WHAT HAPPENS IF LINGUISTICS GOES CRITICAL? Implications for English Language Education in the Philippines

T. Ruanni  F. Tupas,

WHAT HAPPENS IF LINGUISTICS GOES CRITICAL? Implications for English Language Education in the Philippines

Discipline: Education

Abstract:

This paper seeks to locate the role of English in the transformation of educational and social structures in the Philippines as a result of many local and global concerns. This is done through a critique of mainstream linguistics and an elaboration of 'critical linguistics', including its implications for language education in the Philippines. A different view of language, that which situates it within the complex realities of Philippine society, enables us to see English not simply as a disruptive language, but likewise as a language through which Filipinos can exercise critical thinking and express cultural/nationalist ideals. This is a re-invented English, the kind which Filipinos use to suit their own needs, but the kind which has not yet been institutionally and socially recognized as a legitimate form of discourse in the Philippines. Critical linguistics translates into a critical English language education in the country if English is taught not only in terms of its form and meaning but, more importantly, in terms of its function and ideology. In this way, Filipinos are able to equip themselves with an English language that works with them, and not against them. Some assumptions in language education-such as the notions of 'correctness', 'appropriacy', and 'communicative language teaching’ are therefore also examined from a different light.