In Philippines, falling English standards spark calls for film, TV dubbing ban

As concerns mount in the Philippines over the declining standards of English proficiency among its students and in turn the country's economic competitiveness, one lawmaker aims to reverse the trend with a novel proposal: banning Filipino dubbing of English-language films and TV shows.

In a bill introduced on February 19, Negros Occidental Representative Jose Francisco Benitez noted that several international studies showed many Philippine students were struggling with advanced-level English reading comprehension and speaking skills.

"To address this, we must enhance learning delivery to enable the [skilled] acquisition of English as a second language [ESL] ... Mass media can enable children to develop English proficiency," according to Benitez's bill.

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His proposal calls for a fine against film and TV content providers for dubbing English programmes, but they are still required to include Filipino subtitles.

While some educators believe a dubbing ban could be helpful, it is not enough to tackle the cause behind the falling English-language capabilities of Philippine students.

"Using subtitles as opposed to dubbing in English films and TV programmes could be significant in enhancing English proficiency," said Salve Calderon, who teaches English to junior and senior high school students at Bataan National High School in the city of Balanga.

Having strong English language skills is important for the Philippine economy, particularly in the key business process outsourcing or call centre sector, Calderon said.

"However, it [the dubbing ban] may not directly address the main causes behind falling English language skills," she told This Week in Asia.

The veteran teacher said she has observed a decline in English proficiency among students at all levels. Even older students who have studied the language for years are facing difficulties in understanding more advanced-level English content.

Her assessment is attested by the findings of several international education studies.

According to the 2022 International Student Assessment (PISA) of 81 countries, released last December, the Philippines was ranked the sixth lowest in reading comprehension with no significant improvement in this area since it was first assessed in the 2018 PISA study.

PISA is a programme conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that tests students between the ages of 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months on basic academic skills.

While the study is based on each country's local language, English is used in assessing the Philippines because it is one of the country's two official languages alongside Filipino.

English is the official language of instruction after Grade 4 and is used in all education materials, which means a lack of English proficiency can affect a student's performance in every subject.

"Many students don't even try to speak the language. It is important for us to face up to this problem because almost all school subjects are taught in English," Calderon said, noting that some students even faked illness to avoid speaking English in class.

Shirley Napana, a senior maths teacher at Lamao National High School in Bataan, observed that her students can read English text but have poor comprehension skills, which she attributed to their lack of interest in the written word.

"I think social media contributes to this since students tend to spend most of their time doing TikTok dances, taking or browsing through pictures or following their idols online. They even prefer foreign languages they don't understand, such as Korean, because they idolise [K-pop celebrities]," Napana said.

Baguio City Representative Mark Go, who co-chairs a national commission tasked to evaluate the education sector, said English reading comprehension and conversational speaking involved two different sets of skills, and Philippine students excelled in the latter.

He cited a survey released last year that showed the Philippines ranked 20th out of 113 countries and second in Asia after Singapore for English proficiency. The survey by Education First, a Swiss international education company, evaluates the countries on reading comprehension, listening and speaking skills.

Last year, the Philippine government announced an overhaul of the education system including changes to the K to Grade 10 levels of the K to 12 basic curriculum. The changes will take effect in stages from August to 2028.

Some critics, however, say more needs to be done as shown in the country's poor performance in international studies such as PISA. Go said that the problem is not the curriculum but its implementation.

"Our teachers continue to lack the necessary resources like a lack of textbooks due to procurement issues, particularly the ones in government schools. They also are not adequately trained to implement the programme," he told This Week in Asia.

The disruptions to schools during the pandemic further aggravated the problem, Go added.

In a bid to tackle poor English proficiency, the Philippine authorities introduced the Catch-Up Fridays programme in January. Under the programme, activities to improve the reading and comprehension skills of students are held on the last day of each school week.

Students are encouraged to read at their own pace on Catch-Up Fridays as teachers monitor their progress.

"We strongly believe that our students' abilities to read in English will be vastly improved through this programme, and it will help foster a culture of reading, which is very essential to their overall performance," Calderon said.

Napana agreed that the aim of the programme is laudable but said it is an additional burden for teachers who are already struggling with multiple responsibilities.

She said the welfare of teachers should also be improved such as providing more training for them, reducing their workload and raising their salaries in tandem with the implementation of the programme.

"We are on the battle front lines. Proper treatment will fuel our passion in this profession even more," she said.

Go acknowledged the importance of developing a pool of competent teachers and school leaders to help achieve the country's educational goals. Training all 800,000 teachers in the Philippines is impractical so a localised approach is more feasible, he added.

He cited the example of a project piloted by him in Baguio City to improve the learning skills of students through the training of principals and school superintendents in 67 public schools under the guidance of the country's educational experts. After receiving training, the school officials will impart their knowledge to teachers for follow-up implementation.

If successful, the project would be expanded to other cities and provinces, Go said.

On Benitez's proposed dubbing ban, Go said television and films are a good starting point to help students improve their English language skills.

"But this must be reinforced by interventions in schools to help students read better and understand the connections between dialogue and subtitles. This will make reading more impactful for Filipinos," Go said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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