POUR OUT YOUR MIND IN ENGLISH

How Much of a Problem is Our English Proficiency?
By Tonybau

For many of us, the state of education in a country speaks volumes. Where English is spoken and taught as a second language, fluency is deemed a basic requirement for proper communication and propagation of ideas and connotes success. Does this fluency actually translate to a country's economic success and overall standing in the world of nations?

Back when American influence on teachers was still strong in the 1950s, I recall instances where all of us, pupils then, were required to speak English in English class or be fined five centavos per instance of speaking in Ilocano, a major dialect of northern Philippines. Five centavos then was a hefty sum. Tagalog, now Filipino, was not commonly in use at the time. Each one of us would try to catch anyone who committed the "sin" and report it to a classmate assigned to collect the fines who, in turn, would submit the list of offenders to the teacher. We never asked where those collections went. Teachers were the bosses and their word was law. No one questioned them. They stood on pedestals and we looked up to them with much respect. Teaching was a very respectable profession.

Looking back, I now realize that our teachers in elementary and high school, then spoke or at least taught us proper English and with much enthusiasm. Perhaps my siblings and I had the added advantage of being raised by parents who happened to be a teachers. Several of their brothers and sisters were graduates of the Philippine Normal School. Books we used were brought in by the American teachers and ministers--from readers, to hymnals, to almanacs. There were practically no Filipino authors that we knew of. American influence gave us a decided advantage over our Asian neighbors. The country enjoyed a privileged status in the region as a consequence of this. 

In Silliman University in Dumaguete city, a school founded by the Americans in 1901, English was the lingua franca on campus and maybe of the country at the time. Our English teachers and those who handled other subjects, spoke English well, taught us well, to say the least, and  I am personally grateful to all of those dedicated teachers who had touched my life and left their lasting legacy.

An instance in medical school showed a glaring example of English deterioration. An instructor, while lecturing, got distracted by some classmates who were giggling. Irate at the distraction, he called their attention and gave a stern admonition, "I don't want to happen it again!" You can imagine how much more eyebrow-raising and giggles ensued after the incident.

For a while, a short teaching stint in two medical schools, one after the other, in the early 80s, further  showed how much English usage had deteriorated. This was where I noticed that our students were severely English-challenged. Grammar was often mangled and students could hardly express themselves or write their ideas down in a manner deserving of a medical professional-to-be. Initially, I exercised diligence in correcting grammatical errors in the hope that they would, at least, learn correct English from me. Soon, I gave up in frustration.

Post-graduate trainees and other medical professionals showed similar problems. I wondered where things were going. If even supposedly well-known lecturers, medical and non-medical, and many other professionals, including teachers and media people, were suffering from the malady, could the students they taught or the people they communicated with, be far behind? I believe that the disease has gone beyond control and has become an epidemic of worrying proportions, a national problem.

Should it be a problem? Many from our neighboring ASEAN countries could hardly speak English and yet, economically, they have surpassed us. Koreans realize this and they send their students over to the Philippines hoping to learn the language, or the kind of English that is being taught over here. Korea's economy is way beyond ours. The same is true with Japan. What this seems to tells us is that good English is not necessary for success or economic upliftment. As long as one can communicate what he or she intends to and is understood, correct English or not, then the job is done. Why worry about English?

Is this where we are going? Is this what we want? How much of a problem or a headache has this become, or should we even consider this a problem? Will our success as a country depend on how we speak English?

Your thoughts, please.

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