A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.

152 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES There was constantly heard the monotone of Filipinized English in formal oral repetition of the words of "readers." There was almost total neglect of silent reading. The Commission is, therefore, of the opinion that the relatively greater paucity of the reading curriculum is the chief cause of the early slowing down of the reading abilities of Filipino children. No other result could be expected. FIVE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE LANGUAGE PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN MEASURED, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY 1. The ability to speak English. 2. The ability to understand spoken English. 3. The ability to spell. 4. The ability to recognize correctness and incorrectness in written English. 5. The ability to express ideas constructively in English. I. THE SPEAKING OF ENGLISH BY FILIPINO SCHOOL CHILDREN The Difficult Situation Confronting the Bureau of Education in Attempting to Develop Spoken English in the Islands It was pointed out earlier in this chapter that the educational situation in the Philippines is essentially a foreign language one. To the schools has been entrusted the task of training a whole generation to read, speak, and write English. The success of the attempt to teach Filipinos to read English has been canvassed in the foregoing pages. What may be said of the task of teaching Filipinos to speak a second language? Thirty thousand Filipino teachers, most of whom have never come into intimate and prolonged contact with English as spoken in America, are attempting to teach a million children correct articulation of American English. What is the product? A balanced interpretation can be made by a careful review of the factors which make up the present situation. There are four critical factors in the Philippine language problem: The first is the dominating fact that all instruction has to be given in a second language. The second factor is an immediate corollary of the former; namely, that this second language has to be learned after children have spent seven to nine years in perfecting a totally different set of vocal habits. The third factor is the all-pervading influence of an untrained teaching staff. The fourth is the competition of the artificial language exercises of the schoolroom, (25 hours per week) with the prolonged and vital contact (70 hours per week) with the

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Title
A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature.
Author
Philippines. Board of educational survey.
Canvas
Page 152
Publication
Manila,: Bureau of printing,
1925.
Subject terms
Educational surveys -- Philippines
Education -- Philippines

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"A survey of the educational system of the Philippine islands by the Board of educational survey, created under acts 3162 and 3196 of the Philippine Legislature." In the digital collection The United States and its Territories, 1870 - 1925: The Age of Imperialism. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/ahk8495.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 20, 2025.
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