Nap on English

   To start with, Philippines is an archipelago of 7,100 islands and has 500 dialects. Our country's topographic

condition has been the cause of such diversion in the tongues of the people. It had been almost impossible to comprehend each other without us having a common language understandable for all.

  Thus, when Americans tried to conquer our country they had imposed English to be the medium of instructions in schools. Since then we learned to love it little by little and before we even noticed it had been our way of life.

  English started to be status quo in our country during the early times. We viewed good English speakers as the elite because not to many know the language yet. At first there had been hesitations on embracing the new tongue for the reasons such as sacrificing one's patriotism and viewing the love for this language as a colonial mentality. Not too long ago our eyes have been opened to the opportunities of being knowledgeable of the language. I am now speaking for myself!

Nap's Experience

  Let me share with you an experience I had. I remember when we were still in grade school our teacher imposed the speaking English policy inside our classroom. If we were caught speaking in our vernacular we would be fined 25 centavos.

  Since, I had just little money then, i made sure that i would not be caught by shutting my mouth the whole times. The money would go to our funds for our Christmas party. That was a bit stiff policy for grade school but it motivated us to learn well and it inculcated in our young minds that learning English is important. It was just telling us in an indirect way to speak English or to keep quiet.

  There had also been literary competitions in our schools such as declamations, orations, essay writing. All of which we do both in Filipino and English languages. That way we will learn more about the international language without forgetting and appreciating our own native tongue. All these initiatives have proven to be effective.

  Up to date, American companies have their call centers in the Philippines. This is once again a proof that Filipinos speak the language that can pass an International standard. In the end of it all has been profitable to us. It has provided us with new opportunities that are unimaginable without our skills in using the English.

Nap's Tips

  Students often ask me for tips on how to improve their English. Sometimes, i think that they are looking for one technique that will make English easy for them. I wish I had a magic pill that would immediately make my students fluent in English, but I don't. I don't think that there is any magic short cut for learning English. There is no substitute for practice, but I do have some suggestions that have helped many students. Here are few:

- Watch a movie and stop the movie and compare what you hear to what the subtitles say.

- Keep a diary of any new expressions or words you learn.

- Record any interesting or any unusual translations you hear.

- Take notes on any gestures or other body language you see.

- Record portions of English radio broadcasts or TV programs in English.

- Listen closely to the content of the program and make it a goal to learn several new words every time.

- Don't try and listen to every word but try and listen for the overall meaning.

- Listen to English group music tapes. Read the words to the songs. Repeat after them.

English is for Everyone

Today learning English in my country is not just for the elites. It is for everyone. It is not anymore viewed to be a product of the colonial mentality but rather being competitive. We are not just citizens of our own country but we are citizens of the world. English is the global tongue and for us to be able to survive anywhere in the world we need to at least know how to express ourselves using a globally known tongue.

I am writing this article for the primary reason of encouraging the Chinese students to get a good grasp of the language and to shake off the hesitations and doubts they have so, their minds will be open for learning.

Filipinos love our own country, love our own tongue just like Chinese people do but still we managed to keep our own identity. That is making me proud of my heritage. It is just a matter of attitude. If I can, If Filipinos can, then YOU can, CHINESE PEOPLE CAN!