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Asian Englishes
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Fearing English in the Philippines

a
Isabel Pefianco Martin
a
Katipunan Avenue, Loyala Heights Quezon City, 1108 Philippines, E-mail:
Published online: 11 Mar 2014.

To cite this article: Isabel Pefianco Martin (2008) Fearing English in the Philippines, Asian Englishes, 11:2, 76-79,
DOI: 10.1080/13488678.2008.10801237

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2008.10801237

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 Asian Englishes, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2008

Essay
Fearing English in the Philippines

Isabel Pefianco MARTIN

Some time ago, at a teacher training session I conducted, I made the

mistake of suggesting that Math and Science teachers consider code-switching
(using English and Tagalog) as a strategy for making lessons less difficult for
their students. I did not know that the school had just implemented an English-
only policy in the classrooms, corridors, and faculty lounges. No wonder
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teachers and students rushed to the quadrangle during break time!

This practice of enforcing English-only zones in schools is symptomatic
of the lack of awareness among school administrators about the nature of
languages, as well as the basics of learning a language. One important reality
that many overlook is that students will not learn a language if they fear it.
In the Philippines, the language most feared is English. I see this in my
students who joke that their noses bleed after they talk in English, in my
friends who claim that they speak English only when they’re drunk, and in my
doctor who suddenly switches to Tagalog after I tell him that I teach English.
We see this fear of English in classes where students feel stupid because they
mispronounced a word, in contact centers where applicants take accent
neutralization sessions, and in English review centers that continue to
mushroom throughout Metro Manila. Fear of English is also manifested in
predictions that the country is approaching an English-deprived future, in
House bills that seek to make English the sole medium of instruction in
schools, and in courses or training programs that focus only on developing
grammatical accuracy.
Many research studies prove that learning a language becomes more
effective when emotional barriers are eliminated. Linguist and educational
researcher Stephen Krashen refers to these emotional barriers as “affective
filters.” The formula for success in learning a language is painfully simple: the
lower the feelings of fear (low affective filter), the higher the chances of
learning.
One famous Filipino who exemplifies the lack of fear of English is boxer
Manny Pacquiao. I have observed with delight how Pacquiao, in his post-fight
interviews, confidently and effortlessly churns out so-called “carabao” English
to share his joy over his victories. Pacquiao does not fear Barrera or Morales

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 Essay — Fearing English in the Philippines

or Marquez. Why on earth should he fear English?

Seventeen year old Janina San Miguel was crowned Bb. Pilipinas World
(Miss Philippines World) 2008 despite her “funny” English during the
pageant’s Q&A session. Janina’s experience proves that personal successes
need not be dependent on proficiency in English. Why fear English then?
From a purely linguistic standpoint, all languages are equally perfect and
complete. This means that there really is no reason to fear English. Nothing in
the sound system or writing system of English makes it superior to other
languages. Conversely, nothing in the sound system or writing system of the
national and local languages in the Philippines makes these languages inferior
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to English. It is the Filipinos’ attitude towards English that elevates the

language to a prestige form. It is this same attitude that makes it difficult for
most Filipinos to learn it.
Another reason why English should not be feared is that the language is
not owned by one country or one race, as many Filipinos believe. The profile
of English today reveals that ownership of the language is already shared
across continents and cultures. In international English Language Teaching
(ELT) circles, academics do not talk about English in singular terms anymore.
There is widespread recognition that Englishes exist—American English,
British English, Australian English, but also Malaysian English, Singapore
English, and yes, Philippine English. In addition, “non-native” speakers of
English are beginning to outnumber “native” speakers in the world today.
Fear of English in the Philippines may be traced to myths about languages
in my country. The first set of myths has to do with English itself. There is a
prevailing belief that if you don’t know English, you simply don’t know! This
myth is evident in Filipinos who laugh at those who do not speak English with
native-like fluency and accuracy, in school heads who will not hire a teacher
because he or she has a strong Ilocano accent, and in teachers who give low
marks to students with subject-verb agreement or preposition errors in their
compositions. These teachers overlook depth of insight or evidence of critical
thinking in the students’ writings. The link between intelligence and English
language proficiency is very flimsy. In this world, you will find intelligent
people who cannot speak a word of English, as well as not-so-smart ones who
are native speakers of the language.
Another misconception about English is that the language cures all
economic ailments. This is evident in persistent efforts of lawmakers to make
English the sole medium of instruction in the elementary and high school

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 Asian Englishes, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2008

levels. The goal is to produce English-proficient graduates for contact centers,

hospitals and medical transcription offices, never mind if these graduates are
unthinking products of the schools. This belief that English brings in the
money is also evident in most contact center training programs, which
overemphasize proficiency in the language, while sacrificing the agents’ ability
to manage culture-diverse environments. Working in a contact center is very
demanding. The ability to speak like an American will certainly not ensure
excellent performance in the contact center jobs.
That some Filipinos aspire to native-like proficiency in English is
symptomatic of another misconception about the language. This aspiration
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points to the myth that there is only one kind of English language in this world;
and that is, Standard American English. What many do not know is that World
Englishes exist, and Philippine English is just one among these many
Englishes.
In 1969, Teodoro Llamzon, the first president of the Linguistic Society of
the Philippines, already wrote about this in his trailblazing “Standard Filipino
English.” In 1996, at De La Salle University-Manila, a conference on the
theme “English is an Asian Language” reintroduced this idea of English as a
Philippine language. It was at this conference that poet Gemino Abad proudly
declared that the Filipinos have “colonized the English language!”
And then there is the myth that English and Filipino are languages in
opposition to each other. This is evident in those who insist that English should
be totally removed from basic education. Nationalism always seems to be
associated with the Filipino language, as if one cannot express one’s love of
country in English or in the local languages.
Finally, the most dangerous of all myths is the belief that there is no place
for the local languages in basic education. This is evident in the existence of
the Bilingual Education Policy, as well as in the persistent efforts of lawmakers
to pass house bills in favor of English only. In public schools across the
Philippines, teachers have already been using the local languages (as known as
first language or mother tongue, which includes English and Tagalog in the
cities) in teaching basic concepts to schoolchildren. No amount of legislation
can remove the first languages from their natural settings, which to my mind
include the schools.
To be sure, English occupies an important place in Philippine society. But
it is only one language among the 150 that exist today. It is believed that most
Filipinos speak at least three different languages. For these Filipinos, English

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might not even be one of the languages they speak. So when English is first
introduced to them, it should be introduced slowly and gently, with much
respect for their first languages.
Teaching and learning English in the Philippines may be a difficult task,
but it need not be a frightening experience. So much has already been spent on
testing the proficiency of teachers and then training these teachers to become
more proficient in the language. But simply focusing on testing and training,
without recognizing the multilingual context of teaching and learning English
in the Philippines, only reinforces fear of the language.
Stakeholders of language education in the Philippines must reflect on their
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policies and practices so that Filipinos will finally regard their languages,
including English, not with fear, but with confidence and pride.

Isabel Pefianco MARTIN

Katipunan Avenue
Loyala Heights
Quezon City 1108
Philippines

E-mail: m.martin@ateneo.edu

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