Chapter I The Problem and Its Background Introduction Based on thefreedictionary.

com (retrieved 2012), perception is the process, act or faculty of perceiving. It is the recognition of and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory. Perception is defined as the neurological processes by which such recognition and interpretation are affected. As stated in businessdictionary.com (retrieved 2012), perception is the means by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them. Though necessarily based on complete and unverified information, perception is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior in general. According to wikipedia.org (retrieved 2012), Filipino is the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines along with English. It is centered around Manila but is known almost universally around the country. Filipino is the amalgamation of all the Philippine languages, with English and Spanish also possible vocabulary sources. Filipino is Tagalog with borrowings from English and other Philippine languages. Human (2012) said that, Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space and change. Mathematics seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proof. According to Gill (2011), Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Based on sciencemadesimple.com (retrieved 2006), Science is a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. The term science also refers to the organized body of knowledge people have gained using that system. Less formally, the word science often describes any

systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from it. Using the Filipino language in teaching Science and Mathematics is still an issue arising in our country in the field of education. Some Filipinos agreed to use the native language as a medium of instruction for it helps one to understand better the subject being discussed. On the other hand, others are not in favor because they believe that using the English language in teaching such subjects will help Filipinos be more fluent and diligent in using the international language.

Statement of the Problem

1Which language is more suitable to use in teaching Science and Mathematics? 2What are the advantages of using the Filipino language in teaching Mathematics and Science? 3What are the disadvantages of using the Filipino language in teaching Mathematics and Science? 4What are the advantages of using the English language in teaching Mathematics and Science? 5What are the disadvantages of using the English language in teaching Mathematics and Science? 6What are the perceptions of students with regard in using the Filipino language as the medium of teaching in Mathematics and Science?

Objectives of the Study

The findings and recommendations in this study could inform the language policy of the Department of Education.

Specifically, this study aims the following: 1To help improve the quality of education in our country. 2To know which language is more suitable for the students for them to understand easily the said subjects. 3To develop a better teaching relationship between teachers and students.

Significance of the Study

The research paper to be conducted by the researchers would give enough knowledge about the perception of the students with regard to the use of the Filipino language in teaching the subjects Science and Mathematics. Teachers This research paper would help the teachers know which language is more suitable to use in teaching the subjects Mathematics and Science. The findings would allow the teachers to have a better teaching relationship with his/her students. Writers This research paper would serve as a guide for future writers for them to have a basis about their topic with regard to the use of Filipino language in teaching Mathematics and Science. Students This research paper would help the students express their views about the use

of the Filipino language as a medium of instruction in Science and Mathematics. The results of the study would inform the students in which language is better to use in teaching Science and Mathematics. Community This research paper would help the community to have a better understanding about the contentious issue regarding which language is better to use in teaching Mathematics and Science. Reader The findings of this research paper would give full awareness to the readers, for they will know what issues are being debated and what is the stand of our government regarding it.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This research mainly covers the perception of senior students of Canossa Academy for S.Y 2011-2012 on the use of Filipino language as a medium of instruction in Science and Mathematics. The research also includes the advantages and disadvantages of using the native language in teaching. The positive and negative effects of using the English language is also included in the research. For the limitation of the study, the information will come from the 80 senior students of Canossa Academy in Lipa City. Only the information in the test questionnaire answered by the respondents will be used as reference for formulating the data and hypothesis

Conceptual Framework

This research shows what will be the views of the students regarding the use of the Filipino language as a medium of teaching in Mathematics and Science. In the figure shown below, the arrow points to the three boxes which shows the input, process and output of the study. The problem which is Filipino language as a medium of instruction in Science and Mathematics will be surveyed among the the senior students of Canossa Academy S.Y 20112012. The output of this process will indicate what will be the perceptio of the students with regard to the use of Filipino language as a medium of teaching in Mathematics abd Science.

Research Paradigm

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Figure 1

A research paradigm showing the process that the researchers will use in conducting the research study Assumptions

The researchers assume that both languages, English and Filipino, will become more applicable to use in teaching Mathematics and Science but the Filipino language should be more dominantly used by the teachers and students for them to understand each other clearly. Since the students already have the English subject, their English communication

skills will not be affected at all. Using the Filipino language in teaching such subjects has a big advantage because the teaching relationship between the student and the teacher will be better since the students will be able to express their thoughts, ideas and opinions clearly. The researchers assume that the students will be in favor if the Filipino language will be used in teaching the subjects Mathematics and Science.

Definition of Terms

Amalgamation. The act of mixing or merging so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine Conjecture. An opinion or theory so formed or expressed; guess; speculation Education. The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intelectually for mature life English. A specific variety of this language, as that of a particular time, place, or person: AmericanEnglish;ShakespeareanEnglish. Filipino. Of or relating to the Philippines or their inhabitants Language. A body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition; communication by voice in the distinctively human manner, using arbitrary sounds in conventional ways with conventional meanings; speech. Mathematics. Systematic treatment of magnitude, relationship between figures and forms, and relations between quantities expressed symbolically Perception. Ability to see, hear or become aware of something through the senses

Science. Application of research to human needs

Chapter II Review of Related Literature And Studies This chapter presents related studies and literature that serve as the support of the stuf-dy conducted. This information was gathered to better understand the research work better and to enhance one's knowledge on the present study. Related Literature Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli. Through the perceptual process, we gain information about properties and elements of the environment that are critical to our survival. It not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act within our environment. Perception includes the five senses; touch, sight, taste smell and taste. It also involves the cognitive processes required to process

information, such as recognizing the face of a friend or detecting a familiar scent. (Cherry, 2012 )

Filipino vs. English language as a medium of instruction in science and mathematics, the problem with this argument is that it assumes that most Filipinos are fluent in Tagalog. Unfortunately, this is not the case. A lot of our countrymen are as unfamiliar with Tagalog as they are with English. Thus, it actually wouldn't matter which of the two languages we adopt as the primary medium for instruction since some Filipinos would have a problem grasping the lessons either way. In this country that has 7107 islands and almost as many dialects and sub-dialects, selecting a single language as the only mode of instruction is next to impossible. Some quarter would always get left behind unless the actual quality of instruction is tweaked along with the mode with which it is taught. (Matrtin, 2012) TIMMS, a prestigious group of researchers and academicians coming from all parts of

the world, found out that the United States, an English speaking country no doubt, miserably placed 17th in science and 28th in mathematics! Surprisingly, the countries whose people are not English speakers and who use their native tongues as medium of instruction are in the top rung. These are Singapore, South Korea, Czech Republic, Japan, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Hungary, Austria and Belgium. And where did the Filipino students, said to be the best English speakers in Asia, land? At the tail-end, where else? Another thing that TIMMS expounds on is the amount of time and money spent on teaching math and science. A countrys budget on education and the length of time spent inside the classroom are also not measures in teaching well. The study found that the Czech Republic and Korea allot a small budget for educating their children but placed considerably higher than Germany and Great Britain who are big spenders. The number of students per class does not also matter in getting high marks, TIMSS proves.Countries such as France, USA and Great Britain have small number of students per class but got low ranks than Singapore and Hong Kong that have the highest number of students in class in the whole of Asia. In the Philippines, a recommendation to use Filipino as the sole medium of instruction in the primary level of education is under way. Hong Kong and China are currently implementing this effectively, UP, Ateneo, PNU and other proFilipino language institutional advocates contend. Such a system that emphasizes the role of the first language will produce students who are literate in Filipino and very ready to learn English and in English. We suggest that we invest in the training and the retraining of our teachers. Our normal schools should get a bigger budget to invigorate the teaching profession. We should earnestly develop and produce textbooks written in Filipino to support this proposed national language program. We laud the administrations commitment to build more schools but a parallel support should be infused into the raising of the quality of education, the joint statement further explains. The quality of teachers teaching math, science or English should also be upgraded, the statement said. Teachers teaching Filipino

children were also urged to continuously update themselves and make the teaching profession as exciting. The educators called on the government to look into the teachers meager salary. Low government support discourages teachers and lowers their morale, thereby making jobs such as domestic helpers and chambermaids a come-on to them. (Gloria E. Melencio, Arab News, Sunday, 20th of August, 2006)

Like restive Mayon Volcano, debate on whether the Filipino language is a failed language that should be replaced again by English is threatening to explode. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has categorically instructed the Department of Education (DepEd) to return to the use of English as the medium of instruction in the Philippine schools. This has stirred adverse reactions from academicians, linguists and nationalists lambasting it as a betrayal of Filipino nationhood. The president is alarmed with the continued decline of the English proficiency in schools that has said to have begun when the Filipino language was officially declared as the medium of teaching in 1989. Filipinos fluency in the English language has fallen after it was scrapped, Arroyo said. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has also begun providing free courses in English to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Said the OWAs former administrator Wilhelm Soriano: Although proficiency in the English language is not the only basis for the continuous high demand for OFWs, it remains as one of the assets and as such must be preserved. Alarmed at the populations declining proficiency in English, the DepEd has restructured the curriculum this school year to give special emphasis and increased time for English. Private schools have readily obliged. They have been using the English language from way, way back anyway. But public schools have yet to comply. The question Filipino nationalists have to confront now is: Is Filipino a failed native language? (MANILA, 20th of August, 2006)

One of 10 things that President Benigno Aquino promised to fix in the countrys basic education relates to the medium of instruction. While campaigning for the presidency in 2010, his exact words were: From pre-school to Grade 3, we will use the mother tongue as the medium of instruction while teaching English and Filipino as subjects. From Grades 4-6(7), we will increasingly use English as the medium of instruction for science and math and Filipino for Araling Panlipunan (social studies). For high school, English should be the medium of instruction for science, math and English; Filipino for AP, Filipino and techvoc education. (Emphasis supplied.) The phrase increasingly use English as medium of instruction for science and math and Filipino for Araling Panlipunan can only be interpreted as the continued use of the learners first language (L1) as primary medium of instruction (MOI) throughout the elementary grades. It does not mean that English and Filipino will become the MOI starting Grade 4 as some have misinterpreted the phrase to mean. The Presidents intentions are clear. Before his term ends in 2016, he wants to institute an honest to goodness mother tongue-based multilingual education program (MTBMLE) to replace the outmoded bilingual program laid down by Marcos in the early 1970s. He also wants to improve on the Arroyo administrations Department Order No. 74, issued in 2009, which already provides for the L1 as the learning medium up to at least Grade 3. Language-in-education research worldwide has consistently shown that students learn better and faster when they are taught in their L1. The best results are achieved when the L1 is used for at least six to eight years as learning medium and the L2 is taught strongly to non-native learners before this becomes a MOI. On the other hand, the worst results have been recorded whenever children begin education in an L2, or when they are exited early after two to three years of L1 education. It is unfortunate that education authorities have refused to heed the research in designing the K-to-12 program. Under the new K-to-12 curriculum, an early-exit program, already discredited by international studies,

has been put in place in which the L1 will be implemented as MOI only up to Grade 3, followed by an abrupt transition to the L2s in Grade 4. This assumes that learners can both learn to listen, read, write, think and speak two new languages in a matter of three short years. Cognitive development and language development are inextricably tied. We cannot think in a language that we dont know. In developing deeper thinking skills, we must use a language that allows us to examine ideas and articulate our own thought processes. Those thinking skills will transfer to other languages once L2 fluency is developed enough to express thoughts and ideas. But beginning education by assuming that learners can learn to think and speak well in two new languages at the same time is incongruous. The right pedagogy is to let all Filipino learners develop critical thinking skills using the language they already think in and then teach L2s sufficiently before attempting to transition thinking in the L2s. The K-to-12 program does not differ too much from the old bilingual education (BE) program. However, it was not by any means based on the principles of BE as articulated by global educators. In other countries, BE includes the learners L1 and one other language (L2) and is premised on enabling deep learning through the L1 while developing strong skills in the L2. Learners can thus use both languages for thinking, creating, analyzing and evaluating. Teaching an L2 should follow second language learning principles, whereby the teacher uses only an L2 that the learners already understand and build a little on that each day. The deliberateness that the teacher exercises in selecting the language of instruction directly redounds to the learners benefit, as they actually learn well each days target. Merely exposing learners to a lot of L2, based primarily on teacher talk is far less effective than carefully choosing daily targets which are quantifiable. Teachers who insist that their students only speak if they can do so with correct grammar only serve to effectively silence them, and thus stifle learning. Valenzuela City Rep. Magtanggol Gunigundo points out that the K-to-12 curriculum must recognize that oral language development is a prerequisite for both L1 and L2 literacy. Developing the

listening and speaking skills of children should come first and is the basis for making every Filipino a reader in the L1 and in the L2. This is ultimately tied up with the number of years that the L1 is used in developing the cognitive and linguistic skills of the learner. Six years is the absolute minimum but eight years is better. Three years is the worst. (Ricardo Ma. Duran Nolasco, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2011)

The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of Filipino students. International test results like 2003 TIMSS rank the Philippines 34th out of 38 countries in HS II Science. For grade 4, the Philippines ranked 23rd out of 25 participating countries in both Math & Science. In 2008, even with only the science high schools participating in the Advanced Mathematics category, the Philippines was ranked lowest. According to the EDCOM Report, the quality of Philippine education is declining continuously. Because of this, the EDCOM recommended to enlarge and enrich technical/vocational education and make the vernacular and Filipino the media of instruction for basic education. Is this really the appropriate respond to the said alarming report? Medium of instruction is a language used in teaching. In the Philippines, both English and Filipino are used by the teachers to cater learning among the students. Some critics said that using English in public schools is a violation of the Philippine Constitution. They even signed a petition asking the Supreme Court to block Executive Order No. 210 which requires the use of English as a medium of instruction in Philippine public schools. When former President Gloria Arroyo was asked about the legality of her new medium of instruction policy, Manila Times quoted her: After all, the Constitution specifies that the use of Filipino as language of instruction is subject to provisions of the law and as the Congress may deem appropriate. Therefore, until Congress enacts a law mandating Filipino as the language of instruction she could give the order to make English the primary medium of instruction. It is very clear that our government

is still confused as to what medium of instruction must be used to respond the alarming state of our education system. In the struggle of helping our students for better learning, which could be a more effective medium of instruction, English or Filipino? This blog aims to contribute useful idea in the advent of improving the status of our education system. (Markleen, 2011)

Related Studies In this part of the research paper, some studies are given which are relevant to the topic. Grade 4 pupils can understand and express themselves better in Filipino than in English. They can respond faster when asked, perform readily when told to do something, and get higher scores in a test. Even among themselves, during group activities, they speak to each other in Filipino. They are also more relaxed, more confident, more enthusiastic and eager to answer and participate when the LOLI in Science is Filipino. The study simply confirms the long established fact that the use of the mother tongue (the students in the study are from an area that speak primarily Tagalog/Filipino) in the early years of school prepares the student with better learning skills than if he were taught in a foreign language he basically doesnt understand well. (Reyes, 2010) The study showed that the respondents adhere to the use of English, the findings suggest that they do not necessarily agree with the sole use of English as the medium of instruction. Respondents are inclined to use Filipino every now and then in instances where they feel that students do not comprehend the topics very well. Respondents assume that the comprehension of the students is highly dependent on the language use. The findings suggest that English terms in science and mathematics are difficult and it is the understanding of the lessons through discussions and exemplification using the English language that seems to

pose the problem. (Vizconde, 2006) The mother language should be adopted as the language of learning and instruction (LOLI) for Science and Health at the elementary school level for two reasons: (1) The science process skills (or thinking skills) are linguistic: communicating, classifying, inferring, predicting, interpreting data, hypothesizing, defining operationally, and investigating. These skills are best developed and sharpened using the mother tongue. (2) Elementary school children are at a stage in which they are still mastering their mother tongue. They need time to focus and attain the full mastery of their mother tongue to understand complex science concepts. (Padre, 2010) Teaching Quality Science Education in Filipino. One aspect of effective teaching that makes a significant difference to learning is the use of the mother tongue to communicate the nuances of any idea. To showcase this truism, fourteen selected Grade 5 pupils were taught a module about the respiratory system and the medium of instruction was Filipino. Five other science teaching aspects were also considered: (1) hands-on activities to foster concept development; (2) activities written in English with translations in Filipino; (3) activities with embedded assessment items to ensure assessment for learning; (4) inexpensive and common materials for improvising working models to explain the parts and functions of the respiratory system, the mechanism of breathing, and what happens to inhaled air; and (5) summative assessment items to test for factual information, conceptual understanding, and reasoning and analysis. The sample was chosen by the Science Coordinator of a public elementary school: four above average (AA) students, five average (A) students, and five below average (BA) students. This sample was taught the module The Breath of Life in five consecutive days, using a one-hour lesson per meeting. Post-test gain scores, including comparisons of pre-learning and post-learning drawings, posted satisfactory average gain scores, especially the Average (A) group and the Below Average (BA) group. The average

gain score of the A students was highest among the three groups. And, the average gain score of the BA students was not far from that attained by the AA students. This study contributed to the stock of strong evidence that using the mother tongue increases science achievement of students with varying abilities, provided other aspects for good science teaching would also be considered. (Balce, 2010) Tagalog-English Code-Switchingin English Language Classes. This study looks at Tagalog-English code-switching practices of teachers and students in English language classes in Metro Manila schools in the Philippines. A total of 14 English language classes whose discourses have been transcribed were analyzed to determine how frequent teachers and students code-switch in those classes and bring to light the forms and functions of the code-switches of both the teachers and students. The analysis of the data reveals that most English language teachers in the sample (11 out of 14 or 78.57%) codeswitch and therefore violate the implementing policy and they code-switch in around less than 5 to almost fifty utterances or a little less than fifteen, at the average, in the entire class session. students also have their share of code-switching in class sessions. All classes recorded at least more than one instance of code-switched utterances. However, though the instances of code-switching could be claimed to be significant, one"s tendency to codeswitch is more of an individualspecific trait. Tagalog-English code-switching in the data are most in the form of or strategy smooth-code-switching, at almost four-fifth of the total number of code-switches in the data. Constituent insertion follows but very, very from smooth switching. Nonce borrowings and non-smooth switches are relatively few. (Borlongan, 2009) The effect of teaching in native and foreign language on students' conceptual understanding in science courses. The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that students who studied "the Energy Unit" in the native language were capable of giving more scientifically acceptable explanations than those who studied in a foreign language. In other

words, Ss1used quite different concepts related to the questions and came up with more response categories, proving that they had more misconceptions. The results of this study are consistent with the results of several studies which suggest that students who have not developed their cognitive academic language proficiency could be at a disadvantage in studying academic subjects and science in particular since this course requires reading textbooks to gain a deep understanding of concepts, participating in dialogue and debate, and responding to questions in tests. (Kocakulah, 2005)

Chapter III Research Method and Procedure This chapter contains the research design, respondents of the study, data gathering instrument, data gathering procedure, and statistical treatment. Research Design Descriptive research design is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way. According to experiment-research.com (2008), descriptive research is a valid method for researching specific subjects and as a precursor to more quantitative studies. Whilst there are some valid concerns about the statistical validity, as long as the limitations are understood by the researcher, this type of study is an invaluable scientific tool. Descriptive research is unique in the number of variables employed. Like other types of research, descriptive research can include multiple variables for analysis, yet unlike other methods, it requires only one variable (Borg & Gall, 1989). Respondents of the Study The respondents of this research Academy Batch 2011 - 2012. The respondents were divided equally according to their gender. The ratio of the respondents is 1:1. The distribution of the respondents is shown in the Table 1. were the Senior Students of Canossa

TABLE 1 DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONDENTS GenderNumber / QuantityPercentage Female2050%Male2050%Total40100% Data Gathering Instrument The researchers instrument used in gathering data is the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire contains the letter to the respondents, respondents profile and question proper.

This questionnaire was answered reliably. The answer given by the respondents will be kept confidential.

Data Gathering Procedure To be possible of this research, the researchers made a Letter of Transmittal address to the principal of the said school. After this Letter of Transmittal was approved not only by the director of the researchers school but also by the addressed principal in the Letter of Transmittal, the researchers started our data gathering from the researchs respondents. After the approval of the principal, the researchers started to gather data by choosing the twenty female senior students and twenty male senior students of the Canossa Academy. Statistical Treatment Statistics is simply a tool to help the researchers interpret data in an unbiased manner. However, the most important function of a statistical description of data is to remind the researchers not to assume any more about their results than the data warrant. Here are some terminologies the researchers used in this research: Frequency is the number of respondents who answered the certain question. Percentage shows the fraction or ratio of the number of male or female respondents over the total number of respondents.

PERCEPTION OF SENIOR STUDENTS OF CANOSSA ACADEMY FOR S.Y 2011-2012 ON THE USE OF FILIPINO LANGUAGE AS A MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

A Research Paper Presented to Mr. Aldwin Manguiat

In Partial Fullfilment of the Requirement in English Communication 102

Presented by: Capili, Rizza M. Mendoza, Jeann Razen O. Dinglasan, Jezreel B. Lacerna, Jumiro Paver, Loyd

March 2012