A Report byCHRISTINE JOANNE LIBRERO-DESACADOPhD Student in English2nd Semester, January 31, 2015

a.Introduction g. The Importance of Reading

b. Accommodation Varieties of English

h. Use of the First Language in 2L Teaching/Learning

c. Nationalism and Other Important ‘Realities’

i. The Teacher and Her Education

d. Problem of Separation of Codes: The Mixing of Pilipino and English

j. Supportive Institutions in 2L,CC Acquisition

e. Strategies in the Acquisition of CC in a 2L Role of the Schools

f. Literature, Grammar (Structure)

1985. In Communicative Language TeachingBikram K.Das, EditorRELC Anthology Series No.14 pp.106-119Singapore: University of Singapore Press

INTRODUCTION

The most important, goals of language teaching, especially that of second language (2L) teaching is that of communicative competence

(CC)

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCEThe ability of the user of the 2L inand out of the schoolroom and actual life situations that callfor the use of 2L (Widdowson 1977, Strevens

1977, Littlewood 1981 ).

Communicative competenceThe attainment of various levels and types of CC

Most of the literature on 2L teaching

and learning including those on teaching for communication or the acquisition of CC deal with methods, procedures/techniques, the nature of language, structural and functional views of language, the applications of linguistic, psychological, and sometimes sociological findings in the teaching of a 2L.

Important points of CC (not as extensively discussed in the literature)

(i)Accommodation Variety Implications of accepting a 2L or non-native variety of English

(ii)Important shifts in thinking among people and other realities such as those of nationalism, development of national languages and their effects on 2L

(iii)Teacher training(iv)Supportive institutions(v)Some views on the relative importance

of grammar, literature, content subjects, and that of reading and writing

not“Interference varieties”1L interfering with 2LTwo languages have accommodated each other

2L speaker accommodated certain English intonational patterns

Satisfy the international standard criterion

Intonation takes a national character

Acceptance of Native speakers of non-native varieties

Satisfy the international standard criterion

Intonation takes a national character

Acceptance of Native speakers of non-native varieties

Difficulties of with using first language (British English or American English)

(i)It may clash head-on with many feelings including those of nationalism

(ii)It may revive certain memories that have to do with colonial past

(iii)We would ignore the educated non-native variety which has characteristics that are acceptable and do no violence to English

(iv)It is practically impossible to get native speaker models for large 2L learning populations

Consequences in adapting the educated 2L variety

(i)We must undertake both rigorous linguistic and pedagogical descriptions of 2L variety

(ii)Make separate description of the syntax (grammar, sentence structure )

Accepting an educated 2L variety as a model for teaching and learning the 2L imposes on the 2L that will be less and less like the original language which was adopted( Prator 1968)

A program for the acquisition of communicative competence in a 2L must take into account shifts in national aspirations and values especially those that are related to language.

Issues which cannot be ignored:

(i)The shift in emphasis to the national language puts the 2L in a position where it no longer enjoys the loyalties that people attached to it in the past

(ii)The time devoted to the 2L for its acquisition

(iii)The finances devoted to its propagation

(iv)The language domains in which it was formerly used are reduced

Basis of Bilingual Education Program Goal of the government “that the Filipino shall

be competent to communicate in both English and Pilipino”

English as language of instruction in Science and Mathematics subjects

Pilipino in the Social Sciences and others (Sibayan 1978a)

In assigning English for teaching, two languages would be kept as separate codes. This goal has not been achieved , however especially in schools where Tagalog is the native language.

Basis of Bilingual Education Program The two languages have not been kept

apart, which has resulted in a mixture of the two languages now known as Taglish (Bautista 1980, Sibayan 1983)

Code switching deteriorated and the children do not know “good” Pilipino either thus making them incompetent in both languages.

Those in charge of the development of Pilipino are not worried about the spread of the mixture.

Schools are partners of society to accomplish many of the goals of the society.

The teaching and learning of a 2L for intranational and international purposes revolve around school programs and depends on many factors.

LITERATURE, GRAMMAR (Structure)

Teaching of English as a 2L should not be dominated by the use of literary pieces. It should extend in teaching English for Science and Technology (EST) and English for Special Purposes (ESP).

It is the duty of the subject to teach the language neede to learn the content of the subject being taught.

In an environment where 2L is used of intranational purposes, the ability to READ is more important than the ability to speak.

Reading is the one single tool that enables the learner to continue learning in the 2L.

More time and effort should be devoted to reading in the 2L to get a feel of the cohesion (Widdowson

1978) of the passages and to learn usage. E.g. content subjects, ESP and technology plus the application of what is read.

Second Language learning now emerges as a process and a task which for its further improvement requires an ever-deepening knowledge of its three elements : the mind of the learner , the nature of the learner, and the skill of the teachers (Strevens, 1977:11)

Another important element is the support of the society, considering the rapidly growing discipline of sociolinguistics. This promises exciting studies in bilingual education, multilingualism, language identity,language and nationalism, language and socioeconomic development, the politics of langauge, the language of protest, etc.

Knowledge of the mentioned elements are needed for a greater understanding of how a people and a nation may improve the teaching, use, and related programs involving a 2L.

More studies are required and non-school institutions like mass communication media-radio, television, the movies, the theater, newspapers, magazines, even the comics are encouraged in the acquisition of CC in the 2L.*

II.ENGLISH AND PILIPINO IN SCIENCE TEACHING AND

LEARNING: SOME THEORETICAL AND

PRAGMATIC CONSIDERATIONS1983. In Science Teaching in the Philippines

Marie S. Fernandez, EditorDiliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press

pp.43-49.reprinted with permission

The Teacher of Science Common Practice in Philippine SchoolsEnglish or language teacher to teach

language or English so that science or mathematics or physics teacher may be able to teach science or math or physics

It is not the duty of the English teacher or English Department to teach English so that pupils may know their biology or physics or mathematics

The duty of the English teacher is to teach students good poetry, good essays , good novels, good plays, etc., and of course, write. But it is not her duty to correct papers in chemistry, in physics, in biology, etc. That is not her field of scholarship.

A good paper in chemistry can be taught and judge only by the teacher of chemistry, not by the English teacher.

Points :Every area of knowledge or discipline

has its own way of using a language .

It is the subject teacher who has to teach the language of his subject matter.

Science and Language“Science is mainly linguistic.”-Berlo

Most of the procedures of science are linguistic, They seek the construction of reality through the development of true and valid propositions…The scientist communicates in order to affect his environment. In order to do so, he makes observations, he makes inferences (both deductive and inductive), and he makes judgments.

The scientist’s basic purpose is the reduction

of uncertainty, the development of structure.

(Berlo 1960:274)

What this means therefore is that unless the scientist is proficient in language , he would not be able to state his observations correctly and precisely;he would not be able to explain well;and worse, he cannot predict events. He has to do all these using language.

The Language of ScienceTwo Characteristics :(i)That vocabulary items and expressions have more precise and specific meanings that say, those of poetry, and are understood in the same way by those who have to study and learn in that science e.g.,there is a language of physics

The Language of ScienceTwo Characteristics :(ii)That the language of science has a traditionwhich means that it can be learned because it is systematized through usage and tradition.

The Language of ScienceA prime requirement of scientific findings is that they shay be communicable to others. Anyone who learns any particular branch of science has to learn the usages and traditions of the use of science.

The Language of ScienceTwo ways of transmitting knowledge:

(i)Oral speech or word of mouth(ii)WritingIt is obvious that to really learn science and to do it

through the language of that science is to know the accumulated knowledge through the written form.

Pilipino and English and ScienceMost of the scientific literature in the Philippines and

in Philippine life today are available in English. Except for bits of information, Pilipino does not have this literature. Scientists in all fields still have to start a tradition of communicating findings in science, past, present, and future, through Pilipino.

Which means that, in order for Pilipino to be usable as the language of science two things need to be done :

(i)Translate definitive scientific treatises into Pilipino and

(ii) Publish original research in Pilipino.

Both are difficult and expensive undertakings.

Return to English as the Sole Medium of Instruction in the Schools

The idea of returning to English as the sole medium of instruction in the schools which advocated by some people including a number of educators will not only be a terrible mistake; it is no guarantee that English will automatically make the learning of science or any of the other subjects.

The Filipino Classroom Teacher and Change in Programs

Real honest to goodness science in Philippine schools should be participated by everyone : teachers, students, parents, supervisors, administrators, those in government and the general public-mass communication media must support the learning of English well, if we have to have a bilingual policy.*

Introduction There is no problem that is vexing and loaded with emotion and conflicting interests as the language problem. The desire of each individual to use his native language, national aspirations for a unifying language , the stress upon English for economic, scientific, and other pursuits, the desire of a few to perpetuate Spanish, and the basic right of the people to share in the decision as to the language they will use – all these compound the difficulty.-Problems and Progress of the Public educational system of the Philippines in 1960

The Filipinos today wants to be proficient in English so that he may be able to participate fully in the pursuit of his scientific, economic, and world activity contracts. But the time is not far when the average Filipino will be embarrassed unless he knows the national language. At the same time he must know his native tongue so that, he may be able to express his intimate longings with his own people.

Most important problems of bilingual education :

1.The difficulty of visualizing or defining the functions of each language used in school2.The difficulty of deciding when to make the introduction, transition, and /or cut off point of the various languages in the schools3.The problem of low level achievement in school subjects4.The problem if divided linguistic allegiance or the problem which takes the shape of “Should we teach Filipinos to speak like Americans?”5.The problem of language mixture

The Difficulty of Visualizing or Defining the Functions of Languages in SchoolEnglish is used among other reasons because it is the language that is used in government, science, commerce, and industry. It is the principal language used in the newspapers. It is the chief means od getting an education. Tagalog is taught as the basis of the national language which is called Pilipino. And Spanish is required in college because some think that Filipino should know his past and his cultural link with Spain.

The Difficulty of Visualizing or Defining the Functions of Languages in School

The lack of a tradition of resistance to bilingualism or multilingualism in the country (most Filipinos are bilingual in two Philippine languages) has resulted in the indifference to the use of several languages in the schools.

The Difficulty of Deciding the entry, Transition, and Cut-off PointsThe survey team (1960) recommended that only one second language should be introduced at a time. Many people think that the introduction of the two second languages at the same time is confusing to the child. Entry and Cut off point problems:1.When should reading be introduced in the teaching of English;2.When should English be introduced as the medium of classroom instruction

The Problem of Divided Linguistic Allegiance or Should we teach Filipinos to Speak like Americans?It is ofcourse not possible to make Filipinos speak like Americans. If English spoken by Filipinos is understood by other Filipinos, that should be good enough.The Problem of Language Mixture“The ideal bilingual,” according to Weinrich, “switches from one language to the other according to appropriate changes in the speech situation (interlocutors, topics,etc.), but not in an unchanged speech situation, and certainly not within a single sentence.The problems of bilingualism in the Philippines stem from our desire to have three separate yet integrated identities: the desire to belong to a particular Philippine group, and the desire to belong to the Filipino nation with Pilipino; and the desire to belong to the world with English.*