SEPT.

8, 2011

NR # 2520B

Solon thumbs down punishment against students speaking in Filipino and dialects in campuses
A lawmaker has urged public schools to use various modes and teaching methods in promoting the use of the English language inside campuses without penalizing the students who speak in their native tongue. Rep. Raymond Palatino (Party-list, Kabataan), author of House Resolution 1567, said there are other effective and creative means at promoting English instead of discouraging and penalizing the use of Filipino and other native languages. It has been a prevalent practice throughout the years in many schools nationwide, both public and private, to impose fines for speaking in Filipino and other native languages in order to promote the use of English in conversation inside and outside of the classroom, Palatino said. Palatino said even if there is an absence of a school administration-sanctioned policy, many teachers still resort to imposing informal penalties like fines in order to encourage the use of English. There are also some teachers who use psychological and other authoritative threats in order to impose an English-speaking policy while in the classroom, Palatino said. Palatino said the Department of Education (DepEd) should adopt various means and modes to be introduced to public school teachers so as to promote the use of English without discouraging and penalizing students for speaking in Filipino and other native tongues. Even the grounds that promoting English is necessary training for global competitiveness cannot be used to justify penalizing students for using Filipino and other native tongues, Palatino said. Palatino said the practice of discouraging the use of Filipino and other native languages among the students has and continues to impress upon the children and the youth that the use of Filipino is inferior to the use of English. Palatino asked the House Committee on Basic Education and the Committee on Higher and Technical Education to conduct an inquiry that will look into the various means and modes employed by teachers in promoting the use of English. (30) fg