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     We Filipino are one of the luckiest people in the world, because of the God given knowledge, talent and skills. We are competent in different aspects like in sports, arts, sciences, education, inventions of modern technology and even beauty and brains, so we are very proud to be a Filipino. Aside from that we Filipinos are English speakers, we both speak and understand the second language. This is true because the teachers before used English as a medium of instructions but as of now, because of the shortage of English competent teachers, our country has been surpassed by the other countries. Our competent teachers go abroad for the salary here is not enough to sustain for their needs. They go to United States, China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries to apply their knowledge, and skills in the field of teaching English. Now, what will happen to our country? To the Filipinos? They became poor in English language because public schools or even private schools are also lack of English teachers.

    Yes, our country offers English as one of the subjects from primary to tertiary level in different educational institutions. Sad to say that many Filipinos can’t speak, write or understand English, especially those people who belong to the lower class.

It’s high time that the government fully restored English as a medium of instruction in public schools. Other countries realized many years ago the advantage that English proficiency gives to their citizens an embarked on aggressive programs to develop their English skills. The reverse happened in the Philippines, with English scrapped two decades ago as a medium of instruction and replaced with the national language that is not conversational Filipino. The result was deterioration in proficiency in both English and Filipino. Now, the department of education which has a new hewed secretary Jesli Lapus has vowed to restore English as a medium of instruction.

    There’s one big problem here: the acute lack of qualified English teachers. Even private schools suffer from the shortage of competent teachers. The best have left for countries including the United States, where teachers can get up to ten times more than what they can hope to receive in exclusive private school in the Philippines. The chronic lack of funds for education is preventing the government from hiring more English teachers. Even many private schools cannot compete with teachers’ salaries overseas. Progress has been slow; it will take years before the slide in English proficiency can be reverse. Even the government gives more emphasis on the English teaching so that Filipino teachers will not go abroad and apply their English skills in our own country. But it does not mean to neglect efforts to promote the development of a national language. It is not late to develop genuine bilingualism.

written by admin