by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
Having one’s dialect as a first language, Filipino as the national language, and English as the official medium of instruction in formal education, a Filipino student is no longer new to multilingualism. Multilingualism is defined by Wikipedia as “the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers.”
In most private schools, English is strictly used for general subjects, except Filipino and Sibika or Araling Panlipunan (social studies). While immersed in the curriculum, students have to study the English language, that’s why they also have English subjects like literature.
But, aside from the English language, there are schools in Davao City where students are only compelled to learn English, but also Japanese as at the Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku and Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai, and Arabic like at the Al Munawwara Islamic School.
Japanese
The first Japanese-run school in the country, the Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku (Kokusai means international, while Daigaku means college or university), requires its students to take up 21 units of the Japanese language and studies. It has produced the most number of passers in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), one of the requirements to be hired by Japanese multinational companies.
Since 2003, it has been consistently winning in the National Nihongo Speech Contest in Manila. It bagged the first place in the open division every year since 2005 to date.
Mindanao Kokusai Daigaku offers courses which are of relevance in Japanese-run companies operating in the Philippines and Japan. Most of their graduates are assigned to the human resource department, and who are also duty-bound to teach co-workers to speak Japanese. Some are interpreters of Japanese businessmen who come to the Philippines to transact business, while others are Japanese language teachers in local schools.
Contrary to the notion that only Japanese descendants and pure Japanese study in this school, as well as at the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai (a sister company which offers primary and secondary education), it also caters to native-born Filipinos and foreigners, like Koreans and Americans.
Students at the Philippine Nikkei Jin Kai are required to take up at least 30 minutes of Japanese language classes daily. Its faculty members, including those teaching general subjects, are required to join Japanese classes. Both teachers and students will take the JPLT after taking up specific units recommended per level of proficiency. Classes for higher level in Japanese language proficiency are taught by Japanese teachers.
Arabic
Learning the Arabic language is like learning to pray where Muslims are concerned. Not only are their prayers in Arabic, but everything else that they have to learn about their history and religion. Cultural preservation, one essence of education, is part of the purpose of madrasah (Arabic word for school) or madaris (its plural form) to produce intellectuals among Muslims.
Aiming to provide an Islamic education which is “authentic and appropriate for the Bangsa Moro population,” the Department of Education (DepEd) issued Order No. 51, series of 2004. Under this, the formulation of a standard curriculum for public and private madaris were facilitated by the DepEd in consultation with other concerned associations.
Thus, the Al Munawwara Islamic School (AMIS) is the pilot school in Davao City following the standard madrasah curriculum as prescribed by the DepEd. With an integrated curriculum, religious values are incorporated in secular subjects. Hence, there are classes in the Arabic language and studies.
In kindergarten, children experience immersion and familiarization with the Arabic language. In grades three to six, the use of the native or first language in the classroom decreases until the monolingual stage—or fully Arabic.
AMIS also has an intensive learning of Qur’an (the Holy Book of Islam) for two years for students seven years old and over. Those who are already good in articulating and memorizing their prayers can become imam (Arabic for prayer leader) and they can even be as young as nine years old.
Issues against multilingualism in language learning remain debatable among linguists. But, this is not a question for the schools mentioned earlier. They have proven to be the best schools in the Philippine education system producing intellectuals, professionals and useful citizens in the country today.
