Japan Times columnist namangha sa galing mag-Ingles ng mga Pilipino

Ikinamangha ng kolumnistang si Amy Chavez ng Japan Times, isa sa mga pahayagan sa Japan, ang galing ng mga Pilipino sa pagsasalita ng Ingles nang bumisita ito sa Pilipinas sa loob ng dalawang linggo kamakailan.

Sa kanyang kolumn sa Japan Times na pinamagatang “Japan Lite,” isinulat nito ang kanyang naging obserbasyon na halos lahat ng Pilipino, kahit ang mga hindi nakapag-aral, ay nakakaintindi at nakakapagsalita ng Ingles bilang pangalawang lengguwahe.

“English was brought to the Philippines during the 1896-1946 American occupation and it still enjoys official status. This does not mean that everyone understands or speaks English, but it does mean that exposure to the language is so widespread that those who do speak it can communicate quite fluently. I was also impressed that people who had never stepped outside the Philippines were nevertheless fluent in English,” pahayag ni Chavez sa kanyang kolumn.

Ipinunto ni Chavez na sa kanyang pagligid sa Pilipinas ay nakita niya kung paano ginamit ang lengguwaheng Ingles – sa mga karatula, sa pagbabalita sa radyo at telebisyon, at maging sa advertisements nito.

“How can a nation acquire a second language so proficiently despite some claims that as many as 27.8 percent of Filipino school-age children either don’t attend, or never finish, elementary school?”

“It’s all in the approach to learning English. The Philippines not only teaches English in its schools but also provides its population with another tool crucial to language acquisition: exposure,” dagdag pa ni Chavez.

Iminungkahi ng kolumnista na kung nais ng gobyerno ng Japan na matuto at masanay din ang mga Japanese sa pagsasalita ng Ingles, at makakuha ng international students na mag-aral sa Japan ay dapat nitong tularan ang ginagawa ng Pilipinas – pagtuturo sa paaralan at sa labas nito.

Matatandaan din na kamakailan ay inanunsiyo ng Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology o MEXT ang balak nito na simulan sa Grade 3 ang pagtuturo ng wikang Ingles sa mga paaralang elementarya sa Japan mula sa kasalukuyang Grade 5 sa taong 2020.

“If the government hopes to meet its goal of attracting 300,000 international students to Japanese universities by 2020, it should consider how the Philippines has significantly increased its foreign student enrollment: Top universities in the country teach all their classes in English. As a result, the Philippines is attracting foreign students from Iran, Libya, Brazil, Russia, China and yes, even Japan, to earn graduate and postgraduate degrees,” mungkahi ni Chavez.

“It is hard to overemphasize the role of exposure in learning a second language. Not only does it allow people to experience the language firsthand in real situations, but exposure provides reinforcement — something Japanese students rarely, if ever, get outside the classroom,” dagdag pa nito.

Giit ni Chavez, ilang kumpanya sa Japan tulad ng Renault-Nissan, Rakuten, Fast Retailing, Bridgestone at Honda ang nakakita ng kahalagahan ng pakikipagkomunikasyon sa Ingles kaya’t hinikayat ng mga ito ang kanilang empleyado na magsalita ng Ingles.