Language commissioner slams law vs mother tongue use in early education

PANGASINAN, Philippines – Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF) Commissioner Melchor Orpilla has raised concern over a new law which scraps the mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction for early education.

The law, Republic Act 12027, ended the required use of the mother tongue for teaching kindergarten up to 3rd grade pupils, making its use in monolingual classes optional.

Lapsed into law on October 10, it amended Sections 4 and 5 of Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.

Orpilla, KWK commissioner for the Pangasinan language, warned that the new law would lead to a dangerous shift, fearing it could lead to the extinction of regional languages, which are key to preserving cultural identity. 

“This is a step backward,” Orpilla said. “Let us not let our languages die. It is part of our identity. If a language dies, so does our identity.” 

The Pangasinan teacher, historian, and translator said mother-tongue-based education, while criticized, has shown clear benefits. 

“May matinding dagok ito, especially sa mga dying languages. Kapag ginamit na pantulong o auxiliary, mababawasan ang tingin ng mga tao sa halaga ng wika. Kung ganon, bakit pa nila aaralin? Tatalikuran na nila ang katutubong wika kasi hindi binigyan ng halaga, yamang hindi ito magagamit sa paaralan o trabaho,” he told local broadcaster Aksyon Radyo Pangasinan.

(This is a heavy blow, especially for dying languages. Once a language is used as an ‘auxiliary,’ people will see less value in learning and using it. They will eventually abandon their native language since it won’t be useful in school or work.)

This will, in turn, result in the erasure of their ethnolinguistic identity over time as languages die out, he said.

‘Mother tongue is effective’

Orpilla maintained that teaching through the mother tongue has always been effective.

“It is a primordial need for people to use their native language,” he said.

He said teaching using the mother tongue has proven effective not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.

He cited a study titled Mother Tongue Instruction in Lubuagan – A Case Study from the Philippines, written by Stephen L. Walter (GIAL) and Diane Dekker (SIL International), which appeared in the International Review of Education’s special issue on multilingual education.

The study was conducted in Lubuagan, a municipality in Kalinga province, where around 12,000 people live. It shows that students taught using their native language, Lilibuagen, during their formative years understood concepts better, resulting in a 40% improvement in educational outcomes.

“The Lubuagan MLE program teaches the Filipino and English languages through the mother tongue, rather than through immersion,” the study notes.

Did MTB-MLE fail?

While some claim that the Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program failed, Orpilla disagrees, arguing that the issue lies not in the language or the program itself but in its implementation.

“There are other ethnolinguistic groups who have not coped well. The problem lies in implementation. Hindi ready ang ilang mga paaralan dito (Some schools were not ready for it); it doesn’t mean the program itself failed,” he said. 

In Pangasinan, Orpilla and other advocates have worked with the Department of Education (DepEd) and educational institutions to develop lexicons, learning materials, and even a Pangasinan orthography.

Legal remedies

As part of an advocacy, Orpilla said he and several others would file a petition in court against certain provisions of the new law.

One matter they plan to raise is whether the cessation of MTB-MLE violates students’ rights to basic education.

The law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) are yet to be developed, and Orpilla said that the KWF might collaborate with the DepEd in drafting the IRR.

“We will be drafting the IRR with a heavy heart,” he said. 

The DepEd in Region I said it was still awaiting official guidance from its central office regarding the discontinuation of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction.

In a recent forum hosted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the DepEd clarified that the status quo would remain until the IRR is released.

Despite the ongoing implementation, DepEd-Region I Chief Education Supervisor Arlene Niro said they would act on the matter after the IRR has been released. – Rappler.com