As an infant develops, concern is put solely on his or her ability to communicate. Through simple gestures, parents are constantly on the lookout for progress. Do baby’s hands begin to point to the milk indicating that she is hungry or thirsty? When do they truly call out for Mommy and Daddy instead of repeated mumblings? This is a benchmark for most parents in the area of verbal development. Language mostly notwithstanding, focus is put on effectiveness and not aptitude. Later on however, competency in language becomes a priority.
Living in a bilingual atmosphere can seem complicated to many, made especially confusing by making English the standard for higher tier schools, while Filipino, the local dialect widely spoken socially, leading to what we call “Taglish” or what is in reality broken English and Filipino hashed together. It’s not wrong for a household to commit to using one language, as long as they teach young ones to speak it well. The other language can be learned or picked up from peers, hopefully achieving equal fluency of both.
However, there is no denying the advantages of the English language on the growing mind, being spoken throughout the world for many practical purposes. That doesn’t mean that Filipino is an inferior language, but since English is used largely as a medium of instruction in schools, it becomes a priority, with many households already speaking or adapting it, hence the prevalence of an English speaking environment for many children. This leaves most Filipino speakers to group among themselves and the English, not shared.
Pundits may call English speakers “un-nationalistic”, forgetting that Jose Rizal himself was a polyglot, with some reports citing he was fluent in eleven languages and a few more dialects. How can one be a great ambassador to his country, in any given field, without being able to express himself in a key language? How can one push forward in his or her chosen field in this country with only knowledge of Filipino?
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If you are in a situation when your child can not cope up with his English speaking peers, you must take the initiative. Even in a Filipino-speaking home, you can get creative. Here’s how:
• Have a grammatically correct “English hour” daily.
• Expose him or her to many educational English shows on TV or on the web.
• Mandate a “one book per week” policy, naturally within the child’s ability. Make sure as well to have a little chat about the books or programs after to enhance verbal communication.
• Older kids can be urged to write short stories. As you talk, comment and correct along the way.
Whatever you do, make sure that Taglish is not allowed, and proper grammar is used. At the early stages of the learning environment, English fluency is highly useful for proper understanding of subjects taught and read. An English speaking child does have more solid academic fundamentals.
Conversely, Filipino or your dialect should not be ignored. The Society for Neuroscience (sfn.org) published in September 2008, that bilingual individuals have these advantages:
•A better understanding of how the brain organizes speech and communication tasks.
• Greater insight into how specific types of brain activity may prevent or delay dementia and other age related cognitive problems.
• More targeted and effective therapies for helping bilingual individuals recover their communication skills after a brain injury.
This brings us to another point: it is not “funny’ when a child fumbles when he attempts to take on the vernacular. Instead of laughing at the “cuteness” of a three year old asking yaya for a “basang tubig” (basong tubig), gently correct the youngster to lay the foundations for linguistic balance. The idea is to grab a solid foothold on English before proceeding to Filipino, which is technically easier to learn and widely spoken.
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To close, sharing precious, updated and very unique insights is Mrs. Maria Elena Ahorro, Associate Professor of Bicol University, a registered guidance counselor, currently taking her doctorate degree for guidance counseling at Philippine Normal University.
Professor Ahorro, In your experience, is language a barrier for proper socialization for preschool children?
In a way, language can be a barrier for proper socialization among preschool children but let us also keep in mind that children can communicate in other ways, especially during playtime. Verbal language may not transpire during this situation but children are still able to play and understand each other. This can easily be seen in play centers in the mall or even in the playground. Children do not exchange pleasantries or basic information about each other but they are still able to enjoy each other’s company.
In an academic setting, is it truly beneficial for children to be able to communicate effectively in English?
Communicating in the English language in school is highly relative. What kind of school are we referring to? If these are the Montessori type of curriculum and the teachers' lessons are really prepared in English then it is really advantageous if the child speaks the language. But if we are referring to Day Care centers or other public schools wherein the medium of instruction is in Filipino, then having an English speaking pupil may not really be an advantage. In fact, this coming school year, for all the public schools in the Philippines, the mother tongue will be used as the main medium of instruction in Grade 1 (see “DepEd sees noisier, rowdier Grade 1 classes” by Tarra Quismundo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, published January 21, 2012) So definitely, with this new curriculum, an English speaking child may be left out if he or she is not well versed with the vernacular language.
Do Filipino-speaking students eventually keep up with English speaking teachers and peers, even if English is not spoken at home?
Yes, children can still excel in class even if they are not trained to speak in English at home. It will really depend on the teaching strategy of the teachers. Children can easily adjust to any language, it is just a matter of how they are taught. A child has a retentive memory thus he or she can easily grasp the information given to him/her, it is just a matter of how it is given.
On the other hand, are there also many cases in your experience where English speaking children under nine years of age have trouble learning Filipino? Does this weigh greater on parents or the school?
There might be some difficulty in adapting the language, especially if the parents are not supportive. As the saying goes, "it takes two to tango." It is not just the sole responsibility of the school but also the parents to teach the child to speak in Filipino, unless the parents are foreigners. There could be confusion for the child if Filipino is never used in the house. Let us face it - there may be Filipino parents who do not have a high regard for the use of the native language.
There will be no difficulty if the child uses both English and Filipino. Maybe it is really high time that we promote the use of our native tongue among the young. If we look at other countries in Southeast Asia, they may not be as eloquent as Filipinos but they are more economically progressive than us.
Smart Parenting Online thanks Professor Ahorro for this exclusive interview.
Photo by tadolo via flickr creative commons
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