EEd Spec 314 Content and
Pedagogy in the
Mother Tongue
Chapter 1
Lesson 1: Concept clarification: Mother tongue, MTB-MLE, Language policy
official and national languages, language of instruction
Lesson
2:
Theories,
Rationale
Developmental learning theories
Language Policies in the Philippines
and
Evidence
supporting
MTB-MLE
Lesson 1: Concept clarification: Mother tongue, MTB-MLE, Language policy
official and national languages, language of instruction
Introduction: This chapter will provide you the necessary knowledge in MTB-MLE—
especially its background and how it was implemented in the K-12 curriculum.
Moreover, this chapter of your module will equip you with additional learning on our
national languages and how these languages used in instruction.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter students will be able to:
a. Define key concepts in MTBMLE
b. Identify the national and official languages in the Philippines
c. Discuss cultural rootedness as one of the reasons behind the use of mother
tongue
Learning Content

Mother tongue, MTB-MLE, Language policy, official and national languages,
language of instruction
Teaching and Learning Activities
BASIC TERMINOLOGIES

Mother-Tongue- means one’s native language, the language learned by
children and passed from one generation to the next

Language- is the expression of ideas by means of speech sounds combined
into words.
o L1 – 1st Language
o L2 – 2nd Language

Bilingual- the use of two languages.

Multilingual- the use of two or more languages.

Diversity- the inclusion of different types of people in a group.

Literacy- the ability to read and write.
K-12 curriculum is a big leap towards educative vision of the Philippine
Government— to be globally aligned with other countries when it comes to the
number of years in the Basic Education. K-12 curriculum has six (6) salient
features:
1. Strengthening Early Childhood Education (Universal Kindergarten)
2. Making the Curriculum Relevant to Learners (Contextualization and Enhancement)
3. Ensuring Integrated and Seamless Learning (Spiral Progression);
4. Gearing Up for the Future (Senior High School)
5. Nurturing the Holistically Developed Filipino (College and Livelihood Readiness, let
Century Skills)
6. Highlight, Building Proficiency through Language (Mother Tongue-Based
Multilingual Education).
The introduction of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in
the Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2 and 3 made a change in the Basic Education
Curriculum, in support with the goal: “Every Child-A-Reader and A-Writer.”
First-language-first is the primary goal of MTB-MLE, it is meant to address
illiteracy of Filipinos and language plays a significant factor.
There are local and international researches that suggest that children learn to
read, write, and speak faster when they use their L1 (First language) and eventually
grasp a second and or third language easily if taught in L1. It is the same in
acquiring competencies specifically in Science and Math. Because of these, the
Department of Education (DepEd) recognized the advantages of teaching children
utilizing their first language.
DepEd instituted MTB-MLE through Department Order 94, having the following
major languages as medium of instruction in 2012-2013: Tagalog; Kapampangan;
Pangasinense;
Iloko;
Bikolano
;
Cebuano;
Hiligaynon;
Waray;
Tausug;
Maguinadanaoan; Maranao; Chabacano, Ivatan; Sambal; Akianon; Kinaray-a, Yakan,
and Sinurigaonon.
In region 2 Ilokano still is the dominant native language being spoken by the
majority followed by Ibanag which is known to be the Lingua Franca of Cagayan
Valley. Originally, Ibanag is excluded from the original languages as a medium of
instruction for MTB-MLE. However, because of the initiative of the former Vice
President Binay, Ibanag was included. The pilot implementation of the Mother
Tongue-Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) program of the Department of
Education (DepEd) using Ibanag as the medium of instruction started in around 34
public schools in Cagayan and Isabela. The said program rolled out in 15
municipalities and two cities—San Pablo, Cabagan, Tumauini, Santo Tomas, Santa
Maria, Gamu, Naguilian, Reina Mercedes and the City of Ilagan in Isabela, and
Pamplona, Abulug, Aparri, Camalaniugan, Lallo, Iguig, Solana and Tuguegarao City
in Cagayan.
ACTIVITY 1
DIRECTIONS: Create an infographics on how MTB-MLE helps in language acquisition of
children, you may use Canva.com or an application called Spark post or any other software you
wanted to use.
Lesson 2: Theories, Rationale and Evidence supporting MTB-MLE
Developmental learning theories
Learning outcomes:
a.
Explain
theories
relevant
to
MTB-MLE
b. Discuss journal articles providing empirical evidence for these theories
The 4 Stages of Cognitive Development
Background and Key Concepts of Piaget's Theory
Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move
through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on
understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the
nature of intelligence.
Piaget's stages are:

Sensorimotor stage: birth to 2 years

Preoperational stage: ages 2 to 7

Concrete operational stage: ages 7 to 11

Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up
Piaget believed that children take an active role in the learning process, acting much
like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about
the world. As kids interact with the world around them, they continually add new
knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas to
accommodate new information.
The Stages
Through his observations of his children, Piaget developed a stage theory of
intellectual development that included four distinct stages:
The Sensorimotor Stage
Ages: Birth to 2 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations

Children learn about the world through basic actions such as sucking,
grasping, looking, and listening

Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot be seen
(object permanence)

They are separate beings from the people and objects around them

They realize that their actions can cause things to happen in the world around
them
During this earliest stage of cognitive development, infants and toddlers acquire
knowledge through sensory experiences and manipulating objects. A child's entire
experience at the earliest period of this stage occurs through basic reflexes, senses,
and motor responses.
It is during the sensorimotor stage that children go through a period of dramatic
growth and learning. As kids interact with their environment, they are continually
making new discoveries about how the world works.
The cognitive development that occurs during this period takes place over a
relatively short period of time and involves a great deal of growth. Children not only
learn how to perform physical actions such as crawling and walking; they also learn
a great deal about language from the people with whom they interact. Piaget also
broke this stage down into a number of different substages. It is during the final
part of the sensorimotor stage that early representational thought emerges.
Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the
understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, was an
important element at this point of development.
By learning that objects are separate and distinct entities and that they have an
existence of their own outside of individual perception, children are then able to
begin to attach names and words to objects.
The Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive Development
The Preoperational Stage
Ages: 2 to 7 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:

Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to
represent objects.

Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see things from
the perspective of others.

While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still tend to
think about things in very concrete terms.
The foundations of language development may have been laid during the
previous stage, but it is the emergence of language that is one of the major
hallmarks of the preoperational stage of development.3
Children become much more skilled at pretend play during this stage of
development, yet continue to think very concretely about the world around them.
At this stage, kids learn through pretend play but still struggle with logic and
taking the point of view of other people. They also often struggle with understanding
the idea of constancy.
For example, a researcher might take a lump of clay, divide it into two equal
pieces, and then give a child the choice between two pieces of clay to play with. One
piece of clay is rolled into a compact ball while the other is smashed into a flat
pancake shape. Since the flat shape looks larger, the preoperational child will likely
choose that piece even though the two pieces are exactly the same size.
Preoperational Stage of Cognitive Development in Young Children
The Concrete Operational Stage
Ages: 7 to 11 Years
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes
During this stage, children begin to thinking logically about concrete events

They begin to understand the concept of conservation; that the amount of
liquid in a short, wide cup is equal to that in a tall, skinny glass, for example

Their thinking becomes more logical and organized, but still very concrete

Children begin using inductive logic, or reasoning from specific information to
a general principle
While children are still very concrete and literal in their thinking at this point in
development, they become much more adept at using logic.2 The egocentrism of
the previous stage begins to disappear as kids become better at thinking about how
other people might view a situation.
While thinking becomes much more logical during the concrete operational state,
it can also be very rigid. Kids at this point in development tend to struggle with
abstract and hypothetical concepts.
During this stage, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about
how other people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete operational stage also
begin to understand that their thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone
else necessarily shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
The Concrete Operational Stage in Cognitive Development
The Formal Operational Stage
Ages: 12 and Up
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
At this stage, the adolescent or young adult begins to think abstractly and reason
about hypothetical problems

Abstract thought emerges

Teens begin to think more about moral, philosophical, ethical, social, and
political issues that require theoretical and abstract reasoning

Begin to use deductive logic, or reasoning from a general principle to specific
information
The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use
deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.3 At this point, people
become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems and think more
scientifically about the world around them.
The ability to thinking about abstract ideas and situations is the key hallmark of
the formal operational stage of cognitive development. The ability to systematically
plan for the future and reason about hypothetical situations are also critical abilities
that emerge during this stage.
It is important to note that Piaget did not view children's intellectual development
as a quantitative process; that is, kids do not just add more information and
knowledge to their existing knowledge as they get older. Instead, Piaget suggested
that there is a qualitative change in how children think as they gradually process
through these four stages.4 A child at age 7 doesn't just have more information
about the world than he did at age 2; there is a fundamental change in how he
thinks about the world.
Piaget’s Theory is on assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation accommodation in Jean Piaget’s theory of language development
suggests that children use both assimilation and accommodation to learn language.

Assimilation- is the process of changing one's environment to place
information into an already existing schema or idea

Accommodation- is the process of changing one schema to adopt the new
environment especially in language position first
Schema Theory
General concept of schema theory, one of the cognitivist learning theories,
was firstly introduced in 1932 through the work of British psychologist Sir Frederic
Bartlett) (some suggest it was first introduced in 1926 by Jean Piaget) and was
further developed mostly in 1970s by American educational psychologist Richard
Anderson). Schema theory describes how knowledge is acquired, processed and
organized. The starting assumption of this theory is that “very act of comprehension
involves one’s knowledge of the world”4). According to this theory, knowledge is a
network of mental frames or cognitive constructs called schema (pl. schemata).
Schemata organize knowledge stored in the long-term memory.
What is schema theory?
The term schema is nowadays often used even outside cognitive psychology
and refers to a mental framework human use to represent and organize
remembered information. Schemata (“the building blocks of cognition”) present our
personal simplified view over reality derived from our experience and prior
knowledge, they enable us to recall, modify our behavior, concentrate attention on
key information), or try to predict most likely outcomes of events. According to
David Rumelhart).
“schemata can represent knowledge at all levels - from ideologies and
cultural truths to knowledge about the meaning of a particular word, to
knowledge about what patterns of excitations are associated with what
letters of the alphabet. We have schemata to represent all levels of our
experience, at all levels of abstraction. Finally, our schemata are our
knowledge. All of our generic knowledge is embedded in schemata.
Schemata also expand and change in time, due to acquisition of new
information, but deeply installed schemata are inert and slow in changing. This could
provide an explanation to why some people live with incorrect or inconsistent beliefs
rather than changing them. When new information is retrieved, if possible, it will be
assimilated into existing schema (ta) or related schema(ta) will be changed
(accommodated) in order to integrate the new information. For example: during
schooling process a child learns about mammals and develops corresponding
schema. When a child hears that a porpoise is a mammal as well, it first tries to fit it
into the mammal’s schema: it's warm-blooded, air-breathing, is born with hair and
gives live birth. Yet it lives in water unlike most mammals and so the mammal’s
schema has to be accommodated to fit in the new information.
Schema theory was partly influenced by unsuccessful attempts in the area of
artificial intelligence. Teaching a computer to read natural text or display other
human-like behavior was rather unsuccessful since it has shown that it is impossible
without quite an amount of information that was not directly included, but was
inherently present in humans. Research has shown that this inherent information
stored in form of schemata, for example:

content schema - prior knowledge about the topic of the text

formal schema - awareness of the structure of the text, and

language schema - knowledge of the vocabulary and relationships of the
words in text can cause easier or more difficult text comprehension,
depending on how developed the mentioned schemata are, and whether they
are successfully activated.
According to Brown, when reading a text, it alone does not carry the meaning a
reader attribute to it. The meaning is formed by the information and cultural and
emotional context the reader brings through his schemata more than by the text
itself. Text comprehension and retention therefore depend mostly on the schemata
the reader possesses, among which the content schema should be one of most
important, as suggested by Al-Issa).
What is the practical meaning of schema theory?
Schema theory emphasizes importance of general knowledge and concepts
that will help forming schemata. In educational process the task of teachers would
be to help learners to develop new schemata and establish connections between
them. Also, due to the importance of prior knowledge, teachers should make sure
that students have it.
“The schemata a person already possesses are a principal determiner of what
will be learned from a new text.”
Schema theory has been applied in various areas like:

Motor learning - schema theory was extended to schema theory of discrete
motor learning in 1975 by Richard Schmidt13). Wulf14) has shown that
developing a motor schema has resulted in better performance in children
when learning a motor task.

Reading comprehension - schema theory is often used to assist second
language learning since it often contains reading a lot of texts in the target
language. Failure to activate adequate schema when reading a text has
shown to result in bad comprehension15). Various methods have been
proposed for dealing with this issue16) including giving students texts in their
first language on certain topic about which they will later read in target
language.

Mathematical problem solving - Jitendra et al. conducted a research showing
that 3rd-graders taught to using schemata to solve mathematical problems
formulated in words performed better than their peers who were taught to
solve them in four steps (read and understand/plan to solve/solve/look back
and check)
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY (BANDURA)
Social Learning Theory, theorized by Albert Bandura, posits that people learn
from one another, via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory has often
been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it
encompasses attention, memory, and motivation.
Key Concepts
People learn through observing others’ behavior, attitudes, and outcomes of
those behaviors. “Most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling:
from observing others, one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and
on later occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action.”
(Bandura).Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous
reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, and environmental influences.
Necessary conditions for effective modeling

Attention — various factors increase or decrease the amount of attention
paid. Includes distinctiveness, affective valence, prevalence, complexity,
functional value. One’s characteristics (e.g. sensory capacities, arousal level,
perceptual set, past reinforcement) affect attention.

Retention — remembering what you paid attention to. Includes symbolic
coding, mental images, cognitive organization, symbolic rehearsal, motor
rehearsal

Reproduction — reproducing the image. Including physical capabilities, and
self-observation of reproduction.

Motivation — having a good reason to imitate. Includes motives such as past
(i.e. traditional behaviorism), promised (imagined incentives) and vicarious
(seeing and recalling the reinforced model)
Reciprocal Determinism
Bandura believed in “reciprocal determinism”, that is, the world and a
person’s behavior cause each other, while behaviorism essentially states that one’s
environment causes one’s behavior[2], Bandura, who was studying adolescent
aggression, found this too simplistic, and so in addition he suggested that behavior
causes environment as well[3]. Later, Bandura soon considered personality as an
interaction between three components: the environment, behavior, and one’s
psychological processes (one’s ability to entertain images in minds and language).
Social learning theory has sometimes been called a bridge between behaviorist and
cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and
motivation. The theory is related to Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and
Lave’s Situated Learning, which also emphasize the importance of social learning.
LET’S GO BEYOND WALLS
WATCH THIS: https://youtu.be/zerCK0lRjp8
THREE THEORIES ON BILINGUALISM
CUMMINS’ APPROACHES
GOALS
Review
theories
Apply theories to classroom
Theories
•
Common Underlying Proficiency
•
Threshold Theory
•
Developmental Interdependence Theory
on
bilingualism
COMMON UNDERLYING PROFICIENCY
•
Refers to what is commonly known as balance proficiencies, but takes it one
step further (Baker, 1997)
•
Language attributes are not apart in the cognitive system, but transfer readily
and are interactive.
•
Lessons learned in one language can readily transfer into the other language.
•
The Iceberg Analogy also known as Common Underlying Proficiency

Central Operating System is in charge of reading, writing, listening and
speaking skills

Separate Underlying Proficiency (SUP) vs. Common Underlying Proficiency
(CUP)
Parts
•
The thoughts that accompany talking, reading, writing and listening come
from the same central engine. There is on integrated source of thought.
•
People have the capacity to store easily many languages, and can also
function in many languages with ease.
•
Information processing skills and educational attainment may be developed
through two languages. Cognitive functioning and school achievement may
be fed through any channel, they feed from the same central processor
•
The language used in the classroom needs to be sufficiently well developed to
be able to process the cognitive challenges in the classroom.
•
Speaking, listening, reading or writing any of the languages helps the whole
cognitive system to develop. However, if made to operate in an insufficiently
developed language, the system will not function at its best.
Operating in a
poorly developed L2, will result in poor quality and quantity of what they learn
in complex curriculum materials. Oral and written form may appear weak and
impoverished.
•
When one or both languages are not functioning fully cognitive functioning
and academic performance may be negatively affected.
THRESHOLDS THEORY
•
First threshold is level to reach to avoid negative consequences of
bilingualism.
•
Second threshold is a level required to experience the possible benefits of
bilingualism.
•
•
•
Balanced Bilinguals
•
Age-appropriate competence in both languages
•
Positive cognitive advantages
Less Balanced Bilinguals
•
Age-appropriate competence in one language
•
Unlikely positive or negative advantages
Limited Bilinguals
•
Low levels of competence in both languages
•
Likely negative cognitive consequences
What are cognitive consequences?

Coping with curriculum materials

Processing information

Deductive reasoning

Metalinguistic awareness (analysis of linguistic knowledge and control of
linguistic processing)
Problems with theory
•
Defining level of language proficiency necessary to
•
avoid negative effects
•
obtain positive advantages
DEVELOPMENTAL INTERDEPENDENCE HYPOTHESIS

Suggests that child’s second language competence is partly dependent on the
level of competence already achieved in the first language

The more developed the first language, the easier it will be to develop a
second language.

When the first language is at a low stage of evolution, the more difficult the
achievement of bilingualism will be.
Language skills required for education
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

Context embedded

Comprehension

Speaking

Pronunciation

Vocabulary

Grammar
Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)





Context reduced
Analysis
Synthesis
Meanings
Creative Compositions
BICS/CALP
Limitations

Different dimensions to language

Moving from one dimension requires evolving, dynamic, interacting and
intricate, not a dichotomy

Lack of empirical support, difficult to operationalize

Terms BICS and CALP may oversimplify

Relationship between language development and cognitive development is
not simple. Other factors affect them.
BICS/CALP
•
Helps explain child failure in the schools.
Two Dimensions
1. Amount of contextual support available to a student
•
•
Context embedded Communication
•
Pointing to objects
•
Using the eyes
•
Head nods
•
Hand gestures
•
Intonation
Context reduced communication
•
Few cues to meaning transmitted
2. Level of cognitive demands required in communication
•
Cognitive demanding communication
•
•
Much information at a challenging level needs processing quickly
Cognitive undemanding communication
•
Person has the mastery of languages skills sufficient to enable
easy communication.
Quadrants
Q1
•
Surface fluency or basic interpersonal communication skills – BICS
•
L2 Develops independently from L1 surface fluency
•
Language that is cognitive and academically more advanced – CALP
•
Develops interdependent and can be promoted by either or both
Q4
languages.
LANGUAGE POLICIES IN THE PHILIPPINES
CLEMENCIA ESPIRITU, PH.D.
The Language provision in the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines which are embodied in Article XIV, Sec. 6 and 7 provide the legal basis
for the various language policies that are being implemented in the country.
The ratification of the above-mentioned constitution resolved the issue on what
the national language is, since the 1935 and 1973 Philippine Charters were not clear
about this.
The provision are as follows:
1. Section 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.
2. For purposes of communication and instruction, the official languages of the
Philippines are Filipino and, until otherwise provided by law, English.
The Philippine Bilingual Education Policy (BEP)
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.
Executive Order No. 335
On August 25, 1988, then President Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order No.
335 enjoining all departments/bureaus/offices/agencies/instrumentalities of the
government to take such steps as are necessary for the purpose of using the Filipino
language in official transactions, communications, and correspondence. The order
was issued on the belief that the use of Filipino in official transactions,
communications and correspondence in government offices will result to a greater
understanding and appreciation of government programs, projects and activities
throughout the country, thereby serving as an instrument of unity and peace for
national progress.
All departments/bureaus/offices/agencies/instrumentalities of the government
are enjoined to do the following:
1. Take steps to enhance the use of Filipino in official communications, transactions
and correspondence in their respective offices, whether national or local;
2. Assign one or more personnel, as maybe necessary, in every office to take charge
of communications and correspondence written in Filipino;
3. Translate into Filipino names of offices, buildings, public edifices, and signboards
of all offices, divisions or its instrumentalities, and if so desired, imprint below in
smaller letters the English text;
4. Filipinize the “Oath of Office” for government officials and personnel;
5. Make as part of the training programs for personnel development in each office
the proficiency in the use of Filipino in official communications and correspondence.
The
Commission
on
the
Filipino
Language,
formerly
Institute
of
Philippine/National Language, is ordered to formulate and implement programs and
projects for the full and effective implementation of the objectives expressed in the
Executive Order.
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 known 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.
Courses in the Humanities and Social Sciences should preferably be taught in
Filipino.