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.

374 EDUCATIONAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

retarded because of the language handicap. As soon as the pupil is
outside the classroom and the sight of the teacher, and sometimes even
before, he lapses into the use of the dialect. Only rarely is English an
efficient medium of either writing or speaking; seldom is it an effective
instrument for getting thought from the printed page.
In accounting for the relative failure of the English work we should
first examine the fundamental assumptions underlying the English instruction. Are the purposes of the work well conceived and calculated
to produce the desired results? In the opening paragraph of the
printed course of study in English we are told that "the primary purpose of teaching English language in the schools of the Philippine Islands is to give the people of these Islands a common language that
will make for increased racial, social, and political solidarity." This
is an admirable statement of the great social purpose motivating the
introduction of English into the schools. If the instruction is to be successful, therefore, it must eventuate into the actual use of the language
as an instrument for social intercommunication among the Filipino
people.
The English course of the high school is divided into composition and
literature. Let us therefore examine the course of study a bit further
for the purpose of discovering why these two branches of the subject
are taught and how their aims harmonize with the larger object of
English instruction. "The aim of composition," so the statement runs,
"is to teach the language so that it may be used effectively in the communication of ideas both in speech and in writing." With this formulation of purpose there can be no quarrel. The weakness of the
teaching of composition is therefore not found in a failure to see the
objective, but rather in the content and methods of instruction.
The textbooks used in composition are unsuited to the needs, attainments, and experiences of Filipino high-school pupils. They were
written for American children for whom English is the native tongue
and to whom eight instead of seven years of elementary instruction have
been given. Moreover, the content of these books reflects American
conditions, institutions, and ways of thinking. If the teaching of composition is to be effective, textbooks must be written for the Philippine
schools. They should copy American texts in neither form nor content.
It is not sufficient to change John to Juan, Mary to Maria, and cow
to carabao. These texts should be organized about the language difficulties which Filipino children experience who have just completed
the intermediate school. They should recognize the common errors and
should provide constant drill in their corrections. They should be content with a moderate achievement and not aim at a complete mastery
of English. Practice, practice, and yet more practice in the reasonably