The Development of the National Language and Bilingual Education in the Philippines

Introduction

In 1987, a new constitution designated Filipino as the national language and, along with
English, as an official language. That constitution included several provisions related to the
Filipino language.

Bilingual education started in 1974, when the Department of Education and Culture
mandated the use of English and Filipino as the media of instruction in both primary and
secondary schools.

Bilingualism
Refers to the ability of an individual to use two language

Bilingual Education is a form of education in which information is presented to the students

in two (or more) languages. If refers to any educational system that uses more than one
language.
It was developed in the 1960's to describe non-english speaking children in their mother
tongue.

In the Philippines, involves teaching academic content in two language in a native and
secondary languages with varying amount of each language used in accordance with the
program level.

Bilingual education in the Philippines – the use of English in mathematics and science and
Filipino, the national language, in all other subjects – is a complex story of postcolonial,
neocolonial, nationalist, and ethnolinguistic ideologies and relationships.

This bilingual approach served to promoteintellectualization of the national language

expected to bring about a national unity and identity among Filipinos, as they could now
express themselves and communicate with each other in a common language.

What is the national language in the Philippines? Filipino

TAGALOG- Proclaimed as National Language on Dec. 31, 1937 by President Manuel Quezon
1959: Tagalog was replaced as PILIPINO Tagalog and Pilipino was replaced as
FILIPINO- National Language of the Philippines during 1987 Constituition underPresident
Corazon Aquino

The National Language Institute was established on 13 November1936 pursuant to

Commonwealth Act No. 184. It was tasked with "the study of Philippine dialects in general
for the purpose of evolving and adopting a common national language based on one of the
existing native tongues."

About 14 million native Tagalog speakers live in central Luzon and parts of Mindanao,
making them the Philippines’ second biggest language and cultural community. Another 25
million people use Filipino (a Tagalog-based language), which is increasingly used in
literature,radio, and the press, as well as in government and education.