ORATORICAL PIECE

I am a Juan dela Cruz. I am a fighter by blood and a believer by heart. I live in a freecountry. Although I

I am Ostwald, a senior high school Filipino student. I am ambitious and a dreamer. I live in a third
world country.

may have a small voice, I have a big dreama dream to master the art of spear

Although I may have a small voice I have big aspirations- a dream to be globally competitive by
mastering the art of____________.

To our distinguished members of the board of judges, to my equally competent contenders, to all our keen

To our highly respected judges, to my fellow orators,.

visitors, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

to our audience, ladies and gentlemen good morning

To l i v e i n a m u l t i - f a c e t e d a n d v a s t w o r d o f g l o b a l l y c o m p e t e n t p e o p l e i s t o l e t a J u a n d e l a

To l i v e i n a h i g h l y c o m p l e x w o r l d a n d h u g e n u m b e r o f g l o b a l l y c o m p e t e n t a n d h i g h l y
educated people is to let one follow the rule of the animal kingdom- that is survival of the
fittest , the eradication of the weak.

C r u z a b i d e b y t h e r u l e o f t h e j u n g l e t h a t i s t h e s u r v i v a l o f t h e f i t t e s t a n d t h e elimination of the
unfit.

In order to survive, Juan must master the art of spear

In order to survive we must master the art of____________________

t h e s p e a r t h a t w i l l m a k e h i m invincible, the spear that will help him emerge as king, the spear that is known

the weapon that will turn him undefeated, the weapon that will help one become hero, the weapon that is now known
as English proficiency.

today asEnglish Proficiency.But what is English Proficiency? What does it do to help Juan in this crisis-laden
world?L a d i e s a n d g e n t l e m e n , t h i s i s t h e s k i l l i n u s i n g t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e . T h i s w i l l
b r i n g Juan closer to excellenceexcellence in quenching his thirst for global competitiveness, excellence in
responding his own hullabaloos and excellence in proving his worth.Furthermore, we might ask, why would Juan
dream of this excellence? Let us not shut our e y e s t o t h e
t r a g i c r e a l i t y t h a t J u a n d e l a C r u z i s l e f t b e h i n d , t h a t J u a n i s a m i d s t political feuds, rel
i g i o u s w a r f a r e a n d i l l i t e r a c y b a t t l e i n u s i n g t h e l i n g u a f r a n c a , English.This tragic reality is greatly
manifested in the March 2006 Social Weather Survey showing5 % F i l i p i n o a d u l t s m a k i n g f u l l u s e o f t h e
E n g l i s h L a n g u a g e ; 3 5 % m a k i n g f a i r u s e o f t h e said language; 27% making partial use of the
language; 19% making almost no use of the language and 14% not being competent in any way when it comes to
the said language.This shows that there had been a huge decline in all aspects of English Proficiency
amongt h e F i l i p i n o s c o m p a r e d t o D e c e m b e r 1 9 9 3 a n d S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 3 r e s
u l t s . A n o t h e r manifestation, ladies and gentlemen, in a recent study by the Call Center Association
oft h e P h i l i p p i n e s w h e r e c a l c e n t e r s h i r e l e s s t h a t 5 % o f 1 0 0 F i l i p i n o a p p l i c a n t s d u e t o their poor
English skills.M o r e o v e r , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f E d u c a t i o n , o n l y 7 % o f g r a d u a t i n g
h i g h s c h o o l students had mastered English and had scored at least 75% in nationwide tests. This
thenthrew back the blame to the quality of instruction in schools and had been even proven w h e n i t
had been said in the 2000 Philippine Human Development Report of the UnitedNations
t h a t w o u l d - b e - t e a c h e r s h a v e p o o r E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e s k i l l s a n d s c o r e d l o w e s t i n English of all
subjects in their licensure
exam.F r i e n d s , i f t h i s d e c l i n e c o n t i n u e s , t o w h a t d i r e c t i o n s h a l l J u a n m o v e ? L e t J u a n
b e e q u i p p e d w i t h t h e E n g l i s h s k i l l , l e t h i s v o i c e b e r a i s e d t o a h i g h e r d e c i b e l t h a t i t reaches out
to others and from there, it will reverberate to constantly remind us that weare the main instruments in
responding to our own struggle and efforts to eradicate allforms of discrimination. In doing so we
must evidently speak our mind but in such a wayt h a t f o r e i g n p e o p l e m a y u n d e r s t a n d u s a n d
eventually join us in our battle. From there c o m e s t h e e d g e o f b e i n g
e r u d i t e i n t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e . I f o n l y w e c o u l d b e a t t h i s English Proficiency crisis, we
could penetrate through foreign conversations and we couldsurvive in the global market.Though English may be
another language, it doesnt mean that we are depriving Juan of hisn a t i v e t o n g u e b u t l e t t i n g h i m
s e e t h e p u r p o s e o f s p e a k i n g s o , a s L u i s T e o d o r o , a newspaper columnist and journalism
professor at the University of the Philippines, said,learning another language is a specialized and
voluntary process. It cant be forced on people who dont see any use of it in their daily lives.

We should not let Juan paddle in the opposite direction when all other Asian people ride t h e T h i r d w a v e
j u s t b e c a u s e o f t h e f e a r t h a t t h e w a v e w i l l e n g u l f h i m . M a n y p e o p l e m a y know the language but
few are great. If Juan will be one of those few, it would be such a n i m m e n s e d e a l o f h o n o r a n d p r i d e .
I f h e w o u l d p r o v e h i s w o r t h , h e s h a l l s e e h i m s e l f invincible and unconquerable. That even if he is in
the middle of the jungle he shall be ready and brave to take on challenges the mastering of the art of spear.I am a
Juan dela Cruz. I am a fighter by blood and a believer by heart. I live in a freecountry. Although I may
have a small voice, I have a big dreama dream to master the art of spear. Good morning!

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