MANILA, Philippines?In a major policy shift, the Department of Education (DepEd) has decided to use the students? local dialect?not English or Filipino?as the language of instruction in preschool and all elementary grades.

In an order signed on July 14, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said ?Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MLE)? should be gradually institutionalized as a ?fundamental educational policy? for the country?s public and private schools from preschool to Grade VI.

The new directive replaces the more than three-decade-old ?bilingual policy? or the use of both English and Filipino as the medium of instruction.

Lapus said there was a preponderance of evidence to show that students learn to read and write more quickly when initially taught in a language they already understand. Studies show it also helps increase comprehension and makes it easier for students to acquire specific competencies?such as in Mathematics and Science, as well as in second or third languages like English and Filipino.

?The lessons and findings of various local initiatives and international studies in basic education have validated the superiority of the use of the learner?s mother tongue or first language in improving learning outcomes and promoting Education for All,? Lapus said.

A DepEd study in the Mimaropa region (Region IV-B) validated the observation that top performing countries in Mathematics and Science were those that taught and tested students in Math and Science in their own language. (The Mimaropa region is composed of the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.)

Take a stand

Education reformers have long called on the DepEd to take a stand and adopt the MLE instead of giving Congress and Malacañang a free reign in determining the language of instruction for basic education.

?DepEd Order No. 74 mandates the gradual integration of the MLE in all subject areas and in all grade levels in elementary,? said DepEd Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya.

Currently, the mother tongue of students is supposed to be the language of instruction for the first three years of elementary education but the lack of instruction materials in local dialects has hampered this, a situation the order hopes to address.

Lapus has ordered all DepEd regional directors and superintendents to encourage their school communities and local government units to support the new mother-tongue based policy.

Region-specific schemes

Recognizing the numerous languages and dialects in the country, Lapus ordered them to formulate ?region-specific schemes? to institutionalize the MLE immediately.

Under the old ?bilingual policy? instituted by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1974, subjects like Social Studies, Values Education, Home Economics, and Physical Education were taught in Filipino while the rest were taught in English.

Lapuz?s ?multilingual policy? challenges pending proposals in Congress to return to English as a medium of instruction, ostensibly to realign Philippine schools to globalization demands.

Lapuz said pupils who have learned to read and write in their first language learn to speak, read and write in a second and third language more quickly. This was consistent, he said, with the research and recommendations of the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA).