1. K to12: Lessons to be taught in mother tongue to
help students learn better and stay in school
Richelle Sy-KhoJune 18, 2012 3:46pm
Tags: Department of Education
Besides increasing the number of years in school, the K to12 program of the Department of
Education (DepEd) has introduced another change in the country’s schooling system – using the mother
tongue as medium of instruction.
The “Mother Tongue-based Multi-lingual education” (MTB-MLE) shall be applied from kindergarten to
Grade 3 in both public and private schools. It shall be part of the new curriculum for incoming Grade 1
pupils.
The 12 languages as mediums of instruction are: Tagalog, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol,
Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan, Maranao, and Chabacano.
DepEd Undersecretary Yolanda Quijano explains that the MTB-MLE will help students understand their
lessons better, at the same time infuse a sense of nationalism that she adds is still lacking among the
youth.
“Eto talaga ay para naman ma-aware ang bata kung saan siya galing, ang roots niya, ang cultureniya,
ang sarili niyang kwento at songs, ang pagka-Pilipino niya,” Quijano says.
Studies show that students learn better when taught in their native language than in a foreign tongue.
Diane Dekker and Walter Stephen of the Summer Institute Linguistic International in 2007 studied 240
elementary students in Lubuagan, Kalinga to gauge whether they learn better when taught in their native
language or in English.
They found out that majority of the top 40 students performed better after being taught in their first
language – 32 of the top students in Grade 1, 30 in Grade 2, and 32 in Grade 3. Meanwhile, the bulk of
the bottom 40 students performed relatively poorly when taught in a foreign language – 36 students in
Grade 1, 40 in Grade 2, and 31 in Grade 3.
Multi-language education, however, does not mean English and Filipino will no longer be required.
Quijano says Filipino subjects will still be taught in the first semester, while English will be taught in the
second semester. Both language subjects shall focus on oral fluency, she adds.
The students shall also be taught the other components of language – such as listening, oral development,
speaking, reading and writing – from Grades 2 to 4.
Addressing the dropout rate
More than improving the comprehension skills of students, the mother language education also aims to
address another long-standing problem in the country’s educational system – the increasing dropout rate
among the youth.
According to a 2000 United Nations report, the dropout rate in the Philippines at the public school
elementary level has remained high in a span of five decades since the 1960s – 28 to 34 percent of that

2. student population fail to reach Grade 6 level.
Based on the 2008 data from the Commission on Higher Education, out of every 100 Grade 1 students, 66
finish Grade 6, 58 reach first year high school, and only 43 finish high school. Of these high school
graduates, only 23 enroll in college, while 14 manage to even finish their degrees.
Quijano explains that the lack of students’ preparedness when they enter Grade 1 affects their learning,
thus forcing them to drop out of their classes.
“Ang isa kasing reason kung bakit nagda-drop out ang mga bata as early as grade 1, wala kasi
tayong preparedness for formal schooling,” Quijano says.
She adds that multi-language education – boosted by the universal kindergarten also under the K to12
program – shall prepare these students to learn better in school so they wouldn’t have to drop out of their
classes.
More subjects, less time in
school for 1st graders
Incoming grade 1 students and high school freshmen will be under DepEd's K to 12
curriculum
Reynaldo Santos Jr
Published 2:13 PM, Apr 05, 2012
Updated 2:42 PM, Jun 05, 2012

3. MANILA, Philippines - Incoming grade 1 public school students will have more subjects but fewer
school hours when classes begin in June 2012.
They will be the first to test the new curriculum that the Department of Education (DepEd) has developed
for its K to 12 program.
The program will run on a K-6-4-2 education model, wherein a student has to study in grade school for 6
years, in junior high school for 4 years (grades 7 to 10), and in senior high school for two years (grades 11
to 12).
The incoming grade 1 students of school year 2012-2011 are the so-called "guinea pigs" of the program.
DepEd started implementing its revised curriculum last school year, when these students were in
kindergarten.
Starting with this batch, no public school student in the Philippines will be admitted to Grade 1 without
taking up kindergarten.
Private schools are also covered by the program, but officials have yet to discuss its implementation.
Based on the curriculum guide provided by DepEd, the incoming grade 1 students will be taking up 6
subjects for an entire school year. Each subject will be taught for a maximum of 40 minutes per day:
 Reading and Writing in the Mother Tongue - 40 minutes
 Oral Fluency in Filipino - 40 minutes
 Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao (EsP) - 30 minutes

4.  Mathematics or Arithmetic - 30 minutes
 Araling Panlipunan (AP) - 30 minutes
 Music, Arts, Physical Education, Health (MAPEH) - 30 minutes
When the second half of the school year comes, a 7th subject, Oral Fluency in English, will be introduced.
This subject will be taught for 40 minutes.
Despite the increase in the number of subjects, the total hours to be spent by a first grader in school would
still be less.
Before this, the grade 1 level used to have only 4 subjects, each lasting an hour or more daily:
 English - 100 minutes per day
 Filipino - 80 minutes per day
 Mathmatics - 80 minutes per day
 Sibika at Kultura - 60 minutes per day
This set of subjects, along with the schedule, was introduced when DepEd overhauled its curriculum in
2002. Among the features of this revised curriculum is the inclusion of the subject Makabayan.
Makabayan was not offered to students in grades 1 to 3, but some concepts of the subject were integrated
in Sibika at Kultura.
Education Secretary Armin Luistro explained that the shortened time will "make education less stressful
and more enjoyable for our young learners."
DepEd has already prepared revised curriculums for grades 2 to 6, but these will not yet be implemented
until the incoming grade 1 students reach these levels.
Incoming grade 2 to 6 students in June 2012 will not be covered anymore by the new program -- at least
for the duration of their stay in grade school.

5. Still no Science
Just like in the old curriculum, Science will still not be offered as a separate subject to grade 1 students.
In the 2002 revised curriculum, Science and Health concepts were integrated in English. But in the new
program, Science will be integrated into more subjects: Mother Tongue, English, Health, and Math.
In a forum with businessmen on March 28, Luistro explained that DepEd wants to promote the idea that
"science is a study of everyday life."
"These concepts and skills are integrated rather than discipline-based, stressing the connections across
science topics and other disciplines as well as applications of concepts and thinking skills to real life," he
said.
Just like in the old curriculum, the K to 12 program will offer Science as a separate subject starting grade
3.
High school freshmen included
The revised curriculum will also be introduced to incoming high school freshmen, or the grade 7 students.
They will have 2 years added in their high school period. The additional years will offer students subjects
or electives that will offer specialization depending on the occupation or career track that students wish to
pursue.
Incoming 2nd to 4th year high school students will not encounter these additional years in high school

6. anymore.
Based on the curriculum guide by DepEd, grade 7 will have the same subjects as in grade 1, minus the
Mother Tongue subject, since this will be offered from grades 1 to 3 only. But the high school freshmen will
have the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) subject, which will offer various skill-enhancing
topics for the entire high school level.
Though incoming students in grades 2 to 6 in June 2012 will not be covered by the new program in the
grade school level, they will be affected once they reach high school. - Rappler.com