DepEd, DLSU launch dictionary project

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Education (DepEd), in partnership with De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila and non-government organizations, yesterday launched a project that aims to provide child-friendly, age-appropriate dictionaries to selected public elementary schools in Metro Manila.

Philippine Dictionary Project (PDP) founder Nina Patawaran said DLSU will serve as dictionary bank, pooling brand-new illustrated dictionaries to 14 public elementary schools in Metro Manila.

She said the project works through a web of stakeholders composed of a lender, a borrower, donors and a guarantor – banking principles which she applied to ensure the project’s transparency and accountability.

“Children have their own needs, they need large fonts, they need photos, they need attractive colors, they need thick paper, they need definitions in full sentences, and especially for a foreign language like English they need phonetic pronunciation guides and not complicated pronunciation guides that even adults like me have a difficult time understanding,” Patawaran told The STAR during the project unveiling at the DLSU in Manila.

“Vocabulary is very important. If they don’t understand the words that they read they will not understand the sentences that they read and oftentimes they have a tough time understanding these because some of these words are complex,” she said, adding that students, particularly in remote areas, have never seen these kind of books.

Patawaran, who worked as a banker in New York, said participating schools can borrow a total of 50 dictionaries for the whole school year for a minimal rental fee of P500.

At the end of the school year, the DLSU has the task of collecting, auditing and, if necessary, repairing the books, the 45-year-old Patawaran said.

“In cases where the books are damaged or lost, the head of the local government will shoulder the expenses to repair or replace them,” she said.

She said the project will also provide public elementary teachers with training on various subjects.

Pasig City is one of the cities in Metro Manila with participant schools. Elementary teachers from seven schools in the city attended yesterday’s training at DLSU.

Patawaran said the project was first launched in Negros Oriental in November 2008 with Silliman University acting as dictionary bank.

She said the project is now being implemented in 98 public elementary schools in Luzon and the Visayas and they plan to bring it to Mindanao in November 2010.

She said among their book donors are the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation, Metrobank Foundation, Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank.

Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher of English children’s books, published the books, according to Patawaran.