey of Attitudes towards Filipino and
English. The responses to the questions were scored as
Scientific Humanism
follows: Strongly agree-6, Agree -5.
LOVE AND COMPASSION
Part II is another tool for gauging attitudes, and it consists of
Self-worth/Self-confidence/Self-actualization a list of eight bipolar adjectives that Pascasio has modified.
The notion of "Filipino and English as Medium of
Honesty / Integrity Instruction" was scored by each responder by simply
Self-discipline encircling a number on each of the seven-point scales.
Simple one- to seven-point scales were used, with one being
Empathy/Caring and Sharing assigned to the negative end and seven to the positive. A high
CREATIVITY AND APPRECIATION OF BEAUTY mean score indicated a positive attitude toward the concept,
whereas a low mean score was an indication of a less than
Intuitive sense Imagination favorable attitude toward the same concept. Four of the eight
Sensitivity Artistic Expression adjective pairs were reversed to counteract response bias
tendencies. By Filipino specialists instructing at the
PEACE AND JUSTICE institution, the English translation of Pascasio was also back
Respect for Human Rights Cooperation translated.
Social Responsibility Equality Population and Sampling
Study participants' retention of information from their
Tolerance Active English and Filipino lessons in Philippine Literature was
Nonviolence examined. Participants were sophomore elementary teacher
SUSTAINABLE education students at Leyte Normal University.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 819 second-year teacher education students were registered

for the 2001–2002 academic year. Only 200 BEED students
Economic Justice and Equity representing a range of specialties were included in the
Productivity/Efficiency study. They were selected using random sampling.

Work Ethic/Industry The Respondents

The selected respondents took Filipino and English classes in
Stewardship of resources Philippine Literature in SY 2001–2002. Only students
Simplicity enrolled in teacher education programs were eligible to
participate in the study. The investigation did not account for
NATIONAL UNITY AND GLOBAL SOLIDARITY the respondents' age, sex, or socioeconomic status.

Love of Country Only non-causal correlations between each independent

variable and each dependent variable in a one-way
Interdependence relationship were examined in the study.
International Understanding Data Gathering Procedure
Democracy The required information was collected using the following
research methods:
Active & Responsible Citizenship
The study's execution was approved by the president of
Unity in diversity Leyte Normal University. Following clearance, the head of
Global Peace the IT division was asked for the list of sophomore BEED
students. They had been picked at random.
GLOBAL SPIRITUALITY 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Retention of Concepts in
Philippine Literature
Faith in the Sacred Source
The extent of retention of concepts in Philippine Literature
Inner Peace considered in this study referred to the respondents' scores

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
in tests that focused on analysis of values contained in 1.38. The calculated t-value of 3.38 had an associated p-value
statements. The tests consisted of 30 multiple choice items of 001, which at the 05 level was highly significant in favor of
lifted from works in Philippine Literature (English and English. The sophomore teacher education students retained
Filipino). concepts in English substantially better than in Filipino,
despite the relationship being weak. This result disproves
Table 1. Extent of Retention of Concepts in Philippine
hypothesis number one, which contends that there is no
Literature
discernible difference between students' levels of conceptual
Language Used
memory in Philippine literature and the medium of
Score English Filipino instruction employed.
n Percent n Percent
26-30 0 0 These results confirm those of Barret, who found that
21-25 0 0 general education pupils were much more proficient in
16-20 21 21% 7 7% English than in Filipino, and de Guzman, who found that by
11-15 57 57% 63 63% the conclusion of Grade I, the English-taught class had
6-10 22 22% 30 30% achieved higher mean math test scores.
1-5 0 0 The current outcome, however, contradicts the findings of de
Total 100 100% 100 100% Guzman's study on science, which showed that science
students performed better on average in the Filipino version
Results of the test on the extent of retention of concepts in
of the test than the English version and were better able to
English (Table 1) revealed a low percentage mark: Majority
recall and comprehend concepts in Filipino than in English.
of the respondents' score fall under 11-15 correct answers
which was only 57%. There were 21 students who got scores The current study's findings also contradict those of
under 16-20 bracket. In 6-10 bracket, 22% got the correct Mangaroon, who showed that the performance of
answers. Nobody got scores below 5 nor higher than 20. elementary school students in grade six on the two rounds of
these findings indicate that the English retention of concepts integrative examinations revealed greater mean scores in
of teacher education students is below the passing mark of Filipino than in English.
75%.
5. CONCLUSIONS
The scores for the test on retention of concepts in Filipino Only between 20 and 67 percent of the principles taught in
were: 7 students got scores under 16-20 bracket, 63 Philippine Literature to sophomore teacher education
students in11-15 bracket and 30 students got the correct students at LNU who were bilingually instructed in that
answers in 6-10 bracket. Majority of the respondents correct subject were retained. The majority of these students fell
answers fall under 11-15 bracket (63%) which is far below under the 50% threshold. However, only about 65% of those
the expected passing mark of 75%. who were taught in English were able to retain what was
given to them. These results are consistent with a few
To summarize, the teacher education students' retention of
language and achievement studies, including those by Barrot
concepts in English and Filipino fall below the expected
and Mangaroon, which showed that respondents who were
level.
taught in two languages received lower-than-passing grades
These findings support literature and studies mentioned in (75 percent) on average.
Chapter II Barrot's research aimed to find out the bilingual
Although students' attitudes about English and Filipino were
competencies of third year teacher education students in
similar, their positive attitudes toward the latter language
Region VIII. Her study revealed that the teacher education
had a substantial impact on how well they remembered the
students had low level of knowledge competencies in Filipino
literary concepts that were taught in that language.
and English-far below the expected level of competence.
When it came to the students' attitudes on the employment
Difference between the Extent of Retention of Concepts
of English and Filipino in the instruction of Philippine
and Medium of Instruction Used
literature, the study found that a sizable portion of them
Table 2 presents the difference between the extent of preferred the usage of the former over the latter. Results in
retention of concepts of the students and the medium of this area so demonstrated that respondents' retention of
instruction used in teaching Philippine Literature. concepts in that topic was significantly different when
Filipino was used to teach Philippine Literature, despite
Table 2. Difference between Retention of Concepts and students' good attitudes toward the use of English in that
Medium of Instruction Used subject.
Extent of Retention 6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Group
X Sd The following recommendation are hereby proposed.
Philippine Literature in English 12.99 3.33
Panitikan ng Pilipinas 11.61 2.37 1. To confirm whether specific variables, such as language
Computed t 3.382 of instruction, language attitude, and other factors are
p-value .001 related to retention of concepts learned in such courses
rpb .23 weak as Social Studies and similar courses, a similar study
*highly significant involving a larger population (possibly on a regional
level) can be conducted.
The mean scores in the two languages of the teacher
education students were computed in order to compare how 2. As there are not much literature on retention of values
well concepts were retained in English and Filipino. The concepts, this area could be a good topic for future
mean score in English was 12.99. The average score for research.
Filipinos was 11.61. The two mean scores were separated by

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 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
3. Since attitudes toward Filipino as a language and [7] Ramos, Teresita et al. Bilingualism and Bilingual
attitudes toward English as a teaching language were Education. Quezon City: Cultural Publisher, 1977.
found to be significantly related to retention of concepts
[8] Sibayan, Bonifacio P "Bilingual Education in the
in Philippine Literature, these languages should still be
Philippine Strategy and Structure", Readings in
used in the course's instruction so that students will
Philippine Sociolinguistics, ed by Ma. Lourdes Bautista
develop more proficiency in both of them.
Manila: De la Salle University Press, Inc. 1996.
7. REFERENCES
B. Journals
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