This proposition has been a debate among a number of educators and leaders in various sects of the Philippine archipelago. The negative side asserted that English should be taught at an early age in order for one to compete globally as it is the universal language. English proficiency among the Filipinos has been declining; hence, it would deteriorate more if MTB-MLE be fully implemented. However, the affirmative side vehemently contended that a learner who was taught in his mother tongue at the earlier stages of education performs better academically as supported by many local and international researches. One research from Malaysia revealed that their National Achievement Rate began to rise again since they implemented the MTB-MLE program. The Philippines used to have high achievement rate several decades ago during the implementation of the lingua franca. It began to decline when our educational system adopted the bilingual instruction or the use of English as the medium of instruction along with the mother language.
The issue now is no longer focused on the Filipino’s deteriorating English proficiency but on the Philippine’s low achievement rate. The proponents of the MTB-MLE (Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education) program insist that bilingual education has brought such negative impact to the performance of the Filipino learners in achievement tests. If only the learners are given the opportunity to use their mother tongue at the early stages in school, they could have performed better because they could freely express their thoughts without inhibitions. They later may become more confident of themselves and may compete globally in the education context because they were raised with a very strong foundation during their formative years. With our present educational system, the Filipino graduates could hardly stand out at par with foreign professionals due to the lack of number of years in the academe aside from having been reared with the colonial mentality. Thus, MTB-MLE defies the language barrier among young Filipino learners.
If I will have the chance to be one of the key personalities in the higher office who runs the Philippine educational system, I will really intensify the implementation of the MTB-MLE advocacy because I understand how beneficial it would be for the Filipino learners. The teachers in grades 1 to 3 should be properly screened by a special screening committee. An empowered monitoring team should be formed in order to ensure that the said program has been efficiently implemented in all schools of the country.
A new way of national evaluation will be given among the grade three pupils in preparation for the shift to the bilingual instruction in the fourth grade. The national government should allot adequate funds for the Department of Education to defray the expenditures for the reproduction of instructional materials and textbooks which is aligned to the MTB-MLE program. The NCIP should be given additional responsibility with regards to upholding the quality of education in the regional context. This educational innovation would not be easy. Truly, it takes the entire village to educate a child!
