Abecedario
My first brush with the Spanish alphabet was when I was in Grade II. I was late for admission in my well-known elite English-speaking Grade I school and my parents took the quick and easy way out of the situation by enrolling me in a downtown public school nearest their workplace. That was about the time the Philippines had its first Miss Universe, and I had my first out-of-my-world encounter.
When the time for language class came and I heard all the children rattle off in unison: a, be, ce, che, de, e, ca, jota, i, hache, ge, efe, ele, elle …, I was in delirium tremens. Never heard anything like it before and my ABC accustomed mind could hardly make sense out of what I was hearing. If listening for me was bad enough, asking me to follow suit was pure torment. As far as I’m concerned, it was nothing but alien. My brave young heart had a sudden loss of courage and confidence and I dreaded ever having to go to school.
Happily, my awful fear of the abecedario wore off in time. I began taking an interest in and an appreciation for it the instant we started reading in class. The teacher would pass around newsprint booklets of stories written in the Chavacano vernacular which as you know has its roots in Spanish. I marveled at the stories of Pepe and Pilar and stories about different birds, animals and places.
Unlike in my former private school where a whole set of brand-new books were acquired from the school’s book custodian, one could shop for public school reading materials from the school supplies section of downtown department stores. I spent many noon breaks in these stores browsing for new titles of Chavacano booklets hanging on display like they would comic books. Even if I went back to my private school the next school year, this learning experience, harrowing prelude included, was one I fondly remember.
In those days, both the common spoken language (Chavacano) and the official formal language (English) are taught in public elementary schools. Although, in my experience, I would say, public school’s bent is toward the former. My private school then took to English exclusively as a medium of instruction and communication and would fine students speaking in the vernacular.
To this day, controversy rages as to which language to use and promote in our schools. On one side there are those who push for the use of Filipino as it is part of our national identity, on the other, there are those who support English as a means to gain competitive edge in the increasing global economy, and somewhere in between are those who encourage the use of the mother tongue (dialect one learns at home) and those who undertake to have foreign languages such as Spanish added in the curriculum.
While each has its own merit, the crying need of the time is quality. There is a need to develop the competence and proficiency of the students in the use of any language. The students must have enough skill in one that they can transfer to another. A practical and sensible approach is to start with the first language that one is most familiar with as a bridge to learn a second language.
Use of the mother tongue in pre-school can help kids understand, think better and learn faster, which are essential before we let them master our country’s two official languages: Filipino and English. Foreign languages can come later in high school or college when they are equipped and ready to expand their language arsenal. The insistence of introducing an unfamiliar language at an early age can be counter productive as it can cause confusion that hinders a child’s critical thinking - the sort that turns an otherwise friendly ABC into a menacing Abecedario.
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