English teaching in the Philippines has depreciated. English profiency and literacy now is declining. The role of three languages namely, the English, Filipino and the Vernacular or the ordinary spoken language rather than the literary language play an important role in Philippine social life. English is used principally for internal purposes or it serves chiefly as an International language. For some context where English is a second language, it is use in different communication context such as for Intrapersonal, Impersonal, Interpersonal.
Reading and writing are skills embedded in a social context. In this setting, Literacy is also defined by the social institutions people participate in and the specific environment and context involved. Literacy emanates from the claim that there are actually different worlds of literacy according to how people manifest distinct experiences of and purposes for reading and writing. It may be defined also by the social institutions people participate in and the specific environment and context involved.
Insights
In light of all these facts about literacy, I still have a strong hope for language teaching in the Philippines to take giant leap towards excellence. Literacy managers especially officials of DECS, Education Commission, Commission on Higher Education need to take a standpoint on the language policy to be implanted in all levels of school whether in public or private schools. If I am in one of the place of literacy managers, I will formulate a plan to better execute pedagogical ways in the development of communicative competence. Starting from the basic topics that will interest the community students, I will addressed in various survival-skills; English as a second language or ESL books and community classes. Apparently, these books are not easily applicable to the real level of learners, for example, if I show a book to a student that talk about how to communicate at work but not taking the extra step of applying that vocabulary and information to the lives and situations of the students in a meaningful way. For me, learning in that situation is a matter of waste. As a Scholastican, I study in a community where leaders and good followers are born out of. On a personal note, I articulate my skills not just by reading and writing but also in the area of applying all of these to my daily life and opening myself to different possible areas of communication where I, personally can apply my skill. I do not lock myself up in a wardrobe where I cannot express myself and develop sense of growth. We live in a world where people are holistically developed and evolving through their social encounters with the world. People gradually incorporate their learning especially of language and ethnographic study to the world. Therefore, individual participation plays a crucial role to a person’s learning as a whole. An example I feel most troubled about is the notion of standardized tests which address certain vocabulary and grammar skills but do not look at how to use those skills to accomplish tasks that learners, first and foremost, must perform on a daily basis. Instead of using those standardized tests, it would be of aid to use a guidebook perhaps. It will help teachers base lessons on the real-life needs of learners in a way that they can be applied to everyday tasks is needed.
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