Philippines losing reading habit

I loved the editorial “Letter grade.” (Inquirer, 11/20/11)  It reminded me of my teaching years when I was trying to motivate my students to read by exposing them to Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays, assigning classics for book reports, unlocking—together with them—the meanings of verses behind the beautiful figurative language in poems by the likes of Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Alexander Pope, et al.

Sadly, not many Filipinos read nowadays. This is evident when (mostly young) people attempt to speak English but end up expressing themselves superficially,

ungrammatically, or in “Taglish.”

Recently, I was tuned in to a funny evening radio show while stuck in Edsa traffic. The female DJ (“Chacha”) would put a caller on air and naughtily exchange banters with him/her, during which she also read out the listeners’ comments about the same person, as sent through the text line. Since the station’s target is the low-end crowd, I was a bit surprised (just as the DJ was) that one of the callers was an English-speaking teacher-cum-telenovela voice actor. At first, he expressed himself mostly in English, but was understandably requested by the DJ (who speaks English well, too) to speak in Filipino, reminding him tactfully that the listeners were mostly “masa.” The caller complied but still inevitably uttered English words and phrases every now and then as he gamely joked with the DJ.

Mid-way through the hilarious conversation, the DJ started to read the listeners’ comments.

Most complimented the caller for his “nice voice,” “good diction,” “good English,” etc. But one listener texted “Ang arte niya magsalita (He speaks in an affected manner),” to which he politely replied, “This is how I naturally talk. No put-ons” (or something to that effect).

What I am concerned about as a former English teacher myself is the decreasing number (in proportion to our total population) of good Filipino English speakers. Because they are becoming a rarity, they are being thought of as maarte just because they speak English well.

There is a huge disparity in terms of language facility and attitude toward language learning between Filipinos who read and those who do not; those who can speak English and those who cannot. Not to mention possible job opportunities.

I hope that the Department of Education’s zeal in promoting reading will be sustained forever and not just during the National Reading Month of November. Reading expands the mind as it develops one’s vocabulary as well as his speaking and writing skills, which are indispensable in the professional world. It can uplift a person’s self-esteem.

To the DepEd: Do prioritize students from lower-class families. No, I do not say this condescendingly. I say this out of genuine concern for the poor who always get left behind. They need immediate attention to bridge the intellectual and literacy gap.

Everybody says we can move forward if our citizens are educated. So let’s help educate ourselves and each other by reading.

—SIMONA L. YABES, simonayabes@yahoo.com