Say it in English, please!

If the results of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) National Achievement Test (NAT) held last year for senior High School students were to be used as a barometer for the skills level of today’s students, then the Filipino’s vaunted edge in English is fast becoming a thing of the past!

 

This after only 18% of incoming High School students who took the diagnostic exams passed the competency level for English, with a passing grade pegged at just 34% for more than half of the examinees. It was also found out that only 2% (20,000 from among 956,000) of students who took the test got a grade of 75% or higher, with the average score of more than half of the examinees hovering below 30%; with 50 points being the cut-off mark, which is still way below the “mastery level” of 75% for English. On the other hand, only four out of every ten incoming Grade four pupils have developed skills and competencies in English reading comprehension while the other six are still in the stage of developing the same skills. The tests were based on the school’s full competencies in English, Math and Science to determine the student’s readiness for high school and college, respectively.

 

Given this scenario, STI, the largest network of colleges in the Philippines today, has decided to undertake measures meant to address such a need with the implementation of a pioneering effort designed to enhance the English-speaking skills and competence level of today’s learners. To improve the English language proficiency skills of its students, STI has envisioned a need to create a culture in its colleges where everyone may be given an opportunity to communicate using the English language. Once they get used to speaking in English, STI believes that Filipino students will be able to gain more confidence, spontaneity and fluency.

 

Dubbed “Operation: Spoken English Environment Program” (OSEEP), the program was implemented in selected schools and is slated to be rolled out starting school year 2005-2006 across the education institution’s more than 100 colleges and affiliate campuses nationwide as well as in some parts of Asia like Vietnam and Indonesia. Under the program, each school shall be designated as “Speak English-only ” zones, with the students and teachers being required to speak and express themselves in English; except in subjects that are being taught in Filipino, during counseling sessions, or in case of emergencies. The OSEEP espouses the principle of Dewey’s ‘learning by doing’ and holds as a key value the importance of people learning to speak by speaking and learning to write by writing.

 

Everyone at STI -- from students, teachers, academic heads and deans of colleges -- shall be asked to help ensure that the policy is enforced “at all times”, with the teachers encouraging students to use every opportunity to practice their English while in class or while taking part in school functions. On the other hand, the students themselves shall be encouraged to politely remind fellow students to “Say it in English, please”.

 

Prior to its implementation, STI has chosen two colleges as pilot schools where initial training was conducted to determine the scope of work that may be required to make an impact. From May to June 2004, 4-day seminar workshops on “Basic Communication and Language Proficiency Skills” were conducted by the Communication Arts Research Department, headed by Ms. Fe Ongchangco Aquino, at STI’s main office and the two pilot schools. Select members from STI’s academic team composed of managers, deans, teachers, students and staff were invited to attend the seminar dubbed the “OSEEP Seminar-Workshop”. Each group consisted of around 30 participants. Based on their knowledge level and skills mastery, members were assigned a program --Beginning, Intermediate or Advanced during the workshop.

 

The workshop yielded positive results that the STI Board of Directors has decided to bat for the program’s full implementation starting school year 2005-2006, with all of STI’s Academic Heads nationwide being encouraged to start helping redirect the students’ learning curve, particularly in terms of mastery of the English language. Through OSEEP, a student’s employability could be enhanced, with his progress monitored by way of a stepladder-type of learning starting from pre-assessment, training and modeling of the learning environment to feedbacking, mentoring and measuring of the outputs through application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation tests. A post-assessment or performance indicator may also be gleaned from the teachers’ appraisal and the best works/portfolio assessment compiled in a developmental process.

 

Finally, the OSEEP program may also be considered as the answer to the government’s call for strengthening the use of the English language as a medium of instruction to help improve the Filipinos’ literacy in English. In an excerpt from her directive to the Department of Education (DepEd), as contained in DepEd Memo No. 189, the President declared: “Therefore, until Congress enacts a law mandating Filipino as the language of instruction, I am directing the Department of Education to return English as the primary medium of instruction, provided some subjects are still taught in Filipino.” She added, “…Our English literacy, our aptitude and skills give us a competitive edge in information and communication technology. We must improve our English literacy, which we are fast losing. I am thus directing DepEd to reverse this decline.”

 

When implemented in tandem with STI’s E2E (Enrollment to Employment) program -- a unique human resource value chain that allows STI students to get applicable education, job market skills, job preparedness and assistance in job placement -- the OSEEP is an important tool that can finally help develop students to become globally competitive professionals.