Filipinos relearn English from Peace Corps volunteers
By Allison Lopez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:23:00 06/11/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Using songs she herself had written, a 25-year-old American Peace Corps volunteer is teaching high school students how to speak good English.
“Oh, they’re not that great,” she says, playing down her compositions. “It’s not anything that amazing, just mainly conjugations,” says the volunteer, identified here as “Melissa” as the US agency had requested that names of the volunteers and their Filipino counterparts be withheld.
The Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines say they are simply serving as “catalysts” in the combined effort by the government, the private sector and international agencies to improve an ailing public education system. Specifically, they say they are devising ways with Filipino counterparts to improve the country’s proficiency in English, its second language.
They are picking off, as it were, where the “Thomasites” left at the advent of half a century of American colonial rule. The Thomasites refer to the 500 American teachers who came to Manila aboard the transport ship Thomas in 1901 to establish the country’s basic education system and teach Filipinos how to speak English.
“English proficiency is what the Philippines would like to maintain as an advantage. So obviously that is a key point here in our education program,” says Peace Corps program and training officer Kavita Pullapilly.
The agency, which is supported by the US government, began here in 1961. Since then, more than 8,000 volunteers have been deployed across the country to work with local communities in various fields, including education, agri-forestry, water sanitation, solid waste management and fisheries.
Currently, 132 volunteers are on a “refocused” program that addresses areas of concern identified by the Philippine government, including English and information technology and development programs for disadvantaged youths.
2 brains better than 1
In July 2007, the Peace Corps agreed in a project with the Department of Education to “co-teach” with Filipinos, meaning they work as partners.
“Our first day in class I felt very much awkward because the language I might be saying might be wrong,” says “Carla,” Melissa’s Filipino counterpart in a high school in Batangas province. “But as the days go by, it became easier having a partner because we spend a lot of time together, thinking of different activities that we’re going to give to the students.”
Two brains, after all, are better than one. By creating lesson plans together, the two teachers work hand-in-hand in developing what may be the best module their students could have.
There’s no rivalry as they take turns teaching in front—one leads, while the other assists and holds the fort. The Filipino teacher takes care of the pedagogical part of the lesson, but the volunteers bring it a step further through games, songs, contests or whatever method they choose.
It’s an unusual setup, but Pullapilly says it has so far worked to everyone’s advantage, especially since it lowered the teacher-student ratio and increased interaction. “The way Peace Corps works is that we are always working in collaboration,” she says.
Imperative sentences
“Francis,” a 24-year-old volunteer assigned to a Mindoro high school, took his students to a basketball court, where they played an ingenious game to learn about imperative sentences or commands.
Each group, which had eight students, chose a player who would then be blindfolded. The goal? For the blindfolded shooter to make the basket—despite the obstacles that were set up—using only his team’s instructions as guide.
“They have to give him imperative sentences to make it to the goal. Like turn left, jump, turn right. So that was one activity that was really successful. We do a lot of games, songs as well. It’s good, it’s really effective,” Francis says.
Using various ways of teaching, Melissa says, is necessary to get both attention and retention, especially since classes are usually huge. In some areas, a classroom holds as much as around 50 pupils.
“If we need to learn something, we just try to think of the most interesting way to learn it in different ways because we all learn differently,” she says. She refers to the songs she had composed as an example.
Group presentations
Group work and presentations also make students more confident in speaking straight English, says “John,” a 25-year-old Californian volunteer in Palawan province.
“A lot of students are afraid to speak up or if they’re put on the spot, if you ask them a question, they’re very afraid to speak. So I really try to focus on group activities to actually get them to practice speaking in English so they’re more confident of their English skills and they also have the support of their peers,” he says.
The unconventional methods, says Carla, have resulted in a marked improvement—10 to 12 percent—in last year’s National Achievement Test in English.
The volunteers believe they have produced better English speakers, but Melissa and Francis claim that their students still need to work on understanding what they’re reading.
“Reading comprehension is one of the difficulties I’ve encountered. They can pronounce words and read in English, but they don’t necessarily understand or put it all together,” he says. Forming a book club is his answer to this issue.
Language camps
Aside from creating designated all-English zones on campus, the Peace Corps has organized two-week language camps for under-served areas, like Mindanao. There, participants begin as “insecure” speakers but end up joking with their American teachers in fluent English.
The volunteers stay only for two years, but Pullapilly says the limited time was really just to start the ball rolling for public schools that need assistance. The idea is to promote habits or projects that will sustain the school’s development.
“They’re an additional asset for schools with limited resources,” she says.
The American volunteers point out that their Filipino counterparts are just as capable if not more than capable.
“All other teachers in our English department are incredibly well-rounded and capable,” Francis says.
“I’m just here as a catalyst to push things along for a couple of years to help them find a way that they can start some projects and sustain them even when I’m gone.”
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