RP losing advantage in English proficiency

Last Thursday evening we attended the Family Values Awards given by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the Marriott Hotel as their principal awardee is a dear friend of mine, Atty. Esperanza “Nang Sising” Valenzona, the president and founder of Share-A-Child Movement. I knew her then as the dynamo of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) and the Federacion International de Abogadas (FIDA) and later when she worked with children in conflict with the law, where she founded the Share-A-Child Movement. Children today are better off, thanks to Nang Sising!

That Cebu City today is dubbed as the most child-friendly city is due to the tireless efforts of Nang Sising who found an ally in Mrs. Margot Osmeña, Cebu’s First Lady, who helped found the Task Force Street Children. We thank the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for bestowing this great honor to 91-year-old Atty. Valenzona, a woman with nine children who has helped all the poor children in Cebu, especially those in conflict with the law. Cebu City is very blessed to have Nang Sising.

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There was a very interesting, albeit alarming article on page 5 of The Philippine STAR last Tuesday entitled “RP just second to Malaysia in English proficiency,” which was quite surprising because I thought that the Philippines has always been one of those nations whose people spoke great English. As that news report shows, the average score of Filipinos who took the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) last year was down to 6.69 in a passing grade of 7.0. This proves that many Filipinos no longer speak English, unlike our 60s’ generation.

The IELTS is taken by Filipinos who seek work abroad like in the UK or Australia. But it’s a downright shame that now Malaysia has beaten us in English proficiency when Filipinos were once the only English speakers in Asia. This news report should be considered a “wake-up call” for the Department of Education (DepEd) to do something to arrest this downslide. We already pointed out that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is the only bright light that brings direct foreign investments (FDIs) to our country, which means jobs for our people so we must fix whatever is wrong with the way we teach English in our schools!

Incidentally, here’s an e-mailed response to the official response by ABS-CBN on the so-called ban of Cebuano in the TV show Pinoy Big Brother, which also touches the subject of our losing the English language:

“Dear Bobit, I have read your column and agree with your comments. Cebuano and all the so-called dialects, including Tagalog, are really languages. The proof is in the huge differences in words, even simple words like dog or cat. Talking of simple words that all kids should know I really hate the way the English spelling is changed. These words should be said as they are, but of course it is all about repressing English.

“Those who think Tagalog is our only national language should come to Bacolod and find the truth. Cebu also? Ilonggo may be spoken but in every other way English is used. No Tagalog ‘How’s my driving?’ on vehicles, haha. Recently we had a new SM built which contains the National Bookstore, a good place to start, but it is hard to find anything in Tagalog. So much for it being the national language. The National Bookstore is a business where demand rules to achieve profit, not nationalism. I guess there is no need to tell you that of the books the kids sit down with and read 90+ percent are in our other official language – English.

“For me Ilonggo may be in my heart but English is in my brain! From my point of view the fact that Manila has repressed English is a bigger reason than corruption for the current percentage of poor and those in poverty. This and, of course, not having a population that is sustainable. Companies would have invested here far more if they were aware of an English-speaking workforce that was also economical (cheap).

“Some attitudes of nationalist senators make you cringe as though these investors want to exploit Filipinos and cannot go to any of our more willing neighboring countries. There are so many countries which really want to help us other than the US (which is the pet hate of the nationalists) and English is the language they will use. If you have grandchildren then you want the best for them and a prosperous future. This will not be available in the Philippines with just Cebuano or Tagalog. Other countries like Korea have seen the importance of English and grasped it. We, who were blessed with having English as our official national language, have let it fall behind. Perhaps it is the same in Cebu as in Bacolod where there is a flood of Korean students coming to learn English. I have spoken to many who tell me they like the Philippines because everything is in the English language and everything is more affordable. Kind regards, Nelly Dayon Dukett, Bacolod City.”

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Avila’s columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.