Pilipino or English in Science Learning? The Case of Bilingual Education in the Philippines.

Autor/in	Alvarez, Anicia A.
Titel	Pilipino or English in Science Learning? The Case of Bilingual Education in the Philippines.
Quelle	(1991), (18 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Bilingual Education; Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Language of Instruction; Native Speakers; Official Languages; Science Instruction; Tagalog; Translation; Uncommonly Taught Languages; Philippines + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bilingual teaching; Bilingualer Unterricht; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Ausland; Teaching language; Unterrichtssprache; Muttersprachler; Office language; Amtssprache; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht; Minderheitensprache; Philippinen
Abstract	Despite long-standing provisions in three Philippine constitutions naming Filipino as the national language, there has been no serious effort to implement the use of Pilipino in the Philippine educational system. Pilipino is based mainly on Tagalog, but is also a blend of words taken from English, Spanish, Arabic, Tamil, and Chinese. A 1973 bilingual policy allowed teachers to use Pilipino in social science subjects and English in science and mathematics subjects due to the difficulty of translating some technical terms. Bilingual education was defined as the separate use of Pilipino and English as media of instruction in definite subjects and the use of the vernacular of the locality as the auxiliary medium of instruction. Implementation of this policy seems to have resulted in the deterioration of achievement results in English, science, and mathematics. Proponents of teaching science in English cite three major reasons for its continued use: it is tested and viable, it is economical, and it is universal. Opponents suggest that science can be taught effectively using the native language and that using English as the language of instruction benefits only the elite. Several studies are cited that are not conclusive but that suggest the difficulty in formulating a single educational policy flexible enough for a country like the Philippines where the vernacular seems to influence the learning of subjects like science. It is concluded that the first language of children is necessary for learning science. Contains 10 references. (LB)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC