The issue on bilingual teaching

During the last principal’s meeting of the Public School System, a certain school administrator was proposing salary classification for those with associate degrees and are assigned in bilingual classes.

The proposal stemmed from “warranting” the presence of teacher aides in this particular class when the certified bilingual teacher is not in.

It was rejected by Commissioner of Education Rita Inos who felt that this particular class needs a master teacher.

“We do have the pool of certified teachers for bilingual,” she said. But in most cases, they are the first teachers to be pulled out from class if an instructor is absent.

“Why is that?” Inos snapped back, the bilingual class usually takes the back seat.

As mandated by the Board of Education, bilingual classes are required from the grade school level until students graduate from high school. Even foreign nationals are required to attend these classes.

But so far no studies have been made to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, according to Bill Macaranas, director of the Chamorro and Carolinian Language Policy Commission.

“I cannot say that PSS is helping (promote the language),” he said.

However, he is also at a loss on how to promote the local dialects to the community.

“I cannot knock on one’s door…. we tend to preach the importance of using the language at home,” he said.

If the promotion of the Chamorro and Carolinian languages gets a lukewarm support among principals, the local community gives both dialects with a similar passive attention.

“The school can’t do it,” said Sam McPhetres. “It is not something to be imposed of especially in this situation that you have 56 nationalities.”

The entry of a foreign domestic helper to one’s household further estranged the child from his own dialect. Moreover, parents have the habit to speak the dialect when they are angry at their children, giving it a negative effect, he added.

“The change in the language over the past several years has been enormous, in terms of putting English and Tagalog words into the language. Until the people have decided that they want to use, it will continue to decline,” he said.

It seems that the CNMI is not alone on this dilemma to use or not to use the language. A recent article published on Guam reported that the island’s Chamorro education will focus on the role of adults in promoting the language. The program has identified their major role in passing Chamorro to the next generation but they need help on how to do it.