English Language:The Perceived Pros, Cons, and Means in Philippine Classroom

English Language:The Perceived Pros, Cons, and Means in Philippine Classroom

Stephanie G. Vallejos

University of Southern Philippines Foundation

Author Note

Stephanie G. Vallejos, Master in Education Major in English Language Teaching, University of Southern Philippine Foundation

This paper was prepared in partial fulfillment of the subject course EDET 716 Expository Writing for Discourse Competence

            Correspondence concerning this paper should be addressed to Stephanie G. Vallejos, Master in Education Major in English Language Teaching, University of Southern Philippine Foundation, Lahug, Cebu City

Abstract

               English language is considered as the second language in the Philippines. It is used as a medium of communication in business, public services and classrooms instruction. Philippines isonce on the top list of English Proficient country but eventually slips its rank due to lack of measures in strengthening its post in global English market. With that, this study aims to gather in depth knowledge on the problems encountered by students in the use of English language in the level of Philippine classrooms and seeks for solutions to address the problems.

               The researcher gathered information about the arising problems encountered by students in using English language in the classroom. The gathered problems are to wit: (1) students’ constant exposure and practice in speaking English; (2) difficulty in mastering grammar; and (3) embarrassment felt due to peer pressure.   The researcher also seeks ways in order to combat the said problems. One is implementation of the Executive Order 210 s.2003, which obliged the English language to be the medium of instruction in some subject in the Philippine classroom; secondis the English proficiency trainings for teachers; and third is the establishment of English clubs for students.

Keywords: English language, mastering grammar, proficiency, peer pressure, Philippine classroom

Introduction

            Students nowadays are having difficulties in using English Language in the actual classroom scenarios. Set of rules in the classroom like “Speak English only” may shutter the minds and mouth of the students and may let them mumble during the oral recitations. These problems may lead to greater catastrophe in general for it may hinder the students to compete in the world of employment come the time of seeking for a job. With that, this research aims to gather in depth knowledge on the problems encountered by the students in using English language as a medium of speaking in actual classroom scenarios. Also this research aims to collectreliable information as to how to solve students’ difficulties in using English as a language.

English Language; Pros, Cons, and Means in Philippine Classroom

            English is a language that students need to learn and practice effectively for real life purposes. It can place oneself a step ahead of the labor competition. It is really a great advantage on landing a job if the applicants or workers are proficient enough in the English language. They could be competitive enough to the world of global job market (Marcelo, P. 2010).In addition, Cagadas, J. (2012) said that speaking English fluently improves student’s potential in labor market after schooling.In fact, Suelto, S.L. (2012) added that students need to use English in order to become efficient in professional, academic and social circumstances. Indeed, English language importance is undeniably evident.

            Students may acknowledge the importance of English but inevitably hardly use it in reality. Difficulty in speaking and even construction of sentences prevail in most of the students. According to KavinHetrakul (1995), English is use more frequent only inside the classroom and less frequent outside the classroom because the students have limited time to learn English in the classroom. The following problems are arising; first, students don’t have enough encouragement to practice English outside the classroom because of their peers. This is due to the people outside the class that does not support the students to speak English frequently. Second is the problem with grammar. Most of the students are having difficulties in mastering the English grammar, while grammar is really important to form a right sentence, sentences that may be used as a language.

       Bernardo Villegas (2000) agrees to the statement of Hetrakul (1995), he said that majority of the youth are having difficulties in speaking English. They do not have enough occasions in their normal lives to speak nothing but English because the youth have all the chances to speak only and listen to the Filipino language (Mother Tongue) in their day-to-day lives such as in every conversation with their acquaintances, family, etcetera.

       Philippines is one of the nations which got the largest population of English speakers in the world back then but in unison Philippines is doing nothing to strengthen the edge that people likes to talk about. Philippines seem to have no plan to maintain for our country to excel in the English language. Maybe this is the reason why Filipino’s proficiency in English is deteriorating. In order to help the Philippines to increase the number of English-Proficient Filipinos, the article of Martin, R.Y (2008) states that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo implemented Executive Order 210 s.2003, which established the policy to strengthen English as a Medium of Instruction in educational system in the Philippines. The President’s intention in implementing EO 210 is motivated by a concern to keep Filipinos competitive and to make them well-educated.

               The implementation of EO210 s. 2003 is an adequate way in addressing the problem in speaking English language but students still are having problems in speaking English inside the classroom due to the reasons above stated by Hetrakul, K. (1995) and Villegas, B. (2000) which is supported also by an article published by Llanto, J.F. (2008) of abs-cbnNews.comwhich stated that when English is used, students do not learn well, and at times do not learn at all. Using English as medium of instruction in some subject areas [Math and Science] prevents students from learning as much as they could in their mother tongue. Students tend to be used in using mother tongue rather than speaking English in the classroom. If they are asked by the teacher to answer the question using English language they may not have the guts to answer such question.

What will be the solution to English Language Deterioration? Well based on the past studies of Hetrakul, K. (1995) suggested the two solutions to encourage the students to overcome the fear of speaking English in front of class. First, is the way that the teacher must do, the teacher must inspire the student to speak English for it is needed in their real-life situations. The teacher may fine the student who speaks using their native language inside the classroom. The teacher must be approachable enough and convince their students that error is a normal thing in learning in order for the students not to be embarrassed in front of their classmates. Second solution is for the students themselves; they could form an English conversation club that consists of their friends and classmates. They can share and talk about anything in English during that time. The students in this club could learn together and they can correct each other without feeling embarrassed.

               Although, the suggestions of Hetrakul, K. (1995) was good the article of Llanto, J.F. stated that in order to improve the English proficiency of students, there is a need to re-train because most ofthem are also not proficient in English. Results of self-assessment test conducted by the DEPED in 2004 showedthat one out of five public high school teachers is proficient in theEnglish language. It is also stated that the situation is aggravated by students' limited exposure to thelanguage. Before, they can learn English by watching cartoons and TVshows. Now, everything is in Filipino.“Do you expect them to learn if they have limited exposure to theEnglish language and if their teachers do not speak good English?Sheasked.

Conclusion

               The use of English language inside the Philippine classrooms is of great help for students to seek employment after schooling and to be competitive in professional, academic, and social settings in general. It proceeds to a better living. On the other hand, students hardly learn nor practice English because of different factors. In order to address this problem and uplift the Philippines English proficiency status, Executive Order 210 s.2003 was implemented. Also, English proficiency trainings for teachers and establishment of English clubs for students are some of the suggestions. Hence, everyone must heed and take part to the call of uplifting the English Proficiency of the Filipino students and must strengthen and execute the suggestions and existing laws and/or orders that respond to this call.

References

Cagadas, J. L. (2012) Why learning English is very useful in the Philippines? The Importance of English in Education.Definitely Filipino.The Blog for Online Filipinos.http://definitelyfilipino.com/blog/2012/07/why-learning-english-is-very-useful-in-the-philippines-the-importance-of-english-in-education/

Hetrakul, K. (1995). The Second Language. Students’ Difficulties in Speaking English and How to Solve It. http:///eserver.org/courses/spring95/76-100g/KavinHetrakul.html (Accessed on October 28, 2005)

Llanto, J.F. (2008) Philippines: Legislators push English as a medium of instruction. Harold Schiffman (moderator) hfsclpp at gmail.com Tue Jun 10 13:35:35 UTC 200.http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/. DepEd. Memorandum no. 57, s. 2004

Llanto, J.F. (2008) Philippines: Legislators push English as a medium of instruction. Harold Schiffman (moderator) hfsclpp at gmail.com Tue Jun 10 13:35:35 UTC 200.http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=121122

Marcelo, P. (2010) English Proficiency is the key to landing a job. Planet Phillippine Publisher.http://planetphilippines.com/current-affairs/english-proficiency-is-key-to-landing-a-job/;http://planetphilippines.com/current-affairs/english-proficiency-is-key-to-landing-a-job/#sthash.q5YF3MId.dpuf

Martin, R.Y. (2008) English as a Medium of Instruction in the Philippines. English Department College of Arts and Sciences-Manila.https://www.ue.edu.ph/manila/uetoday/index.php?nav=27.htm&archive=200808

Suelto, S.L. (2012), Pursuing English Language Proficiency Among Filipino Students.
The Twenty Ten Theme.Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. https://bsuexegesis.wordpress.com/authors/language-education/pursuing-english-language-proficiency-among-filipino-students/

Villegas, Bernardo (2000, May 26). Why English should be the Medium of Instruction. http//www.mb.com.ph/oped/villegas/2000

Drought: Its Causes and Effects (Cause and Effect Writing)

Drought is a long period of time during which there is very little water or no rain. It is a period of dryness especially when prolonged and it causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their successful growths.

The major cause of droughts is the lack of underground water. It can be caused by meteorological conditions such as lack of rainfall or excess of heat or human factors, such as increased water demand or poor water management. Some causes also include rarity of rainfall, lack of facilities to complement of water during the period of rainy season, lack of properly developed rain-water harvesting methods, lack of proper planning to deal with the situation and the extensive deforestation and cutting of trees which reduces the ability of soil to hold the water. Drought conditions are often the result of climate change that causes higher temperature and unpredictable weather patterns. (http://ecology.about.com/od/Ecology/fl/Drought-What-Causes-It-and-How-Can-It-Be-Prevented.htm)

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), there are four different types of drought that vary depending upon their cause and duration. They are the meteorological drought, agricultural drought, hydrological drought and socioeconomic drought.

Drought can cause many different and devastating effects on communities and the surrounding environment. Its ravage depends upon the strength of the drought and the length of time that an area is considered to be in drought conditions. It has indeed a greater impact on poorer communities than the rich communities. However, it can still be severe on any type of community.

Drought has both an economic and environmental impact. Economic impact involves losing money either by individuals or families, businesses and governments. One example of economic effect resulting from drought is when farmers will have to spend more money to irrigate the crops and provide water for livestock on animal farms and ranches. They have to spend money to drill new wells or buy water in tankers from far places.

While environmental impact of drought affects plants, animals, climate, soil, rocks and many others. Some biotic and a biotic factors recover when the drought is over but others never recover. Soil moisture is the key for the breakdown of organic matter. Drought lowers the quality of soils because there is less organic activity.  Water bodies dry out and water animals die which results to habitat destruction. When aquatic animals die, the whole food chains and ecosystems are also affected. Animals could migrate long distances in order to search for water. They might end up in new habitats, making them weak and endangered while others face new threats.

Drought can also have a serious health, social, economic and political effect with extensive consequences. It may include hunger and famine, disease, wildfires and wildlife, social conflict war, electricity generation and migration or relocation.

Let’s go first with the hunger and famine. Having a condition of droughts often provide too little water to support food crops and affects grass and grains used to feed livestock and poultry. When drought occurs, it can destroy food sources so people go hungry. When the drought continues for a very long period of time and becomes severe, famine can happen.

Next is having a disease. Drought could also create a lack of clean water for drinking, public sanitation and personal hygiene, which can lead to a wide range of dangerous diseases. The problem of water access is critical. Every year, lots of people are sickened or die due to lack of clean water access and sanitation, and droughts only make the problem worse.

Another effect is on the wildfires and wildlife. Scarcity of water can create hazardous conditions in forests and across range of lands. Even plants generally adapted to dry conditions will drop leaves during drought which can cause to a layer of dead vegetation on the ground. This dry duff becomes a dangerous fuel for damaging wildfires. Wild animals and plants suffer from droughts even if they have some adaptations to dry conditions. In grasslands, sustained lack of rain decreases forage production, affecting herbivores, grain-eating birds, and indirectly, predators and scavengers. Droughts will lead to increased mortality and reduced reproduction, which is especially problematic for populations of at-risk species whose numbers are already very low.

Social conflict war could also be an effect. When water is in short supply due to drought and the insufficiency of water creates a conforming lack of food, there’s a possibility that people will compete. Worst, they would eventually fight and kill to secure enough water in order to survive.

The last one is migration. Migration is also one of the effects of drought conditions. People will migrate or transfer to other places to search of better living conditions. They will look for a new home with a better supply of water, enough food and without the disease and conflict that were present in the place they are leaving.

To prevent this condition, we people should be responsible enough to take good care of our environment. The solution to this kind of problem depends in our own hands. One way is we should discourage deforestation to increase the ability of the soil to hold water and also we should be educated regarding the importance of water so that we do not misuse the stored water. Lastly, our efforts should be made to preserve rain waters in various ways and tap ground water sources to meet unexpected drought situations.

Trees Vs. Invictus (Compare and Contrast Writing)

The trees written by Joyce Kilmer and Invictus composed by William Ernest Henley have similarities and differences. The former is all about how the tree reacts to nature’s daily happenings and how it connects to God for it is Him that created it.

The latter, on the other hand, talks about how firm and courageous the persona is amidst or despite challenges or obstacles he faces. Notwithstanding, these two poems’ interpretations, and implications are not the main or focal concern but their poetical features or elements.

Let us talk about one of the senses of the poem which is the imagery. Imagery is the use of secondary details or descriptions that appeal to one or more of the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. These are otherwise known as “senses of the mind”. The imagery of the Trees s more on the senses of sight or taste. The example in the first and second stanzas of the poem: “T think that I shall never see. A poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest. Against the Earth’s sweet flowing breast”. Notice the words “see” and “mouth”.

Whereas the Invictus’ imagery stresses on the senses of sight and hearing. Example for the sense of sight is its first stanza: “Out of the night that covers me Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, for my unconquerable soul”. The word “night” can clearly explain its sense of sight. Another is its sense of hearing, ‘in the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance, My head is bloody but unbowed.” The word “aloud” is being stressed that certainly gives a reason why that poem has the imagery of hearing.

However, when it comes to the sound of the poem which is the rhyme, the two poems have also similarities and differences. Rhyme is the repetition of the same stressed vowel sounds and any succeeding sounds in two or more words. It has two types: internal rhyme and terminal rhyme. The internal rhyme has rhyme within the line while the terminal rhyme has rhyme found at the end of the line.

TREES

I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; 

                       INVICTUS

                      Out of the night that covers me, 

                      Black as the pit from pole to pole, 

I      thank whatever gods may be 

                       For my unconquerable soul. 

It is pretty obvious that both are using terminal rhyme. Their difference is their rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme form that ends in a stanza or a poem. The rhyme scheme is designated by the assignment of a different letter of the alphabet to each new rhyme. The rhyme scheme of the Trees is “AA, BB” while Invictus rhyme scheme is “AB, AB”. The former has “AA, BB” rhyme scheme because every last word of a line rhymes with the next last words of the immediate line. While the latter uses “AB, AB” rhyme scheme because the last words of every line rhyme right after the next line’s last word.

Besides, their difference is the number of rhyming lines of the stanza. The Trees uses couplet which is defined as the stanza of two rhyming lines while the other makes use of quatrain that has a stanza of four lines.

 Furthermore, let us compare and contrast the types of figures of speech used or applied to these poems. They both have simile. A simile uses a word or phrase such as “as” or “like” to compare seemingly unlike things or ideas. In the trees, the simile is found in the second line of the first stanza. “A poem as lovely as a tree”. The poem is being compared to a tree. While in the Invictus, its simile is also found or located in the second line of the first stanza,  ”Black as the Pit from pole to pole. The word “black” which modified the night is being compared to the word “Pit”.

Additionally, the hyperbole as one of the figures of speech is also utilized. Hyperbole is an exaggeration used to express strong emotion, to make a point or to evoke humor. “A tree whose hungry mouth is prest “ shows hyperbole because we know that a real tree has no hungry mouth but only roots that sip nutrients from the soil.  “Out of the night that covers me” , in this line is so exaggerated because the night cannot actually cover a person.

Similarly, these two poems use two similar figures of speech – metonymy and synecdoche. Metonymy is the use of one word to stand for a related term or replacement of word that relates to a thing or person to be named for the name itself. An example is in the first line of the fourth stanza of the poem Trees. “A tree that may in Summer wear. The word “summer” is just a representation of the time. Whereas, the Invictus has a synecdoche. A synecdoche is the naming of parts to suggest the whole. An example is in the line “Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed.” Notice the word “head”. It does represent the whole body or life of a person.

Lastly, they use assonance. Assonance is the repetition of similarly accented vowel sounds. In the Trees’ lines, “Upon whose bosom snow has lain; who intimately lives with rain. We can observe “o” vowel repeatedly used in the former line while “I” vowel is common in the latter line. On the contrary, the Invictus uses the vowels “e” and “a”. Look into these lines, “And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid”.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS BROUGHT BY TECHNOLOGIES (Problem and Solution Writing)

It is amazing how technology change and makes our works easier and faster now compared to a pre-invention era. Nowadays, we feel so comfortable by the help of the inventions, especially in the 21st century. What people cannot  do, technologies can like getting or sending information here and abroad, traveling from one place to another in just a matter of an hour or even minutes, expanding the lives of people (such as surgery, heart or kidney transplant), processing foods and the like.

People enjoy these things consciously but know unconsciously the bad effects. With the advancement of technologies comes with the various problems brought by the inventions of the experts or let us say people with high-intellectual capabilities when it comes to technologies. But the questions are: Do the inventors deserve to be blamed? How about the millions of users? Can or shall we stop the pervasive and rapid spread of these technologies? We are accustomed to using technologies especially to improve the government and education systems. So we better help one another to somehow lessen the growing problems since we are also liable and responsible for those.

Anyway, what are these problems? How can we address and attend to these so we can find and give solutions? Let us know the first one. It is very rampant nowadays to look for answers to school assignment on the internet. Thus, teachers have to be careful. Students just copy and paste the information without examining the content. In response to this, a teacher has to copy the text and put them on “search bar” or in a plagiarism tracker, and then the source will immediately appear. So the students caught doing this must be warned or else they will suffer plagiarism punishment. Plagiarism is defined as the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person. In order for the students not to be charged, they have to cite the source of the information.

Another problem is societal brought by technology. Young individuals spend their time playing games, logging in social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, etc. These cause isolation from the real world. They less communicate with their family and less discuss problems. These also lead them to meet up with strangers where they knew in social media. A lot of cases reported on television that after they met, they were kidnapped or even harassed or killed. As a result, the parents who are supposed to be responsible for the safety of their children must limit their kids from going out. If the children are attending to schools, it is the teachers who take responsibility. The better way is the teachers have to let the whole class to watch a movie which has something to do with the problem. At least, they will feel or realize their misdeeds.

In addition to this is the pollution caused by technologies as well. Harmful substances and materials are now widespread in our environment. The pollution is not only produced by burning of garbage but also by factories and vehicles. How are factories and vehicles run? It is by fossil fuels. As technologies grow, there is also growth in the consumption of these fossil fuels. Unluckily, our environment will take millions of years because it can produce or form new fossil fuels. There are studies that show that the Erath is running out of fossil fuel supplies. Others believe that Earth’s supply will be ended up within 1000 years. However, a harm done by technology can sometimes be repaired by another technology, but still there are jeopardies that the latter technology may cause another problem. An example of this is an atomic power plant. This can produce atomic energy. This energy will not use fossil fuels, making our fossil fuels safe from consumption. Only that the problem, is that the atomic energy produces radioactive wastes which are not safe for living organisms. So in response to this, the solution is that the scientists are searching new sources of energy. One of this is the plan to use satellites that will collect solar energy from the sun. The energy that will be gathered would be sent to a receiving station on Earth. This time, the solar energy would be changed into electricity. This technology indeed might become a major energy source to be used in the future.

What else? Other problems are due to long use of technology which is detrimental on someone’s posture: neck pain, back pain, eye strain and other problems are common in those who use technology on a regular basis and do not maintain good posture. But what can we do? As usual, common sense prevails. The most fundamental advice is to take frequent breaks, whether using a smartphone, laptop, computer, iPod, etc. even small breaks of a few seconds may be long enough to reduce the muscle fatigue that comes from using these devices particularly if use involves a less than optimal body position. Build breaks into your routine. Don’t take several phone calls back to back. Take a few minutes between calls to relax the muscles. Set an alarm clock for 15 minutes and get up and walk around.

So the bottom line here is self-discipline. If we cannot content these various problems, let us somehow eradicate them.

    

“Mr. Presumptive”: Rodrigo Roa Duterte (Descriptive Writing)

    “The Punisher”, “Dirty Harry”, “Dictator”, “Donald Trump of the Philippines” and many more are some titles that best describe the incoming 16th President of the Philippines- Rodrigo Roa “Digong” Duterte. Known as the tough-talking mayor of Davao City, he did a big jump to Malacañang as he leads the latest presidential election. The 71 years old Mayor and now the “Presumptive President” was born on March 28, 1945, in Maasin, Southern Leyte, his father served as the Governor of Davao while his mother was a school teacher. He spent his elementary and high school years in Davao and then studied in Lyceum of the Philippines for his tertiary education, and later on continued studying law in San Beda College. Shortly after, he passed the bar exam.

    As a public servant for more than two decades, he changed Davao City from the "murder capital of The Philippines" to "the most peaceful city in southeast Asia” and “World’s 4th Safest City”. Mainly, this is because of the strict rules imposed by the City Council of Davao with the full support of Mayor Duterte. Among those rules are the liquor ban in the city from 1:00am to 8:00am; requiring commercial establishments to set up CCTV cameras; and strict speed limits to vehicles within Davao City which he plans to implement in the entire nation as he takes in the Presidential Office on June 30, 2016. Duterte has won many awards including the National Literacy Hall of Fame for being the Outstanding Local Government- Highly Urbanized category for three times. But, still there are some who are doubtful if he can do the same accomplishments in the entire Philippine archipelago.

After leading the presidential election with 38.5% of the vote and became the “Presumptive President of the Philippines”, his way to the presidency wasn’t that easy. Duterte had been urged to run for the Philippine presidency numerous times but refused these offers until well into 2015 on the grounds of a "flawed government system", old age and opposition from his family. Nevertheless, on November 21, 2015, he declared his candidacy in the 2016 election contest for the office of the President of the Philippines. He was under fire for his flirty behavior during the campaign period, as well with plenty of women in his life. He has three children to Elizabeth Zimmerman, his first wife and been annulled for a long time. Currently, he has a common-law wife, Cielito Avancena, who is better known as Honeylet. Far from monogamous, he has publicly admitted to having as many as three girlfriends.

Duterte also faced several allegations of sexual harassment, after photos of him kissing women seated on his lap during the election campaign started to spread locally and have led many to questions on the way he treats women. A lot of women rights groups filed cases against him at the Philippine Commission on Human Rights last April 20, accusing him of the violation of the Republic Act 9710 that was created to protect the rights of women. He did not take the complaints seriously and instead, he told the women rights groups who filed complaints against him to “go to hell”. He added that he has his freedom of expression as his constitutional rights, "Not ever. I have a mother, I have a daughter, I have a wife. Why would I do it? It's not an objective simply because I am separated from my wife," he said.

On cursing Pope Francis he said that it wasn’t the Pope he was cursing but the pontiff’s visit in the Philippines last January 2015 which caused traffic congestion and immediately apologized publicly. Duterte, however, cancelled his planned trip to Vatican City and instead wrote a letter to Pope Francis dated January 21, 2016. During a campaign rally, his camp showed the letter coming from the Vatican's Secretariat of State, signed by Giovanni Angelo Becciu dated February 24, stating that Pope Francis had received his letter and that the Vatican appreciated his apology after allegedly cursing Pope Francis in public.

Duterte was also the country’s main controversial person after he made a remark about the rape of an Australian in one of his rallies. Being condemned widely, he apologized for the incident and acknowledged the comment as “bad remark” saying he regretted his foul words but would not apologize for being misinterpreted. He also added that it was due to his extreme anger which ended in such remark as he recalled the events that followed prior to that hostage-taking incident.

There is no way the President-Elect Rodrigo Roa Duterte can be stopped from taking the Presidential Office this coming June 30, 2016. With his slogan, “Change is Coming” the Filipinos are in big hope that a “radical change” is about to realize for they are exhausted of the promises from the previous presidents to stop criminality, drugs and corruption. On the other hand, Duterte said that he needs the deep cooperation and abidance of the law of the Filipino citizens for him to do his job well and for “change to come”.

The Benefits of Teaching Araling Panlipunan on the part of an English Teacher (Content Focus on Emphasis)

At the first glance at the book of Araling Panlipunan, it is not only the students who feel so drowsy knowing the fact that this subject contains general information. Like in Grade 7, the subject is Philippine history which obviously tackles what happened before or even the current and future affairs of the country. The Araling Panlipunan 8 is all about Asia’s context while Araling Panlipunan 9 tells about the history of the world and included the discoveries on Earth. On the other hand, Araling Panlipunan 10’s description is Economics which probably emphasizes the Philippines’s economy as well as the other countries.

All of these subjects mention above are just easy but most of the students really get bored with the bulk pages of each book. There are also teachers handling and specializing social studies tend to give up because nowadays especially K-12 curriculum based books in Araling Panlipunan use English terms which make them so hard.

So what if your principal would assign you to handle Araling Panlipunan subject? Would you take that challenge as an English teacher? If I would be asked, my answer should be ‘Yes’. Why would I do that? Well, let me enumerate the benefits of teaching Araling Panlipunan.

First, I know I am trained or let me say I am accustomed to speaking English since my course is BSED- English. I know the fact that most books in Araling Panlipunan are written in Filipino terms. So, it is my chance to practice or even enhance my speaking skill especially the difficult words in Filipino. At least it would not be awkward if I talk with my students who are fund or who prefer speaking Filipino language to English language. Little by little, I can read fluently the terms. Also by that, I can communicate well with Filipino teachers. It’s amazing, isn’t it? I’d like to emphasize this word, “Nakakapagpabagabag”.

Wait, there’s more. Handling Araling Panlipunan is not that easy just what other think. Based on my experience especially that I am a fresh teacher or even old ones confessed that they still had to read the contents of the book. Every year or once in three years (depending on the school) the books whether in grade 7 or 10 are changed. For instance, this year’s publisher is Vibal, and then next year is Phoenix. It is very important to note that reading is a “must”. So by teaching Aral.Pan, one has to really read every night before he discusses the lesson to his students. He has to be cautious for there are students who are three steps away from our knowledge when it comes to this subject.  He has to be careful what he imparts because mostly, the contents of this subject are general knowledge which means that the knowledge that the students got from us would be brought wherever or whenever they are. Take note that there are books that contain wrong information or not reliable ones even the newly published books and as an English teacher turned to Aral.Pan teacher, we need to make it as a habit. We must be thankful that our laziness in reading will be somehow eradicated or decreased. Oh, it’s motivating, right? Read now!

Do you think it is over? Well, wake up! Another thing is by handling this subject; we can recall our past knowledge. Nay, do not say you remembered everything because according to some experts on brain-based strategies, we can only remember things/ideas in just 1 to 18 seconds unless they go to long term memory. Anyhow, it is called as past knowledge since you already stored the ideas in your memory bank. So you are lucky because at least you can share to your students what you learned. You will not have a hard time explaining the lesson to the class. Good job! Good job if during your elementary, secondary or even tertiary days you did not just sleep. Shame on you!

Excited to know more about the benefits? Relax. It is so advantageous for us English teachers to handle this subject because as what I have said earlier, some words are written in English terms. Good things that you are considered as a “walking dictionary”. No, no… I know that every lesson, we encounter unfamiliar words which really need to be browsed. We have to laugh because when our students ask the meaning of that word, we can now easily give or answer them. Just tell your memory to function right away or else you would say, “Okay, class that’s your assignment”. Never do that, please.

Lastly, yes this would be the last benefit. Calm down. This is the most important one. Please bear in mind, “the most important one”. As you’ve been focused on your English subjects, you tend to forget to scan or broaden your knowledge about the other subjects. Don’t just study one. Be a voracious reader. I know that you don’t know everything on Earth but at least you would not miss the very important topic. Like in my experience, I just knew that Germany caused all troubles in World War I and World War II. Ooops! I am not anti-German, I don’t invent stories. I read not only one book but more than one. I also watched videos related to World wars.

Wanna know if these things are true? I tell you, handle Araling Panlipunan. It is not boring but interesting!

Keep Away From Them While You Can (Content Focus on Unity)

What is an illegal drug?

According to the Simple English Wikipedia, “Illegal drugs are drugs which have limitations on their ownership or use by the government and are illegal in certain situations (meaning a person is not allowed to have them). A drug is any chemical that affects the human body o mind when it is swallowed, breathed in, or consumed in another day”.

Commonly used by illegal drugs include marijuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamine and club drugs. Marijuana is swallowed or smoked. Its acute effects are Euphoria, relaxation, slowed reaction time, distorted sensory perception, impaired balance and coordination, increased heart rate and appetite, impaired learning/ memory, anxiety, panic attacks, and psychosis. While its health risks are cough, frequent respiratory infections, possible mental health decline and addiction.

How about heroin? It is injected, smoked and snorted. Its acute effects are euphoria, drowsiness, impaired condition, dizziness, confusion, nausea, sedation, and feeling of heaviness in the body, slowed or arrested breathing. Its known risks are constipation, endocarditis, hepatitis, HIV, addiction and fatal overdose.

In the same manner, cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine are snorted, smoked and injected. Whereas, their acute effects are increased heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, metabolism, feelings of exhilaration, increased energy, mental alertness, tremors, reduced appetite, irritability, anxiety, panic paranoia, violent behavior and psychosis. Their health risks are weight loss, insomnia, cardiac or cardiovascular complications, stroke, seizure, and addiction.

But why do people take drugs? They take drugs because they want to change something about their lives. Here are some reasons why young people have given up for taking drugs: to fit in, to escape or relax, to relieve boredom, to seem grown up, to rebel and to experiment. They think drugs are a solution. But eventually, the drugs became the problem. Difficult as it may be to face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them. The real answer is to get the facts and not to take drugs in the first place.

What do users tell? Based on experience, according to this person (I will not mention his name), during the whole time, he was on drugs. He taught he had control over his life and that he had it great. But he destroyed everything he had built up and fought up for in his life. He cut to all his drug-free friends and his family, so he had not any friends but his drug mates. Every day revolved around one thing: his plan for getting the money he needed for drugs. He would do anything possible to get his amphetamine- it was the only thing in his life.

Additionally, according to the other user, “I felt that I was more fun when I was drunk. Soon after [I started drinking] I was introduced to marijuana. Later, I was hanging out at a friend’s house smoking marijuana when someone pulled out a bag of cocaine. Snorting cocaine quickly became a daily habit. I was stealing from my parents’ business and from my grandparents on a daily basis to support my alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and LSD habits. Then introduced to Oxycontin and began using it on a regular basis. By the time I realized I was addicted, snorting oxycontin was part of my daily routine. I needed something stronger – and was introduced to heroin. I would stop at nothing to get high. My addiction was winning. And every time I tried to kick it, the physical craving would send me back for more”.

So the question is can addiction be treated successfully? According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Yes”. Addiction is a treatable disease. Research in the science of addiction and the treatment of substance use disorders has led to the development of evidence-based interventions that help people stop abusing drugs and resume productive lives.

Another question is, can addiction be cured? Some sources said, “Not always but not like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully”. Treatment enables people to counteract addictions to powerful disruptive effects on their brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.

Now, what is the best way not to be addicted to an illegal drug? Well, the best way to prevent an addiction to an illegal drug is not to take the drugs at all. Why put ourselves at risk if, at the end, we just destroy our body, mid and life? Why not spend our money to buy foods for our family so that they will be happy instead of buying illegal drugs? Keep away from them while you still have the chance.