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.

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 259
whatever the language spoken, call for the usage of similar terms. The
vocabulary study revealed the following facts:
TABLE 19a.-COMPARISON OF VOCABULARY IN BASAL READERS IN THORNDIKE'S DISTRIBUTION OF WORDS ON THE BASIS OF THEIR FREQUENCY OF USAGE
Name of text la lb 2a 2b 3a 3b 4a 4b 5a 5b 6 7 8 9
Rizal Primer.......... 221 46 27 19 7 6 6 1 7 3 0 0 1 2
Rizal First Reader..... 306 92 57 37 17 16 8 13 3 0 7 4 3
The Philippine Reader,
Book Two......... 501 246 124 88 50 39 43 19 16. 15 7 6 9 7
NOTE.-lal to la5 indicates the first five hundred words, lb the second five hundred words,
2a indicates the first half of the second thousand, 2b the second half of the second thousand.
All articles, proper names, and local terms are omitted in this comparison.
The vocabulary must not present too many difficulties but must be
carefully graded and gradually enlarged. The frequent repetition of
vocabulary in many situations, in order that it may become the permanent possession of children, is a matter meriting thoughtful consideration. The result of a study showing the frequency of repetition of words
used in the Rizal Readers is shown in the following table:
TABLE 19b.-FREQUENCY OF REPETITIONS OF INDIVIDUAL WORDS
Total
In from In from In from In vocabuName of tt 1 to 4 Per 15 to 8 Per 9 to 12 Per 1 le Per lary in
Name of text 13 selecselec- cent selec- cent selec- cent tins cent respections tions tions tive
books 1
Rizal Primer.......... 304 87 32 19 9 12 1...... 346
Rizal First Reader.... 465 80 61 10 33 15 18 13 577
The Philippine Reader,
Book II............ 961 79 108 18 59 14 84 13 1,212
1 This is exclusive of articles and some proper names. The elements of compound words
were treated as separate words.
Some of the difficulties in the use of the Rizal Readers may be due
to the lack of continuous repetition of words in various selections. In
comparison with the former reader used when one considers content
there is much to be said in favor of the present readers. But whether
they are sufficiently related to the experiences of children in the Philippines is doubtful.
PHONICS IN THE PRIMARY GRADES
THE VALUE OF PHONICS.-Up to the present time experiments have
not proved that with English-speaking children the knowledge of phonics
is essential for the. development of reading ability. Many educators
feel, however, that if right training in phonics is given the knowledge