GMA restores English as medium of instruction

In keeping with the Information Revolution, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus to utilize English as the primary medium of instruction. Her directive said, "Until Congress enacts a law mandating Filipino as the language of instruction, I am directing the Department of Education to return English as the primary medium of instruction, provided some subjects will still be taught in Filipino." She brought Congress into the picture because the Constitution clearly says: "Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system."

We fully support the President’s directive. Some teachers have objections to the President’s move. They say that pupils learn faster if they use their native tongue. If so, then, the medium of instruction in the Visayas should be Visayan. In Ilocos, it should be Ilocano, in Pampanga, Kapangpangan, in Bicol, Bicolano and in Pangasinan, Pangalatok. Most of the groups objecting come from the Tagalog Region.

Now, let us go into why we are advocating English to be our main medium of instruction, provided some subjects will continue to be taught in Filipino. First, English is without question the most widely dispensed language in the world today. We are fortunate that it is part of our heritage. Next to the United States, the Philippines is the second largest English-speaking nation in the world. But that is not the reason why we believe that it should be our medium of instruction.

The fact is that progress in our times will depend on knowledge and knowledge will be most available in English. If we are going to wait for books on sciences, medicine, engineering, architecture, accounting, and world literature to be translated in English, we will always be way behind. Medical books can be translated to Tagalog only by doctors who are proficient in both languages. The same principle applies to architecture, engineering, accounting and other higher education subjects. The cost of the books will also be prohibitive for relatively few copies will be sold.

Admittedly, English has its drawbacks. Unlike Spanish and Filipino, words are not pronounced as they are spelled. Similar sounds have totally different spellings. Classic examples are blue, crew, shoe, through and too. They rhyme perfectly.

But English has a larger and more varied vocabulary than any other language. That is because they absorbed many non-English words. From the American Indians, for example, they borrowed such words as moccasin, tomahawk and wigwam. Even the Tagalog word for mountain, bundok, is now in the English dictionary as boondock.

A classic example of how English is conducive to progress is the fact that all our overseas workers are there because they speak English. The world is now a global village. English is the language of that village.