adminnon-English speaking countries.
For some, it’s a practical matter of meeting current employment demands with flexible education policies and teaching practices. But others feel teaching needs a clear national objective for educational development.
I agree with the latter view — and consider that science and maths have to be understood in the local tongue if a country wants to transform the subjects into real economic benefits. The point is often made that English is the lingua franca of both commerce and science. In our globalised age, fluency in English is seen to enhance competitiveness, and is certainly essential for those who come from developing countries, where most industries are owned or run by foreign (usually English-speaking) entities.
The ability to write and speak well in English is usually one of the most important criteria set by employers. But critics of English as medium of instruction say that such a move is detrimental to both the quality of the learning process and the development of critical thinking. This is because most school children come from homes in which their mother tongue is the predominant language, resulting to their early social marginalisation.
Some nations have taken a mixed approach. In the Philippines, science and maths are taught in English, while other subjects are taught in Filipino. The Philippines has more than 120 other languages, and the Department of Education also allows local languages for the teaching of most subjects. This is because children naturally use the language they grow up with to understand the world around them.
The education department also believes that teaching in the local language will encourage children to stay in school rather than drop out, which is a big problem in the Philippines, where only 14 out of every 100 children who enrol in grade 1 will graduate with a college degree. Studies conducted by organisations such as Unesco and the World Bank, as well as by local institutions, show that pupils learn faster, better and with enthusiasm when taught in their vernacular language.
In other countries, debates on the language for science and maths have led to changes in policy. In Malaysia, for example, there have been fierce debates between the proponents of Bahasa Malaysia and English. In 2003, Malaysia re-adopted English, but in 2009 decided to return to Bahasa from this year.
Yet despite the prominence of English as the language of instruction, it is not a requisite for achieving excellence in maths and science. Countries that rank high in maths and science tests in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, carried out by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), all have basic instruction in their local tongue (with the exception of Singapore).
TIMSS is an important benchmark for comparing standards in maths and science around the world; the tests have been administered every four years since 1995. Eighth grade students in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have — together with Singapore — consistently ranked high in maths and science tests. These countries teach their basic education (including science and maths) in their local language, with English integrated only as a part of a compulsory curriculum.
Ironically, among the tail-enders are the English-speaking United States and the Philippines.
Teaching all subjects in the local language not only enhances understanding for learners, but also paves the way for more potential for national development.
l Giovanni Tapang is an associate professor at the National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines. This article is reproduced from SciDev.Net.
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