Legal Foundations of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education: A Historical Review

Michael Carlo C. VillasLeyte Normal UniversityTacloban City

Two issues on language in the Philippines

1.What language or languages should be our national language/s?

2.What language/s should we use as a medium of instruction?

Language Provisions in the Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987: A Brief Account

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1897 Provisional Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

Article VIII: “El Tagalog sera la lengua official de la Republic.” (Tagalog shall be the official language of the Republic.)

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1898 Malolos Constitution

Article XCIII: The use of the languages spoken in the Philippines is optional. It can only be regulated by law, and solely as regards acts of public authorities and judicial affairs. For these acts, the Spanish language shall be used for the present.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1935 Constitution of the First Republic

Article XIII Section 3: The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and adoption of a common national language based on one of the existing languages. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Spanish shall continue as official languages.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1943 Constitution, Japanese Occupation

Article IX Section 2: The government should take steps toward the development and propagation of Tagalog as the national language.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1973 Constitution

Article XV Section 3: The National Assembly shall take steps toward the development and formal adoption of a common national language to be known as Filipino. Until otherwise provided by law, English and Pilipino shall be the official language.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

1987 Constitution

Article XIV Sec.6. The national language of the Philippines is Filipino. As it evolves, it shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages. Subject to provisions of law and as the Congress may deem appropriate, the Government shall take steps to initiate and sustain the use of Filipino as a medium of official communication and as language of instruction in the educational system.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

Sec.7. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English. The regional languages are the auxiliary official languages in the region and shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis.

Sec.8. This Constitution shall be promulgated in Filipino and English and shall be translated into major regional languages, Arabic and Spanish.

The Philippine Constitution, 1897-1987

Sec. 9. The Congress shall establish a national language commission composed of representatives of various regions and disciplines which shall undertake, coordinate, and promote researches for the development, propagation, and preservation of the Filipino and other languages.

Point of Reflection

From the 1897 to 1987 Constitution, one can observe an increasing awareness of and sensitivity towards the multilingual, multicultural milieu of the Philippines. What implications do this movement to recognizing multilingualism have to Philippine education?

The Medium of Instruction Debate within the EducationSector, 1863-2010

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-2010

1863

Spain made free elementary education compulsory for all natives of the Philippines, with Spanish as the sole medium of instruction.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-2009

1901

The United States ordered the teaching of mother tongues in all public and private schools, though it was unclear if they were to be the primary languages of instruction.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101902

The United States changed its language policy and made English the sole language of instruction in all schools at all levels.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101943

Japan made Tagalog and English languages of instruction, with Japanese taught as a separate language.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101946

The Department of Education made English the sole language of instruction, with Tagalog as a compulsory subject.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101959

Education Secretary Jose Romero changed the name of Tagalog to Pilipino, in what turned out to be an unsuccessful attempt to make the regional language more acceptable to non-Tagalogs.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101970

The Department of Education ordered the use of Pilipino as the sole language of instruction starting Grade 1, progressing to the higher grades one level per year, until the end of college. It also ordered the immediate use of Pilipino as the language of instruction in the tertiary level subjects on Rizal and Philippine history. At the time, colleges and universities were still under the Department.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101973

The Department of Education ordered the use of three languages of instruction—the mother tongue for Grades 1 and 2, Pilipino for Grades 3 and 4, and Pilipino and English for secondary and tertiary levels.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-2010

1974

The Department of Education implemented a Bilingual Education Policy (BEP), making Pilipino the language of instruction for all subjects other than English, Mathematics, and Science.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101991

Complying with the Constitution, Congress adopted the recommendation by its Educational Commission (EDCOM) to make Filipino the language of instruction for all levels (including college), except for English language subjects. Congress mandated that Filipino should be the sole language of instruction by 2000, but that obviously did not happen.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101996

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) issued CHED Memorandum Order 59 or the “New General Education Curriculum” (GEC). It provides that the two basic literature subjects may be taught in any language, including the mother tongue, and that all the humanities (except English) and social sciences subjects should preferably be taught in Filipino.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20101999

Department of Education Secretary Andrew Gonzalez, FSC, started the Lingua Franca Education Program (LFEP), which mandated the use of Cebuano, Ilocano, and Tagalog as the sole language of instruction for the first three grades in pilot schools. These languages were used because they were and are the three most spoken languages (the three lingua francas) in the country.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20102000

The Presidential Commission on Educational Reforms (PCER) recommended the use of the lingua franca or the mother tongue as the sole medium of instruction for first grade in all schools.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20102001

Isagani Cruz, DepEd Senior Undersecretary for Programs and Projects, increased the number of mother tongues to be used in the first three grades of the LFEP. Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Capampangan, Pangasinan, Maranao, and Tausug were added as lingua francas and the number of pilot schools were also increased.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-20102007

DepEd ordered all public schools (not just pilot or selected) to use the mother tongue for the first three grades.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-2010

2008

The LFEP was expanded into a “Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Project” (MTBMLE), with more schools identified as pilot schools.

The Medium of Instruction Debate, 1863-2010

2009

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus issued Department Order No. 74, s. 2009, otherwise known as “Institutionalizing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MLE).”

References

Cruz, I. (2010). Mother tongue education. In Nolasco, R.M.D., Datar, F.A., and Azurin, A.M. (Eds.). Starting where the children are: A collection of essays on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education and language issues in the Philippines. (pp. 48-51). Quezon City, PH: 170+ Talaytayan MLE Inc.

Dacudao, J.P. (2010). Constitutional provisions on language in the Philippines: Implications and recommendations. Paper presented in the 1st Philippine Conference-Workshop on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education. Cagayan de Oro, PH: 170+ Talaytayan MLE Inc. and Defenders of the Indigenous Languages of the Archipelago.

Faelnar, M.L.G. and Soriano, J.P. (2010). The impact of government policies on the indigenous languages of the Philippines. Paper presented in the 1st Philippine Conference-Workshop on Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education. Cagayan de Oro, PH: 170+ Talaytayan MLE Inc. and DILA Philippines Foundation, Inc.