This was my midterm exam in Developmental Reading during my first semester. 2013-2014. Polytechnic University of the Philippines

1. The Adaptation of Philippines’ Children Today
Our Filipino culture today is very opposite from what we have had before. It is because we adopted
and attached to some of the western culture and the innovation of technology today. The technology,
invention of high-tech consoles, lifestyle, and the games we are playing, and even the attitudes of the youth
were affected of these changes. We easily adopted the foreign culture and rapidly disregard our own. Can you
still see young people today playing piko or tumbang preso outside their home? Can you still hear them speaking
Filipino in every sentence they utter?
Filipino children nowadays preferred to play high-tech consoles than playing “Filipino
Games”. When we were child before, we used to play piko, tumbang preso, tagu-taguan (hide and seek), luksong
tinik, luksong baka, patintero, and many more; these are what we called “Filipino Games”. Filipino outdoor
games are being played by Filipino children before as an entertainment and leisure. These enhance our
physical strength, cleverness and teamwork. We can play these games anytime, anywhere, or whenever we are
bored. We don’t need to use money just to enjoy playing these games. Just call our neighbor friends, and we’ll
have our company to play any kind of games we desired. We can say to ourselves that we are free to do
everything we want. As time grows, we have rapidly thrown these games because we were attached to
different inventions of modern technology like computer. But what is a computer? She stated that computer
is such a versatile tool for young and adults who enjoy using for work and fun (Cruz, 2003, p. 303). When the
western people invented it, we easily gave our attention to it because it can do a lot of things that we want to
do such as getting information, communication, entertainment, and etc. When we learned how to use
computer, we don’t bother ourselves anymore to go outside to play Filipino games. She found that more and
more people nowadays can’t live without the computers simply because computers are so much part of this
life (Hulleza, 2012, p. 12). For us, we don’t need to lose our energy or physical efforts just to entertain
ourselves. We can just stay at home and browse the internet or play online games. They found “the influence
of science and technology in our lives appears to be unlimited” (Flores, et al., 2004, p. 3). It influences us
because we are addicted to computer and other gadgets just like we don’t want to let go to those stuffs
everywhere we go. Before, we spend a lot of time doing homework before or after playing outdoor games,
but today we prefer to spend a lot of time playing computer games first than doing our homework or while
we are doing our homework, we can simply click or browse the website that we want to visit just like
Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and etc. Negatively, it distracts us to deliberate on our priority tasks. They said
we have become dependent on computer (Flores, Josue, Obille, Tan, & Tubal, 2004, p. 3). As innovation
grows, a lot of “electronic stuffs” were invented such as PSP, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and etc. For us, these stuffs
are more entertaining than playing outdoor games, because we can stuck-up inside our home and do whatever
we want on it; play games, music, messaging, internet, and so on. We don’t need to call anybody to play with.
We can say that those stuffs can be our playmates even when we are alone. We have no restrictions to use

2. such stuffs. He stated, “We manifest these attitudes in similar fashion these days” (Tamayo, 2011, p. 1). Only
few children in our present day play our traditional games especially for those who live in the provinces. But
here in the metropolitan, if we’re going to see children on the sidewalks, we can see them playing gameboy,
laptop, iPhone, PSP, iPad, and related gadgets. Need some proof? Why don’t you try to look on your neighbors’
houses? They were even tolerated by their parents to use such gadgets rather than playing outdoor games.
Our culture of gaming is really invaded by those consoles, in effect, we are not concern or rather we
left behind our very own games that we adopted from our ancestors and parents who also used to
play those outdoor games before.
Some children today are trained by their parents to speak more in English than in Filipino.
Language is a prerequisite medium for communication and to survive on our daily living. If we have no
language, we cannot do the things or tasks that we have to accomplish. We cannot understand each other.
Every homeland has its own language to use. Wherever we live, we use the language that is being used by the
people who also live or around us to avoid misconceptions. We, as Filipinos, have our own language being
used every day to communicate with other Filipinos or Kababayan, trade in the market, learn our lessons in
school, talk with our parents and friends, and etc. And it is “Filipino”, which is our National language, the
medium we have been using since we learn how to speak. This is the privilege language of ours which is first
taught by our parents, relatives or other people who are with us since we were born. We still use Filipino as
our primary medium of communication and it is very good to know that it has a lot of variations even though
there are other vernacular languages being used by other Filipinos who live in other islands like Bisaya and
many more. But there is other track when it comes to another language, the “English”. English language is
used in any part of the world. This is the international language of the world. The language we adopted when
the Americans invaded our country before. This is our second language after Filipino. We can see and hear a
lot of people in different fields of discipline who speak using this language for example; it is used in business,
schools, for socialization, by extravagant people, scientists, lawyers and lawmakers. Others use English to
socialize with other people who have class (rich people). These are just few people who speak the English
language.
Today we can see a lot of young people use English as their primary medium instead of Filipino even
when they are in freely available places or even if it is not must. We can see such people everywhere we are.
According to Ferrer (2011) “Some of them do not speak Filipino that much and are always speaking in
English” (p. 2). These people were taught to be like that by their parents especially when it comes to their
economic status. If their families are rich, we expected that they are trained or motivated by their parents to
speak well in English. Soriano (2011) stated, My mother required me to speak English at home and she even
hired tutors to help me learn and write in English. Can you see that readers? Some parents today motivate
their child to speak in English than in Filipino. We have had a discussion of the author’s (Soriano) article

3. during our class before. I can say that he came in a rich family, studied in a class schools and his mother
language is English but he can speak in Filipino if it is essential. According to Soriano (2011), speaking
Filipino was required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas
(vendors) and the manongs (chauffeurs) and the katulongs (housemaids) of this world. Through the motivation
of parents on picking English as their child’s mother language, it affects the view or the survival state of their
child in the exterior world. It will be tough to them to socialize or to speak with other fellow Filipinos who
cannot speak in English. We can say that other Filipinos who have no formal education can understand the
English spoken or written language but there would be a difficulty to construct on their own just to respond
on those Inglesheros. Then again, those Filipino who were raised as English-speaking, only use Filipino
as a prerequisite language to survive or avail their personal needs.
It is not flawed if we will acquire the culture that we engage-in like the new means of playing and
especially the usage of English as one of our medium of communications. The time passes by and we cannot
prevent it. We cannot control the minds of fellows to their needs. This is what we are. Whatever is in, that’s
what we have in ourselves. Before, we use Nokia 5110 or Nokia 3215 to send and receive messages. I will ask
you, are you going to use and present it in public such cellular phones today? Of course not, you will feel
embarrassed if you will do that. We are using phones today which are versatile such as iPhone, Blackberry,
Samsung, etc. Those are new to us and upgraded than Nokia 5110 and Nokia 3215 that we used before.
Those have big differences. This is what we are. The kids use these stuffs today instead of releasing their
sweat through playing outdoor games. We cannot condemn them for their parents tolerate and support their
leisure instead of letting their children play them outside. Parents might think that their kids would be harmed
because of the outside culprits today. As Ferrer (2011) stated, Some parents do not train them or show them
the right attitude of a Filipino and just going their own way without even considering the fact that their
culture is passed from generation to generation. There is nothing wrong if we shifted our culture of gaming,
we just need to retain on ourselves what are the games we used to play when we are young. And for parents,
they must reminisce to their children the games they used to play especially when there are no gadgets of
today are present during their childhood. How would we tell our children of our childhood if they are busy
playing high-tech devices? According to Tamayo (2011), Let us be agents of cultural change and let us
revive and preserve our traditional Filipino values.
English on the other edge, or our “Lingua Franca”. According to Soriano (2011), “English is the
language of learning”. We are dim-witted if we will say that we can learn everything without the use of
English language. We also need English to learn English. How will we qualify in a professional job if we don’t
know how to answer the interviewer’s question which is in English? Do you think you can read this article if
English language is not an unessential medium for me to learn? You also, can you read and understand this
article if you don’t know how to read this in English? According to De Leon (2008), “The communication

4. activities are geared towards situations in which the Filipino speakers are expected to use the English
language”. And do you think I can think and note down these words if I did not hear it to those people who
helped me learned in English? I cannot write this article in English if I only learned Filipino. According to
Soriano (2011), Filipino is not the language of privilege. But I did not say that I have thrown Filipino as my
mother language because we can’t learn English language if without the use of Filipino language as medium
of teaching in schools. We cannot blame people like James Soriano (the author I mentioned before) if they
are similar to him. It’s not their fault, or they have really chosen to acquire it and aside to that, we can’t
condemn them because they were nurtured by their parents to be what they are now. It’s on their parents’
approach or decision on the language they will have like us. We speak on the language like what our parents
speak. It only changes through environment, peers and learning in school. There has also something to do
with economic status; if you are rich, then the more you are eloquent in English because you can afford to
learn everything concerning it. But if not, you have to study hard in school or learn it on other people to
acquire learning English because not all of your family members, friends, or community speak in English.
They also speak in the language they have first erudite. We cannot blame people who chose to speak in
Filipino and or in English. Then again, it is on the new generation of parents’ and children’s position
and perspective on how they can understand each other and how they will be understood by the
outer surface of the world.
Our acquisition on these two changes affected our values we inherited from our
descendants. I can say these changes were revised through the modern views or outlooks, electronic devices
(which are our vices), the languages that are existing in our world. We can control it but we cannot stop it. All
we have to do is to go on its flow. We shifted our culture in the past, people change and our culture changes
because of the culprits we made today that we adopted and inherited. We must not forget the people who
taught us how to be a child playing sweating games. We must not forget the people who taught us how to
speak on the language we first known. These values are just a tip of our fingers compared to other
values that we have really thrown or rather we have upgraded.

5. Bibliography
Cruz, C. C. (2003). T. H. E in the 21st century. Manila, MNL: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Ferrer, M. R. (2011). Filipinos in the 21st century, pp. 1-3.
Flores, A. C., Josue, E. L., Obille, E. C., Tan, M. C., & Tubal, G. B. (2004). Science and technology I: Integrated
science textbook. Quezon City, QC: Vibal Publishing House, Inc.
Flores, M. M., Dela Cruz, E. M., Ladera, H. P. (2008). Ventures in communication: A textbook in English for first
year high school. Manila, MNL: Rex Book Store, Inc.
Hulleza, G. G. (2012, June-December). Science page: New computer viruses. Valiant, 5(1), 12.
Soriano, J. (2011, August 24). Language, learning, privilege. The Manila Bulletin, pp. 1-2.
Tamayo, R. B. (2011 May 14). Why save Filipino culture. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/letterstotheeditor/view/20110514-336393/Why-saveFilipino-culture