Admit it, like everyone else who were supposed to know better, we laughed and snickered while browsing through the photos. This is the sad truth in our country these days. Sad because those photos are clear proofs of the fear that our English language skills have degenerated after taking so much pride of saying that we have some of the best English speakers in the world for a long time. Also sad, as our efforts to assist in resolving the concern largely revolved on making jokes about the English errors being committed. These errors were not just observed in one, two or three individuals but also in commercial establishments as well as various businesses. In Call Centers, for example, several errors have been observed. As a Quality Evaluator, other than ensuring that the agents follow the correct business process as required by the clients, I am also tasked with monitoring their communication skills. I wince every time I hear the agents pluralized the wrong words like ‘Stuffs,’ ‘Anyways’ and ‘Informations’. Or when they coupled an adjective + ‘er’ with ‘more’ such as ‘more harder’ and ‘more brighter’. Or when they exhaust the superlative rule by saying ‘most latest’. Or when ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’ are used in the same manner and thought as the same banana. Or the most common error of saying “fill up” the form instead of saying “fill out”. Or other words that evolved thanks to the Filipinism trend such as “irregardless,” “bottomless,” “It’s me,“ “Pin number” or “red color”.
And at a time when English is widely considered as an advantage in global competitiveness for any country, ours is slipping down the ladder. In fact, in the investment statement made by the US State Department, it specifically mentioned that “English language proficiency, while still better than in other Southeast Asian nations, is declining in the Philippines” whilst the others are catching up fast with the help of their government’s aggressive training programs and modules.
The question now, why is this happening? In order to answer the question, we have to consider several factors but to cite all of them will take too much of our time. We can, however, focus on the most obvious and most impacting factor - our schools.
The truth on the worsening caliber of English education is, a portion, rooted on bad English textbooks that are still being utilized. The users of the said textbooks, both teachers and students alike, are being fed with mostly erroneous information. Please take note that, as per the Department of Education, the approved textbooks are going to be recognized as the main source of information or knowledge. Because of this, the errors might possibly be acknowledged as acceptable or worst, considered correct since our supposedly reliable textbooks said so. The students who do not know any better or may have become uncertain of what they knew will then rely on the teachers for confirmation of understanding who are also going through the same dilemma.
Our teachers are, whether we admit the truth or not, the second sub-factor to the degradation of English of our students. But please take into account, that although teachers are vital contributors to the problem, they do not function as solitary contributors. We cannot simply note that they should be solely held accountable for process or system failures that affect their work. Some of these process or system failures are out of their control or have been handed down by their mentors such as low expectations for student performance, un-enforced standards of teachers, inadequate induction for beginning teachers, major flaws in teacher preparation, lack of professional development and rewards for knowledge and skills amongst others.
Let us look closer at ‘Low Expectations For Student Performance’ failure for instance which is deeply rooted on the concept of discrimination. Although discrimination is not as obvious as it was before, it still exists. It exists in our educational system that puts private schools in pedestals while public schools are left to fend for themselves or to put it lightly, to simply resort to resourcefulness. It exists between sections that are grouped as Special or Node sections versus general sections. It exists amongst students who are labeled based on their grades in schools or talents that they showcase. And the common inclination is since ‘not much’ is expected from average or low performers then a ‘not much’ type of education will also be provided to the same individuals. Let us take my high school as an example. I graduated from a public school in Davao City, although the section I belonged in was nurtured and well cared for by the school’s partnership with DOST, the other students in that same school were not so lucky. I was witness to the type of education that my schoolmates were getting. Other than not having actual classrooms, they (often than always) did not have teachers. Since most of the time they did not have classes, the students tend to go elsewhere and by elsewhere, I meant anywhere but within the vicinity of the school. However, if the teachers bothered showing up to conduct a class on rare occasions, the quality of education was only a quarter of what the students from the special or node classes were getting. Up to this day, I can still remember one particular conversation that I had with one of the teachers (no need to mention his name) when I interrupted his class because he specifically instructed me to call him once the beauty pageant started as he wanted to be there when his bet initially introduced herself. (Caution: Dabawenos neither speak straight Bisaya nor straight Tagalog. It is what the Chinese people refer to as the ‘chopseuy’ of dialects.)
Den at 14: Sir, excuse me, magsa-start na ang pageant.
Teacher: Ay, ay! Sige sabay ako sayo pagbalik dun.
Den at 14: Nyeh…eh pano yung class.
Teacher: Ako na bahala. Dalhin mo ang tape para sa talent portion ni (____).
Den at 14: Si Sir talaga…magsugo pa jud.
Teacher: Huwag ka ng magreklamo. (Turned around to talk to his class) Okay class, read chapter 8. We will have a test tomorrow.
Den at 14: (said nothing)
Teacher: O, bakit? Sus, hayaan mo na yung klase gud. Ganun din, either di makagradweyt ang mga yan o maging tambay o adik. At yung mga babae, mabuntis ng sayo kaya sayang lang din ang effort diba.
My teacher was just one out of 8 teachers in the school who I remembered making similar comments out in the open. And I am quite certain that there were other teachers who may have thought or felt the same way, only they were discrete enough to keep their opinions to themselves.
Or let us take ‘Un-enforced Standards of Teachers’ as another instance. The problem with the supposed standards (or lack thereof) today is, its vulnerability to politics and shift of priorities of the Board. And although our Board has developed certain standards for teacher education, licensing and professional development, it has not maintained the standards and/or maybe the same standards did not appropriately adapt to the changes in our society. It is necessary to acknowledge this realization and place the burden on the Board as it is presumed that the Board is the ‘conscience’ of the teaching profession because it is the governing body that develops and enforces ethical codes as well as technical standards for practice. Fixing the process failure attached to un-enforced standards is then the Board’s responsibility and in order to resolve it, they should develop common standards, high quality assessments and reciprocity agreements that will allow and help our teachers command comparable yet highly accomplished skills that will reflect on the positive type of education given to our students.
How will the recommendation be beneficial? First, the standards that will be set by the Board will bring the teachers’ expertise to a higher level since the improvement process will then be more focused and will be applied in a steadier fashion, which meant that it will be coupled with continuous updates and re-evaluations in light of the growing professional need. Second, the maintenance and improvement of such standards will allow the creation of a more coherent system that will be followed by all. Lastly, it will then encourage the teachers to work towards excellence.
What we need to understand about standards is its primary purpose. Standards exist in order to keep everything in line; hence, the status quo will be maintained or developed and never degraded. But because such standards are often not enforced in our educational institutions, the movement will always be towards mediocrity that is susceptible to exploration and constant changes which will only be an advantage to a few and not to everyone concerned.
The last factor, but as significant as the first two sub-factors discussed, is the growing trend on Intelligibility. Although there is no argument with considering Intelligibility as the most practical approach, it still does not justify the fact that in settling for Intelligibility, we are somehow, again, settling for mediocrity. The idea, “it is enough that you are understood” is a difficult concept for me to digest. Is it really enough to be understood? Is our expertise limited to a certain bracket only? Or better yet, is “Intelligibility” strong enough to defend our teachers when they are criticized by their students despite of successfully getting the lessons accross? The answer to all is NO. It is never enough that we stop once we are understood as it is human nature to aim for something higher. Our levels of expertise are boundless if we give ourselves the chance. And “Intelligibility” is not strong enough to be utilized as arms to linguistic wars with other nations or in simpler scenarios, it is not strong enough to fully prepare our children for globalization-in-full-throttle. Let us consider some examples. A call center agent is inclined towards pre-judicial impressions from both the business client and the customers as soon as his ‘Philippine English’ is detected. Even though his grammar was spotless and there was a probability that he will be able to resolve the customer’s concern in a clear and concise manner, the Filipino accent will often be the bane to his scope of work. A Filipina Guest Relations Officer who has been working in the same hotel 5 years will be bypassed despite of her experience, skill and knowledge since the chosen applicant spoke better English. An English Teacher who was mocked by her students because she mispronounced the simple word “refer” will possibly still get an opportunity to redeem herself on her next classes, however, she will be required to double her efforts in order to earn her students’ trust and respect again.
My strong dissatisfaction with the trend on Intelligibility in most schools is derived from dense excuses that I have heard people use in order to justify their level of English skills.
Excuse #1: “This is our way of imprinting our distinct Filipino personality on the English language.”
Why is there a need to show our distinct Filipino personality on the English language when it is something that we do not own in the first place? Just as Cebuanos are sick and tired of hearing us, Dabawenos, say “adto diri” when we specifically meant “anhi diri”, I am quite certain that Native English speakers are also sick and tired of hearing the English language being mutilated. And if we really wanted to promote our culture and supposed distinctness, we can always do so in other countless ways unless of course if we ran out ideas which I believe is quite impossible for the Filipino people.
Excuse #2: “The goal is to be understood and that is all there is.”
Why does the goal stop in being understood? Isn’t our ultimate goal to cultivate communication? If we chose the latter then how can we expect the person we are conversing with to interact when he is burdened with disinterest and disrespect, that sometimes border on doubt, after we have spoken? In my experience at a BPO Company, I have high expectations for those who hold managerial positions. Can you just imagine my dismay when I was introduced to a Senior Team Leader whose English grammar was all over the place and most of the words that came out of her mouth were pronounced incorrectly? My thoughts then were, “You got to that position with that kind of English?” and “What will the clients think?” since I was worried that the Clients might get the impression that all employees in our company talked the same way as she did. There was no doubt that I understood what she was trying to relay but the manner as to how she was relaying her thoughts was the barrier in the interaction. Up to this day, I still doubt her capabilities and the process of how she was hired.
Excuse #3: “We are too old for ‘perfection’, thus, the bamboo has grown into a narra tree” or “Perfection is impossible!”
This notion is clearly a sign of laziness. Unless you have a speech defect that is attributed to physical deformities such as a cleft palate or worst, laryngeal cancer, then there is no reason for you not to be able to use the language the same way as Native Speakers can. Aren’t words created because we have learned to utilize sounds based on the formation, movement and placement of our mouth, tongue, teeth, etc? Do we not have the same vocal, audio and nasal organs as them? If yes, then why should we limit our capabilities to a certain bracket only? Learning or speaking the language is not a talent that only a few privileged individuals are gifted with. In fact, it is a skill that is taught and one that requires constant practice and determination; thus, something that can be improved through time. Anyone can achieve the native speaker’s accent if they would only try harder. I will cite an acquaintance as an example to make my point more convincing. Michelle, who I met overseas, used to work as a waitress at a restaurant in Bahrain. Her ultimate goal was to be a Flight Attendant so she always asked to be tutored on her English usage and accent. I was able to observe and monitor her improvement. Her English then was what we commonly refer to as ‘Philippine English’ (or what foreigners referred to as Carabao English) but with practice and sheer dedication, her English improved. On her third attempt of application at Gulf Air, she finally got the job. When I went to Dubai last year, I set up a meeting with her and guess what, her English was even better. If not for her Filipino features, she will probably be mistaken as an American. In addition to that, when I arrived at Costa Cafe, she was talking to a fellow Flight Attendant and they were talking in French! I can’t claim that I know the French language that well to say that her French was also excellent but judging from how fast and how confident she was in using the language to a Native French Speaker, I will assume that she has mastered that language too.
Excuse #4: “This is what we learned while growing up.”
The best thing about growing old is you are not caged within one environment only. As you grow older, you move from one environment to another and your network of connections expand. You don’t just rely on your family for information and knowledge anymore, you also have the schools that you attend to, friends and teachers to learn from and subsequently co-workers as well as acquaintances to compare, learn and re-learn facts and data with. The area for improvement is without bounds and we have the option to save and discard whatever knowledge we prefer. Likened to my friend Michelle who was mentioned in Excuse #3, we too can move out of our old shell so we can move to a better one which will provide us a bigger room to grow. It just boils down to one word - choice. Do you choose Intelligibility or do you choose Perfection?
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