EVOLUTION IN LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY
INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY
WHAT IS LANGUAGE EDUCATION POLICY?
- Language in Education Policy is the process through which a language policy's ideals,
goals, and contents can be realized in education practices.
The Evolution of Language in Education Policy
The language-in-education policy in our country has changed alongside the state's structures and
institutions. In general, language policies in education have always reflected the desires of the
government or administration in power.
SPANISH INFLUENCE
In 1565, the Spaniards began colonizing the Philippines islands. Spanish rule lasted until 1898,
when sovereignty was given to America as a result of the Spanish-American War. For three
centuries (333 years), Spain ruled the Philippines. This has left numerous traces in all aspects of
Philippine life.
Decree in 1686
Carlos II issued a decree in which he complained that former decrees (issued in 1550,1634 and
1636) had not been observed; he also stated that there would be punishment if they were not
followed.
Ordinance 1768
This ordinance called for the establishment of schools in villages and prohibited the use of any
language other than Spanish as a medium of instruction. The idea of this ordinance is that the use
of the Spanish language would promote Christianity and civilization among the locals.
Decree in 1792
This decree is under the reign of Carlos the Fourth, this decree made a significant development
in language. This is more realistic than other decree because it is more specific as it mentioned
clearly the financial sources in education, the requirements or desirable teachers and the
mandatory use of Spanish in domestic affairs. Here, we came closer to a modern language
policy.
Education Act of 1863
This education act aims to establish schools in villages in the Philippine archipelago where they
are required to use the Spanish language as a medium of instruction. This act laid the foundation
of modern education in the Philippines.
AMERICAN INFLUENCE
Lingua franca was English
“to educate and to train in the science of self-government’’
Medium of instruction in schools were English, and instructional materials were all in English
COMMONWEALTH CONSTITUTION
JAPANESE INFLUENCE
On December 8, 1941, Japan began an attack on the Commonwealth of the Philippines. At the
time, the Philippines was a semi-independent commonwealth government under American
colonial administration. The Japanese occupied the Philippines from 1942 until 1945, during
WWII.
The establishment of the Military Order No. 2 aims to establish the Commission of Education,
Health, and Public Welfare (DEPED). This mandate is about teaching Tagalog language in
subjects such as Philippine history and character education to Filipino students.
The Executive Order No. 10 focuses on the use of the Filipino language as the medium of
instruction This was established when the Japanese supported the establishment of the Republic
of the Philippines where President Laurel was sworn in as the president. This was issued in 1943
to mandate educational reforms that had a major emphasis on the development of the national
language.
POST-COLONIAL
After World War II and attaining independence, Filipinos faced the complex issue of allocating
and deallocating linguistic functions. With English serving as the academic language and
Tagalog assuming the role of national identity, the country encountered significant challenges in
rebuilding an educational system that had been all but destroyed (Zeng, 2023).
1974 BILINGUAL EDUCATION POLICY
Consistent with the 1987 constitutional mandate and a declared policy of the National Board of
Education (NBE) on bilingualism in schools (NBE Resolution No. 73-7, s.1973) the Department
of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) promulgated its language policy.
It was first implemented in 1974 when DECS issued Order no. 25 s. 1974 titled “Implementing
Guidelines for the Policy on Bilingual Education”.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution declared the Filipino language as the national language and
English as a second language, the Bilingual education policy aims to use both Filipino and
English to teach various subjects in our country. The Department of Education Order No. 25,
entails the use of the Filipino language for topics such as social studies, music, arts, and
character education, whereas English is used for science, math, and technology.
1994 -THE LANGUAGE POLICY OF THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION:
1994 Republic Act No. 7722 also called as the Higher Education Act 1994. creating Commission
on Higher Education (CHED) was assigned. Language courses whether Filipino or English
should be taught in that language.
1997 -Proclamation No. 1041
Proclamation No. 1041, s. 1997 and signed on July 15, 1997, by former Philippine President
Fidel V. Ramos. The Proclamation extended the observance of Linggo ng Wika from Aug. 13 to
19, to the whole month
2012 - K-12 Program and Mother Tongue – Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)
-Kinder to Grade 3 Mother tongue is the medium of instruction. Grade 4-6 mother tongue
transition program which
-English and Filipino are introduced as media of instruction.
2017 House Bill No. 5091
2017 House Bill No. 5091 “An Act to Strengthen and Enhance the use of English as the medium
of instruction in Educational System”
References:
https://prezi.com/p/0lmuagsgvv-a/language-in-education-policies-in-the-philippines-through-the-
years/
https://www.studocu.com/ph/document/bohol-island-state-university/education/7-el-104-
language-in-education-policies-in-the-philippines-through-the-years/22957913
https://gengo21.com/%E8%AB%96%E6%96%87/language-policies-in-the-philippines-during-
the-spanish-colonization/
Presented by:
Chua, Berlyn
Cunanan, Angel
Ledesma, Joanna Marie
