Module 2 - Eng 109 - Language Programs and Policies For Multilingual Societies

PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MUNTINLUPA
LEARNING
MODULE COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION
University Road, Poblacion, Muntinlupa City
QR/CTE/0__ Course Title: Language Programs and Policies for Multilingual Societies
Effectivity
Issue No. 0 Revision No. 0 15 February 2021 Page No. 1 of 19
Date
NAME OF STUDENT
COURSE/YEAR/SECTION
CONTACT NUMBER
DATE STARTED
DATE FINISHED
MODULE 2 / WEEKS 4 and 5
Title: Language in Education – Policy Evolution
INTRODUCTION
Hello, beloved PLMUNIAN educators!

According to Young et al. ((2016), the historical development of
language policy in the Philippines has not been very smooth. From no
language policy to one that changed from time to time depending on who
was in power. Despite studies that proved that the initial use of the
mother tongue as language of instruction in the first years of schooling
was beneficial, the leaders of the country have been divided until R.A.
10533, the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 mandated that
education be “delivered in languages understood by the learners as the
language plays a strategic role in shaping the three (3) years of
elementary education, instruction, teaching materials and assessment
shall be in the regional or native language of the learners.”
The history of language policy developed from no language
policy to one that is monolingual then bilingual and finally multilingual
but one that is based on the mother tongue, thus the term Mother Tongue-
Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE).
This module will provide you a chronology of events about the
evolution of various language programs and policies in the Philippines.
What are we waiting for? Let us begin our scholarly journey.
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LEARNING TARGETS
At the end of the module, you are expected to:
Create a matrix of the laws, executive orders and other legal bases of the language
programs and policies in the Philippines.
To achieve the learning target, you will:
1. discuss significant changes in Philippine Language Programs and Policies; and

2. identify relevant issues in place that help government institutions in upholding and
propagating the national language
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ENGAGE
ACTIVITY 1. News Flash! Assume the role of a news reporter from the award-winning
television news program, “THE SUNSHINE NEWS PATROL”. One of the headlines of the
day’s news is about a trivia on a regional language other than Filipino. Kindly share your news
report upon the signal of the news anchor.
Good morning, this is Reina San Juan for the Sunshine News
Patrol. With 183 living languages to speak of, the Philippines
is one of the most linguistically diverse countries on the
planet. There’s no easy way to say what language is spoken in
the Philippines, unless you’re willing to name and enumerate
nearly 200 of them. There are 183 living languages currently
spoken in the Philippines, the vast majority of which are
indigenous tongues. For today, let us listen to the report of our news correspondent who will share
relevant information about his/her featured language for the day. Take it away,
_______________________________________. (Put your name in blank.)
Your featured report about a particular language (e.g. Aklanon, Bikol, Cebuano etc.)
starts here:
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This has been ________________________________________ reporting for THE

SUNSHINE NEWS PATROL. Back to you, Reina.
ACTIVITY 2. Using the language featured in your news report, list down five (5) words or
expressions of that language with corresponding translations in Filipino or English.
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WORD/S OR EXPRESSIONS IN THE TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH OR
REGIONAL LANGUAGE FILIPINO (Choose only 1).
ACTIVITY 3. Try to recall an experience from your English or Filipino class in elementary or
high school. The said experience must be associated with a program on speaking English or
Filipino fluently. Then, complete the matrix below:
SPECIFIC LANGUAGE PROGRAM

IMPLEMENTED BY THE TEACHER
(e.g. Speak English Campaign)
RATIONALE FOR THE SAID
PROGRAM
YOUR POSITIVE IMPRESSION ABOUT
THE PROGRAM
YOUR CLASSMATES’ POSITIVE
IMPRESSION ABOUT THE PROGRAM
YOUR NEGATIVE IMPRESSION
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
YOUR CLASSMATES’ NEGATIVE
IMPRESSION ABOUT THE PROGRAM
ACTIVITY 4. A Warm Welcome. You met Trisha Adams, an American author/writer, who is in
the Philippines for an official visit. While having coffee together with Marta, she started asking
questions about languages in the Philippines. Kindly provide the transcript of the said
conversation.
You may put your transcript here:

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EXPLORE
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REFER TO THE
PRESENTATION
DURING THE
WEBINAR.
EXPLAIN AND ELABORATE
ACTIVITY 5. Read the information below. Then answer the questions that follow:
As mandated in the 1935 Philippine Constitution, a national language was to be

adopted and developed based on one of the existing native languages. In 1937, the Institute
of National Language (INL) which was created to direct the selection, propagation and
development of the national language, recommended that Tagalog be the basis for the
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adoption of the national language of the country. In the same year, then President Manuel
Quezon signed Executive Order No. 134 declaring Tagalog as basis of the national language
(http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-
disseminationscd/language-and-translation/filipino-language-in-the-curriculum/).
1. Why did the INL recommend Tagalog to be the basis of the adoption of the national
language?
2. What is the implication of the late President Quezon’s decision to declare that Tagalog
will be the basis of the national language?
3. How do you find the President’s decision?
A Department Order was subsequently issued by the Secretary of Public Instruction

on April 8, 1940 to implement the aforementioned Executive Order. Bureau Education
Circular No. 26, s. 1940 provides that “… effective June 19, 1940, the national language
shall be taught forty minutes a day as a regular, required two-semester subject “… The
national language shall replace an elective in each semester of the second year in normal
schools and shall be an additional subject of all secondary schools …” (http://gwhs-
stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-
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1. What do you think was the primary goal of the school authorities in the teaching of
Filipino in the 1940s? Do you agree with this goal? Why or why not?
2. Is 40 minutes enough to teach languages such as Filipino? Why or why not?
3. Aside from the time requirement, what other factors must be considered in the teaching of
Filipino?
The inclusion of Tagalog in the curriculum was viewed as a positive direction towards
more effective teaching and learning since, compared with English, Tagalog would be an
easier language to use as tool of learning. This significant move also marked the beginning
of the critical process of developing the national language and disseminating it nationwide
mainly through the schools (http://gwhs-
disseminationscd/language-and-translation/filipino-language-in-the-curriculum/)
1. Do you agree that “the inclusion of Tagalog in the curriculum was viewed as a positive
direction towards more effective teaching and learning since, compared with English,
Tagalog would be an easier language to use as tool of learning”? Why or why not?
2. What were the possible obstacles that the school authorities encountered in the
implementation of the said policy?
3. Why are the schools considered potent vehicles for the promotion of a national language?
Meanwhile, Tagalog was popularized more widely when the Japanese forces invaded the
country in 1942. The Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Imperial Forces ordered the
prohibition of the use of English and the Filipino people’s reliance upon Western nations
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particularly the United States and Great Britain. Besides being declared as the official
language, Tagalog was to become the medium of instruction in schools during the Japanese
regime. (Teachers who were used to using English, however, were reportedly teaching
secretly in English and not in Tagalog.) (http://gwhs-
1. Why do you think the Japanese allowed the use of Tagalog in the country? Did the
Filipinos benefit from this move?
2. How did the prohibition of the use of English by the Japanese help in the promotion of
Tagalog?
3. What is/are the view/s of the Japanese with regard to the teaching of English?
4. How does this view of the Japanese as regards the promotion of a local language relate
with their attitude towards their own language?
In 1943, President Laurel issued Executive Order No. 10 mandating educational

reforms which included, among other things, the teaching of the national language in all
elementary schools, public and private, and the training of national language teachers on a
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massive scale effective at the beginning of the school year 1944-1945. Major emphasis was
given to the development of the national language. It was during the Japanese regime, then
that the teaching of the national language became part of the curriculum at all levels. It was
introduced as a subject in all grades at the elementary and high school levels. In 1944, non-
Tagalog teachers started learning the language through the opening of a Tagalog Institute to
enable them to teach and use the language (http://gwhs-
1. Why must a priority be given to the teaching of a national language?
2. In your opinion, what attributes must be present in any language to qualify as a “national
language”?
3. Why did the Tagalog emerge as a national language? How did it qualify?
4. Aside from using in the schools as a medium of instruction, how did the Japanese
government ensure the promotion of Tagalog as a national language?
5. Why must a subject in Tagalog be taught among the students aside from the use of the
language in instruction? Does it contribute to the promotion of the language? Why or why
not?
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Executive Order No. 44 was issued by President Laurel to lay down educational
policies which included the restoration of the University of the Philippines, which was
tasked with the promotion of Philippine nationalism, and the development of the national
language, among others. In line with this provision, the curricula of higher education
institutions had the national language as one of its compulsory subjects. The school system
was reorganized when the Americans came to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese
invasion. English, again, became the principal medium of instruction with Tagalog taught
as a required subject in the elementary and secondary levels (http://gwhs-
1. What role/s did the University of

the Philippines play in the
promotion of the national
language? In your opinion, does
the university continue to
promote the national language at
present?
2. What were the advantages of being able to communicate in English during the time of
President Laurel?
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3. How was the teaching of English before compared with the present especially among the
millennials?
4. What do you think were the challenges encountered by the teachers of English and Filipino
during those times?
In 1957, a new language policy was adopted in Philippine schools, following a period
of intensive research and experimentations on which language to use best as medium of
instruction. In an attempt to make the school system more relevant to the needs of the
times, the Board of National Education, a policy-making body in education, decided that the
“medium of instruction in the first two grades of the elementary school shall be the local
vernacular; that at the same time the national language (named Pilipino in 1959) shall be
taught informally beginning in Grade I and given emphasis as a subject in the higher
grades; that English shall be taught as a subject in Grades I and II and used as medium of
instruction beginning in Grade III”. The vernacular was used as auxiliary medium in the
primary while Pilipino was used as an auxiliary medium in the intermediate and high school
levels (http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-
cultural-disseminationscd/language-and-translation/filipino-language-in-the-curriculum/).
1. How did you find the decision of the Board of National Education, a policy-making body
in education which declared that the “medium of instruction in the first two grades of the
elementary school shall be the local vernacular; that at the same time the national
language (named Pilipino in 1959) shall be taught informally beginning in Grade I and
given emphasis as a subject in the higher grades? How does this decision relate with the
principles and theories of language acquisition?
2. What were the possible hindrances or issues encountered by the teachers, students and
school administrators as regards the decision of the Board of National Education?
3. What is the role of the vernacular language? What specific vernacular languages do you
know?
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This Revised Educational Program of 1957 was criticized strongly due to the
observed weakness of the multilingual policy which it promoted. The use of no less than
four languages (English, Pilipino, Spanish and the vernacular) did not prove effective in
educating the Filipino child. Various surveys and language experiments were undertaken
two years after the implementation of the new program in an attempt to formulate more
workable and effective policies on language use in schools. These included the classic Iloilo
and Rixal experiments (See Davis, 1967: Philippine Language Teaching Experiments.
PCLS Monograph Series No. 5 for details), and the 1968 Language Policy Survey conducted
by the Language Study Center of the Philippine Normal College (http://gwhs-
disseminationscd/language-and-translation/filipino-language-i-the-curriculum/).
1. What are your views about multilingualism? How acceptable is this approach in the new
normal? Why or why not?
2. The use of no less than four languages (English, Pilipino, Spanish and the vernacular) did
not prove effective in educating the Filipino child. Why?
3. What is the status of language teaching in the Philippines particularly English and
Filipino? How did the teachers assist in the promotion of communicative competence
through the two languages?
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The outcomes of these researches provided valuable inputs in formulating a new

policy on bilingual education which was implemented beginning 1974 following the
ratification of the Philippine Constitution in 1973. The new program was disseminated
through DECS Order No. 25, series 1974. Bilingual education, as defined in the DECS
Order mentioned refers to the separate use of Pilipino and English as media of instruction
in specific subject areas from grade I in all schools. Pilipino was allocated to Social
Studies/Social Science, Work Education, Character Education, Music, Health and Physical
Education. All other subjects were taught in English. As the guidelines provided, Pilipino
and English were taught as subjects in elementary and secondary schools to achieve the
goals of bilingualism. Studies conducted on the evaluation of the bilingual education program
revealed that the program is not seriously being implemented especially by private schools. At
the tertiary level, it appeared that the policy is not a priority. Many institutions seemed to have
put more premium on the use and teaching of English, the main language aspiration of many
Filipinos. Studies also showed the very low-level proficiency in the two languages of both the
teachers and students. (http://gwhs-
1. What is bilingual education? What are its best features and their disadvantages?
2. Why is there a need for teachers to teach English among the learners at that time?
3. What are the possible challenges in the implementation of the bilingual education
program?
In 1996, Commission on Higher Education issued a CHED Memorandum Order (CMO)
No. 59 titled New General Education Curriculum (GEC) which was implemented, beginning
school year 1997-1998 as part of all baccalaureate degree programs in all Higher Education
Instructions (HEI’s) in the Philippines.
The minimum requirements for this mandatory GEC, include 9 units in Filipino, and 9
units in English. For the first time in so many years, Filipino and English are given equal
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treatment in the curriculum. Literature, which used to be studied as language, is now treated as an
art form under Humanities and has been allocated 6 units ((http://gwhs-
1. What role did the CHED play in the promotion of languages in the Philippines?
2. “Literature, which used to be studied as language, is now treated as an art form under
Humanities and has been allocated 6 units.” Do you agree that literature is more of art
form? Why or why not?
3. Should the teaching of both English and Filipino be strengthened in the New General
Education Curriculum? Why or why not? What improvements can you recommend?
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EVALUATE
Wow, PLMUNIAN English educators! You have reached the last stage of our module. Now that
you have been provided a wealth of knowledge about Language in Education – Policy
Evolution, you are now ready to exhibit what you have learned in a meaningful way.
TASK: Create a matrix of the laws, executive orders and other legal bases of
the language programs and policies in the Philippines. See sample below.
LAWS/DECREES/EXECUTIV SPECIFIC IMPLICATIONS

E OR DEPARTMENT PROVISIONS
ORDERS ETC.
Content and Completeness (substantial ideas/thoughts presented in the matrix; completeness of

the information required; accuracy of the items or points provided)– 15 points
Grammar and Mechanics of Writing – 5 points
TOTAL: 20 points
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REFERENCES:
Young, C. et al. (2016). Mother tongue-based multilingual education – guide for teacher
educators and students. Lorimar Publishing, Co.
http://gwhs-stg02.i.gov.ph/~s2govnccaph/subcommissions/subcommission-on-cultural-
disseminationscd/language-and-translation/filipino-language-in-the-curriculum/
Prepared by:
DR. ALVIN S. SICAT, LPT

Professor

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PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MUNTINLUPA

MODULE 2 / WEEKS 4 and 5

Title: Language in Education – Policy Evolution

Hello, beloved PLMUNIAN educators!

At the end of the module, you are expected to:

To achieve the learning target, you will:

1. discuss significant changes in Philippine Language Programs and Policies; and

This has been ________________________________________ reporting for THE

SPECIFIC LANGUAGE PROGRAM

You may put your transcript here:

EXPLAIN AND ELABORATE

As mandated in the 1935 Philippine Constitution, a national language was to be

3. How do you find the President’s decision?

A Department Order was subsequently issued by the Secretary of Public Instruction

2. Is 40 minutes enough to teach languages such as Filipino? Why or why not?

In 1943, President Laurel issued Executive Order No. 10 mandating educational

1. Why must a priority be given to the teaching of a national language?

1. What role/s did the University of

The outcomes of these researches provided valuable inputs in formulating a new

LAWS/DECREES/EXECUTIV SPECIFIC IMPLICATIONS

Content and Completeness (substantial ideas/thoughts presented in the matrix; completeness of

DR. ALVIN S. SICAT, LPT

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