Even English-speaking eighth-graders flunked in Reading Comprehension

Test a group of eighth graders who speak English at home. Is their Reading Comprehension better than non-English speakers?

Not necessarily.

They may be able to read English with ease. But comprehension is different. It entails understanding, analysis, imagination.

I’m not referring only to Filipino eighth graders in whose homes English is used sometimes or often. I’m referring to the Reading Comprehension standing of eighth graders from 78 countries in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Filipino eighth graders ranked poorest in Reading Comprehension. More alarming, most of the lowest scoring Filipinos came from homes where English is used.

Those are the findings of DepEd and government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Ricardo Nolasco, PhD, pointed up those figures to Congress last year. He spoke from decades of experience with language as instruction medium. He was chairman of Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino.

Incredulous, lawmakers bawled him out. They demanded that he prove his point about many English-speaking Filipinos faring worse in Reading Comprehension.

Yet evidence stared them in the face. In PISA 2018, native-English speaking New Zealanders were only 11th, Americans 13th and Australians 16th in Reading Comprehension.

Canada has two languages, English and French. Ireland has two: English, Irish. United Kingdom has three: English, Scottish, Welsh. In PISA 2018, Canada placed 6th, Ireland 8th and UK 13th in Reading Comprehension.

PNA file photo

Obviously, reading English does not translate to comprehension. Here’s more evidence. China, Singapore, Macao, Hong Kong and Estonia ranked 1st to 5th.

China has many languages, mainly Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujian, Mongolian, Tibetan. Singapore has Singaporean Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, English. Macau: Macanese Mandarin, Portuguese. Hong Kong: Cantonese, English. Estonia: Estonian, English.

PISA 2018 gave those five countries and territories the option to use native tongues in Reading Comprehension tests. Their eighth graders were made to read one paragraph, then write a one-sentence conclusion about it.

Apparently, in their mother tongues, the examinees understood, analyzed, imagined better – what is called critical thinking.

PISA 2018 told the Philippines to use both English and Filipino, depending on the eighth graders’ province and language facility. DepEd picked only English, NGO Philippine Business for Education found out. Speaking warsh-warsh at home did not help.

The result was infamy.

Had the Filipinos been tested in Reading Comprehension using their mother tongues, would they have fared better? Most likely yes, given the results of the TOP 5.

Plus, the high scores of mother tongue examinees Finland 7th, South Korea 9th, Poland 10th, Sweden also 11th, Japan also 14th, Taiwan also 16th, Denmark 18th, Norway 19th, Germany 20th, Slovenia 21st.

Most of those countries prioritize Education, especially Math and Sciences. In the Philippines, the budget for Education is transferred to Public Works for project kickbacks.

More basic, Philippine law previously emphasized the use of the mother tongue in Kindergarten to Grade III. That would have opened pupils early to critical thinking in Math and Sciences. After all, they count and refer to body parts and surroundings using the local language.

But implementation was spotty. Extra stiff requirements were set before teachers could use Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Bicol, Waray, Kapampangan and Pangasinense.

What more in provincial languages Ivatan, Kalinga, Apayao, Ifugao, Bontok, Kankanaey, Itneg, Tingguian, Ibanag, Itawis, Gaddang, Zambal, Chavacano, Cuyonon, Tagbanwa, Tausug, Yakan, Subanon, Maranao, Maguindanao, Manobo, T’boli, Tiruray, Surigaonon and dozens of others.

Preferred were teachers in English and Tagalog-heavy Pilipino. Thus ruined was the chance of Filipino tots to understand, analyze, imagine – in order to move up to middle school.

Then came last year R.A. 12027 that ditches the use of mother tongue in early education. Lawmakers thought this would improve Filipino youths’ standing in international Math, Science and Reading Comprehension tests.

What they don’t know is that they’re further stunting intellectual development. Worse, they’re killing local cultures which are expressed through languages.

And killing cultures is a form of genocide, considered by the UN as crime against humanity.

For that reason, 55 citizens petitioned the Supreme Court this week to declare R.A. 12027 unconstitutional. Among them, significantly, are 15 deaf-mute children whose native words will no longer be used in sign language with which they are familiar. As well, teachers in minority and ethnic languages, Dr. Nolasco and University of the Philippines Folklorists Inc.

Full text of petition in Talaytayan MLE Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/MTB-MLE-Petition

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