Bilingual

Education
Policy
 Table of Contents

Page

What is Bilingual Education Policy? ....................................................... 1

Why is Bilingual Education Policy Needed? ........................................... 2

Bilingual Education Policy Program in the Philippines ............................. 3

Bilingual Education Program Models ...................................................... 8

References ............................................................................................ 11
What is Bilingual Education Policy?

Bilingual education is a form of education in which information is

presented to the students in two (or more) languages. Technically, any

educational system that utilizes more than one language is bilingual. This means

that many, if not most, school programs are bilingual, in at least a literal sense of

the word. What differentiates various programs that are toted as bilingual is the

degree to which multiple languages are used. Bilingual education also refers to

the practice of teaching non-English speaking children in their native language.

Developed in the 1960's, such programs were intended to allow children to

progress in subjects such as math, science and social studies while they learned

English in a separate class. Bilingual education was meant as a transitional

program, but students frequently linger in such programs for most of their school

years.
Why Is Bilingual Education Policy Needed?

...I propose that if we view the development of self determination as a

central aim of a good and just education, then bilingual education is required

because it plays a crucial part in both fostering heritage language (HL) students

authentic cultural identities and expanding their social contexts of choice

(Kymlicka, 1991, p. 166). The argument herein will be based on the notion that

ones cultural identity has three main facets: (a) racial and ethnic heritage,

including bicultural and multicultural heritages, (b) connection to ones cultural

community, and (c) a sense that ones race and culture have worth and deserve

respect. Self-identification and identity development are continuous processes,

and, as such, identities are fluid, not static; open, not monolithic; and multiple

and contingent, rather than unalterable essences (Ginsberg, 1996). With a

secure sense of identity and a favorable context from which to make life

decisions, heritage language students are better able to avoid the high

opportunity costs of which Howe (1997) warns, and they have the best chance

of achieving self-determination... while at the same time... help students to

advance their learning in the academic subject areas while sustaining their

cultural identities as well. By using heritage languages for instructional purposes,

students receive the best start in their overall learning and academic

achievement.
Bilingual Education Policy Program in the Philippines

Consistent with the 1987 constitutional mandate and a declared policy of

the National Board of Education (NBE) on bilingualism in the schools (NBE

Resolution No. 73-7, s.1973) the Department of Education, Culture and Sports

(DECS) promulgated its language policy.

The policy was first implemented in 1974 when DECS issued Dept. Order

No. 25, s. 1974 titled, "Implementing Guidelines for the Policy on Bilingual

Education."

Bilingual education in the Philippines is defined operationally as the separate

use of Filipino and English as the media of instruction in specific subject areas.

As embodied in the DECS Order No. 25, Pilipino (changed to Filipino in 1987)

shall be used as medium of instruction in Social Studies/Social Sciences, Music,

Arts, Physical Education, Home Economics, Practical Arts and Character

Education. English, on the other hand is allocated to Science, Mathematics and

Technology Subjects. The same subject allocation is provided in the 1987 Policy

on Bilingual Education which is disseminated through Department Order No. 52,

s. 1987.

The policy is as follows:

The policy on Bilingual Education aims at the achievement of

competence in both Filipino and English at the national level, through the

teaching of both languages and their use as media of instruction at all levels.
 The regional languages shall be used as auxiliary languages in Grades I

and II. The aspiration of the Filipino nation is to have its citizens possess skills

in Filipino to enable them to perform their functions and duties in order to meet

the needs of the country in the community of nations.

The Goals of the Bilingual Education Policy shall be:

1. Enhanced learning through two languages to achieve quality

education as called for by the 1987 Constitution;

2. The propagation of Filipino as a language of literacy;

3. The development of Filipino as a linguistic symbol of national unity and

identity;

4. The cultivation and elaboration of Filipino as a language of scholarly

discourse, that is to say its continuing intellectualization; and the maintenance of

English as an international language for the Philippines and as a non-exclusive

language of science and technology.

Filipino and English shall be used as media of instruction, the use

allocated to specific subjects in the curriculum as indicated in the Department

Order No. 25, s. 1974.

The regional languages shall be used as auxiliary media of instruction

and as initial language for literacy, where needed.

 Filipino and English shall be taught as language subjects in all levels to

achieve the goals of bilingual competence.

Since competence in the use of both Filipino and English is one of the

goals of the Bilingual Education Policy, continuing improvement in the teaching

of both languages, their use as media of instruction and the specification of their

functions in Philippine schooling shall be the responsibility of the whole

educational system.

Tertiary level institutions shall lead in the continuing intellectualization of

Filipino. The program of intellectualization, however, shall also be pursued in

both the elementary and secondary levels.

The Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall cooperate with

the National Language Commission which according to the 1987 Constitution,

shall be tasked with the further development and enrichment of Filipino.

The Department of Education Culture and Sports shall provide the

means by which the language policy can be implemented with the cooperation

of government and non-government organizations.

The Department shall program funds for implementing the Policy, in such

areas as materials production, in-service training, compensatory and enrichment

program for non-Tagalogs, development of a suitable and standardized Filipino

for classroom use and the development of appropriate evaluative instruments.

Guidelines for the implementation of the 1987 Policy on Bilingual

Education are specified in the DECS Order No. 54, s. 1987. Among these are

the need to intellectualize Filipino and the concrete steps suggested towards its

realization.

The Language Policy of the Commission on Higher Education

In 1994, Republic Act No. 7722, creating the Commission on Higher

Education (CHED) was signed. This Act which is know as the "Higher Education

Act of 1994" provides that the CHED shall be independent and separate from the

DECS and attached to the Office of the President for administrative purposes

only. Its coverage shall be both public and private institutions of higher education

as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational

institutions, public and private.

One of the first steps undertaken by CHED was to update the General

Education Curriculum (GEC) of tertiary courses leading to an initial bachelor's

degree covering four (4) curriculum years. This was done to make the curriculum

more responsive to the demands of the next millennium.

The requirements of the new GEC are embodied in the CHED Memorandum

Order (CMO) No. 59, s. 1996. Listed under miscellaneous of this CMO is its

language policy which is as follows:

In consonance with the Bilingual Education Policy underlined in DECS

Order No. 52, Series of 1987, the following are the guidelines vis-a-vis medium

of instruction, to wit:
 1. Language courses, whether Filipino or English, should be taught in

that language.

2. At the discretion of the HEI, Literature subjects may be taught in

Filipino, English or any other language as long as there are enough instructional

materials for the same and both students and instructors/professors are

competent in the language.

Bilingual Education Program Models

The following are several different types of bilingual education program models:

1. Transitional Bilingual Education. This involves education in a child's native

language, typically for no more than three years, to ensure that students do

not fall behind in content areas like mathematics, science, and social studies

while they are learning English. Research has shown that many of the skills

learned in the native language can be transferred easily to the second

language later. The goal is to help students transition to mainstream, English-

only classrooms as quickly as possible, and the linguistic goal of such

programs is English acquisition only. In a transitional bilingual program, the

student's primary language is used as a vehicle to develop literacy skills and

acquire academic knowledge. It is used to develop literacy and academic

skills in the primary language.

2. Two-Way or Dual Language Immersion Bilingual Education. These programs

are designed to help native and non-native English speakers become

bilingual and literate. The two-way bilingual immersion program has 90% of

the instructions in grade K-1 in minority language which is less supported by

the broader society and 10% in the majority language . This proportion

gradually changes in the majority language until the curriculum is equally

divided in both the language by 5th grade. The two-way bilingual immersion

program is based on the principle of clear curriculum separation of the two

 languages of instruction. Teachers do not repeat or translate the subject

matter in second language but strengthen concepts taught in one language

across the two languages in a spiral curriculum in order to provide cognitive

challenge(Thomas & Collier. 1997). The languages of instructions are

alternated by theme or content area. This type of immersion is required to

develop the dual language proficiency, as social language can be mastered

in couple of years, but a higher level of competency is required to read social

studies texts or solve mathematics word problems, roughly around 5 to 7

years (Collier, 1987).

Dual Immersion classrooms encourage students' native language development,

making an important contribution to heritage language maintenance and allows

language minority students to remain in classrooms with their native English-

speaking peers, resulting in linguistic and sociocultural advantages (Christian,

1996b). As of May 2005, there were 317 dual immersion programs operating in

elementary schools in the United States in 10 different languages(Center for

Applied Linguistics, 2005).

Dual Language programs are less common in US schools, although

research indicates they are extremely effective in helping students learn English

well and aiding the long-term performance of English learners in school. Native

English speakers benefit by learning a second language. English language

learners (ELLs) are not segregated from their peers.

3. Another form of Bilingual Education is a type of Dual Language program that

has students study in two different ways: 1) A variety of academic subjects

are taught in the students' second language, with specially trained bilingual

teachers who can understand students when they ask questions in their

native language, but always answer in the second language; and 2) Native

language literacy classes improve students' writing and higher-order

language skills in their first language. Research has shown that many of the

skills learned in the native language can be transferred easily to the second

language later. In this type of program, the native language classes do not

teach academic subjects. The second-language classes are content-based,

rather than grammar-based, so students learn all of their academic subjects

in the second language.

4. Late-Exit or Developmental Bilingual Education. Education is in the child's

native language for an extended duration, accompanied by education in

English. The goal is to develop literacy in the child's native language first,

and transfer these skills to the second language.

References

For-Ian Sandoval, (2009), What is Bilingual Education Policy?. In Bilingual

Education and the Use of the Vernacular as Medium of Instruction,

http://www.slideshare.net/fvsandoval/bilingual-education?qid=638a54c1-9acd-

4a11-9dd0-a944eb77955d&v=default&b=&from_search=2

Michele S. Moses, (2001), Why is Bilingual Education Policy Needed?. In Why

Bilingual Education Policy Is Needed: A Philosophical Response to the Critics,

page 333-354, http://www.colorado.edu/education/sites/default/files/attached-

files/Moses_Why%20Bilingual%20Education%20Policy%20is%20Needed_0.pd

Clemencia Espiritu, Ph.D., (2011), Bilingual Education Policy Program in the

Philippines. In The Philippine Bilingual Education Policy (BEP),

http://www.ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/articles-on-c-n-

a/article.php?igm=3&i=217

Wikipedia, (2015), Bilingual Education Program Models, In 1 Bilingual

Education Program Models,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilingual_education#Philippines