‘The last Itneg speaker’

 Language

 

Via Amor Perillo

 

‘When a language fades, what do we lose?’ An unfamiliar sound echoes through the small room. The midday sun casts a warm yellow glow on the gathering of babaket—elderly women—engaged in their usual chatter over dark, bitter coffee.

Their voices carry a familiar warmth yet feel distant, their words flowing naturally between them but strangely foreign to me. Now, those echoes belong to a language that left with her.

When my grandmother passed away, so did the last fluent voice of our ancestors. No one in our family speaks Itneg anymore—not like she did.

And I wonder, how did we let it slip away? My grandmother often spoke to us in Ilocano, but with the babaket of our barangay, she spoke Itneg. Growing up, I watched her transform into another person whenever she spoke that language—it was like they had their own world, a secret language just for them.

Their words would rise and fall like a song only they knew, their laughter carrying the weight of shared understanding. As a child, I was curious, maybe even eager to learn, to catch a glimpse into that hidden world. But after she passed, that curiosity, that flicker of interest, was extinguished just as it had begun.

I started to notice it when I was in school. My classmates and I spoke Ilocano or Filipino, sometimes English, but never Itneg. It was a language reserved for the elderly, spoken only in quiet corners or family gatherings.

They never taught us, the younger generation, to learn and speak it, so we didn’t. At the time, I never questioned it. But now, I wonder—was it truly unintentional? Did they think it was unnecessary? Or was there something deeper?

My mother, who grew up in Baguio, barely spoke Itneg herself. She had left the mountains of Kalinga as a child, and with time, the language faded from her tongue. This is how it begins—not with deliberate rejection, but with distance.

One generation moves away, the next speaks less, and soon, a language disappears. Not with a grand farewell, but with silence. I wonder now if there was also a stigma attached to it, a quiet shame imposed by a world that valued mainstream languages over our own.

In school, we were encouraged to speak English. In cities, it was Filipino. Itneg, like so many other indigenous languages, was pushed further into the margins, its speakers dwindling year by year.

Experts say that when a language disappears, an entire way of life vanishes with it. According to UNESCO, a language disappears every two weeks, and by the end of the century, up to 90% of the world’s languages could be lost due to modernization, migration, and the dominance of major languages.

But for those who lose their language, it’s not just about words—it’s about losing a part of who they are. And yet, I have to admit something painful: I never really bothered to learn from her. If I had just gone up to my grandmother and asked her to teach me, maybe—just maybe—everything could have been different.

Maybe she wouldn’t have been the last speaker of Itneg in our family. Language is memory. It carries the songs of our ancestors, the wisdom of old stories, the traditions that have shaped us. When we stop speaking it, we stop hearing those voices. We forget. And that is the greatest loss of all.

But is it truly lost? Or is it simply waiting—faint, distant, but still there? My elder sister seems to think so. In her own quiet way, she is trying to learn Itneg. She listens to old recordings of our grandmother, repeats the words under her breath, and sometimes even asks the babaket about certain phrases. At first, they were surprised—amused, even. But then, I noticed something else. When she asked, they answered.

When she struggled, they corrected her with patience. The language that once filled the room with warmth and familiarity was beginning to breathe again, even if only in small whispers. And so, I wonder: is it truly gone, or is there still a chance to reclaim it?

Maybe languages don’t disappear all at once. Maybe they fade, waiting for someone—anyone—to bring them back. Maybe, if we listen closely, the echoes of our ancestors are still here, waiting to be heard again. – (Via Amor Perillo is a student of the Benguet State University)

 

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SIL, Kalinga folks translate Bible to Minangali dialect

By Peter Balocnit

CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga - - The relation between religion and culture was made stronger with the New Testament Bible translated in the Minangali dialect and dedicated  for official use in masses and other religious activities.

    Apostolic Vicar of Tabuk Bishop Prudencio Andaya presided the dedication of the Bible in Minangali with the theme “Niyi Mangalin’n Ugud Apu, Basaon Ta Ikatagu Taku”, through an ecumenical rite held at the St. William’s Cathedral here on Oct. 24. 
Representatives of other religious sects participated during the dedication.
    The Minangali translation, the third of local translations in three Kalinga dialects, was a project of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL).
     It was the SIL that established residency in Mangali, Tanudan in the early 1970’s that worked for the translation of the Bible. SIL a non-government organization in special status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and affiliated with the Department of Education.
    SIL International – Philippines Director Jill Choa congratulated the translation team and the Mangali people for patiently working on the project for  years.
     “Your enormous labor of love over many years and staying true to the course to finish the New Testament in your own language is truly a big milestone,” she said.
    Meanwhile, project director Evelyn Caress encouraged everyone to take the challenge and be part in spreading God’s Word among the iKalinga.
    “Dayawek ti dakkel nga ayat yu nga maaddaan kayu ti Bibilia nga Minangali tapnu nalaka yu nga maawatan ti soa ti Apu” (I praise your great desire to have your bible in the Minangali dialect so that you understand better the Word of God,” she said.
    A Minangali dictionary was also produced and is planned for registration to the Commission on Filipino Languages. (JDP/PAB-PIA CAR, Kalinga)
 
 
 
 

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CAR schools, agencies set events for International Year of IP languages

 EDUCATION UPDATES

JS Tabancura

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Private and public schools in the Cordillera Administrative Region will host activities including camps, conferences, seminars and festivals to celebrate International Year of Indigenous Languages.

              Along with partner agencies, the participating schools are Benguet State University (BSU), Cordillera Career Development College, Saint Louis University, Mountain Province State Polytechnic College, Kalinga State University, Apayao State College and King’s College of the Philippines.

“In a nutshell, gusto ng IYIL na pataasin ang kaalaman ng mga mamamayan ukol sa sarili nilang wika. Year-long po itong mga activities and we want to target steps that will improve the quality of life, to enhance international cooperation, to strengthen intercultural dialogue and re-affirm cultural and linguistic continuity,” said Dr. Ricardo Ma. Nolasco, one of the convenors IYIL Philippines.

The said IYIL activities were launched on Feb. 28 at BSU.

              The launching was attended by personalities from the Commission on Higher Education, UNESCO, National Commission on Indigenous People, Dept. of Education and Summer Institute of Linguistics to signify their support.

Vicky Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur of UN and a member of the IYIL steering committee said articles 13, 14 and 16 of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples became the basis of lobbying by IPs that led to the adoption of Resolution 71-178 by the UN General Assembly proclaiming 2019 as the IYIL.

“Indigenous Peoples have always fought for their right to use their own languages,” said Tauli-Corpuz. “The UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) has three articles that talk about the rights of IPs to languages. One is Article 13 which says that IPs have the right to revitalize, to use and develop and transmit their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures and to retain their own names for communities, places and persons. The second part of this article says that states shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected and also to ensure that Indigenous People can understand and be understood in political, legal and administrative procedures if necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other appropriate measures.”

She added Article 14 says that IPs have the right to establish and control their own educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. Finally, Article 16 says IPs have the right to establish their own media in their own languages and to have access to all forms of non-indigenous media without discrimination.

“These are the articles,” she added, “upon which IPs pushed strongly for the declaration of an International Year on Indigenous languages.”

Meanwhile, guest speaker Commissioner Ronald L. Adamat of CHED described the launching as a historic event citing his own experience about the preservation of IP language specifically the Tiruray.

“Since college, embedded nasa aking mind iyong pag-pro-protect ng aming kultura dahil pinag-uumpugan kami ng mga malalaking kultura sa Mindanao, and these are the Muslims and the Christians. Ngayon kung hindi naming protektahan ang aming kultura at ang aming language, unti-unti na lang smawawala,” he said.

               To do his part in the preservation of his language, Adamat participated in SIL’s efforts in translating the Bible and the history of the Philippines to Tiruray. He went on taking translation jobs in college.

“Even the national anthem I translated to Tiruray and its been sung by students and school officials in our hometown in Upi, Maguindanao,” he added.

               Adamat also announced that through his initiative, an upcoming CHED Memorandum Order will integrate Indigenous Education to the Tertiary Curriculum.

He mentioned that one basis of his proposal for the CMO is RA 10908, an Act Mandating the Integration of Filipino-Muslim and Indigenous Peoples History, Culture and Identity in the Study of Philippine History in Both Basic and Higher Education promulgated in 2016.

“Language is a vital component of our culture, alisin mo iyong  language o hindi ka makapagsalita ng sarili mong linguahe o dialect, in effect, you are losing your culture and your identity. That is the most unfortunate consequence,” Adamat lamented.

He added that there is no other way forward but to be proud of our tribe and culture and to promote it.

In the University, College of Arts and Sciences, Bokod and Buguias Campus will focus on organizing an Indigenous Language Enthusiasts Society, MultiLingual Education Training, student congress, participation to the first Ba’diw Festival, Creative Interpretation of Indigenous Songs, Literary, Musical and Visual Arts competitions and an international conference to culminate the year-long activities.

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Abra folk slam ‘tagalized’ Ilokano orthography

By Freddie Lazaro

BANGUED, Abra – A group of writers from Abra, along with instructors and students of state college in the province have joined the call for the rejection of the Tagalized Ilokano orthography released recently by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF).

In a forum on the basic Ilokano orthography held at the Abra State Institute of Science and Technology (ASIST) last week, the local writers, instructors and students appealed to the KWF to stop “bastardizing” the Ilokano language.

 Viloria, the president of the Gunglo Dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano iti Filipinas (GUMIL Filipinas), said the protest against the KWF’s controversial Ilokano orthography, particularly on its attempt to revise the Ilokano language, and the questions on the competence of KWF Commissioner Purificacion Delima and KWF Chairperson Virgilio Almario has snowballed in recent weeks.

He said the protest had gained support from provincial governments of Cagayan, Ilocos Sur and La Union, and the officials of the Department of Education in the Ilocos region.

               Maria Theresa Benas, president of the GUMIL – Abra, said the Ilokano language has a rich culture on orthography that should be preserved.

She said that nothing can be changed in the Ilokano language orthography as it is unique and can stand alone.
Joel Manuel, an Ilokano language expert and a multi-awarded Ilokano writer, conducted the lecture on basic orthography on Ilokano language.

Manuel discussed the proper and basic styles in writing the Ilokano language.

The institutionalize the learning of the proper writing of Ilokano language, the Abra writers are seeking the establishment of specialized program for the language in ASIST.

“It is now the high time for the people of Abra to have formal opportunity to know the standard Ilokano orthography,” said Benas.

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Ilokano writers’ group rallies vs KWF version of dialect orthography

By Freddie Lazaro 

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — A group of Ilokano writers rallied against the proposed Ilokano Orthography launched by the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino in the regional office of the Dept. of Education in Region 1.

The members of the Gunglo Dagiti Mannurat nga Ilokano iti Filipinas (GUMIL-Filipinas) claimed that the “Ortograpiya ti Pagsasao nga Ilokano” prepared by the KWF is not in conformity with the existing standards of orthography being used by the Ilokano writing experts.

During the launching of the KWF’s “Ortograpiya ti Pagsasao nga Ilokano” on Thursday, retired Judge Joven F. Costales led the members and officers of the GUMIL Filinas in expressing their opposition to the KWF’s Ilokano orthography.

“The KWF’s Ilokano orthography would create confusion among the students, who are learning the Ilokano Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)and even the teachers, who are teaching the MTB-MLE,” Costales said.

“Our Ilokano language has its own unique and rich orthography that needs to be preserved and doesn’t need to be revised,” Costales said.

However, KWF Chairperson Virgilio Almario said that based on their study the Ilokano orthography is in need to be developed and to be revised in harmony with the existing Pilipino language orthography.

Almario said the KWF’s Ilokano Orthography is a proposal, and he is open for change and revision if necessary.

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Baguio hosts first int’l confab on Ilokano language

Language Trends

Pryce Quintos

BAGUIO CITY -- There are about 9.1 million speakers of the Ilokano language, the third most spoken language in the Philippines, mostly from the Northwestern area of Luzon. These speakers have migrated to different places in the country and the world. Ilokano language, then, is used not only nationally but also internationally.

In a move to broaden the discourse on Ilokano language, the Nakem Conferences International and Nakem Conferences Philippines held the 9th Nakem International Conference and 1st International Congress on the Ilokano Language Oct. 23-25 here at Supreme Hotel.

With the theme “Panapagpapapaang (maipapapan) iti Ilokano ken Panangitag-ay iti Disikurso nga Ilokano”, the conference and congress was attended by participants from Spain, the Mainland United States, Japan, Hawaii, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The conference aimed to “discuss the repertoire of the Ilokano language as used in all the domains of Ilokano life, in both the private and the public spheres; synthesize the repertoire and formulate it as the basis for an intellectualized form of the language for the production of knowledge in both academic and non-academic settings; propose alternative forms of teaching Ilokano in all levels of academic life of the Ilokano students in order to prepare them for the professions; and establish the Academia Ilocana (or Ilocano Academy) that will oversee all efforts at developing the Ilokano language in all Ilokano communities all over the world.

One of the highlights of the conference and congress was the founding of the Academia Ilocana, or the Academy of the Ilokano Language.Among the invited keynote speakers wereDr.ItaruNagasaka of Hiroshima University, Japan; Dr. Alvin Gaerlan of California, United States; Dr. Julius Soria of the University of Hawaii; Dr. Aurelio Agcaoili of the University of Hawaii; Sra. Milagros Delia Caguioa Guran of Spain; Mr.Josefino C. Jimenez from Thailand; Chancellor RaymundoRovillos of University of the Philippines Baguio; Dr. Miriam Pascua of Mariano Marcos State University, and Dr. Francis Bringas, Department of Education Baguio Schools Division Superintendent.

“These speakers are experts in their own fields and they represent the variety of domains of knowledge and cultural practice in which Ilokano serves as the mediating instrument,” according to an earlier event announcement on panitikan.com.ph. “The fields cover tertiary education, the various social and public service professions, translation, heritage and foreign language education, second language acquisition, applied and theoretical linguistics, philosophy of language and indigenous studies, diaspora and exilic communities, religion, mass and social media, politics and public governance, business and entrepreneurship, research and knowledge production, cultural criticism, creative writing, entertainment, law and jurisprudence, medicine and public health, and cross-cultural relations.”

The event was sponsored by the University of Hawaii Ilokano Language and Literature Program and co-sponsored by the following universities: Mariano Marcos State University, Abra State Institute of Science and Technology; Apayao State College;  DepEd-Region I; Divine Word College of Bangued; Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University; Ifugao State University; Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College; Kalinga-Apayao State College; North Luzon Philippines State College; Provincial Government of La Union; Nueva Vizcaya State University; Philippine State College of Aeronautics; PLT College; Quirino State University; Saint Louis University; Saint Mary’s University; University of Northern Philippines; University of the Philippines-Baguio; and University of the Philippines-Diliman.

The Nakem Conferences is a “cultural advocacy group of academics, creative writers, philologists, linguists, and advocates of emancipatory education.”

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Iloko La Union's official language

SAN FERNANDO, La Union – The provincial board of La Union unanimously approved on third and final reading during its session last week an ordinance declaring Iloko as an official language of the province.

The ordinance though does not aim to replace English and Filipino, but rather support the use of Iloko alongside them in a multilingual partnership.

Vice Gov. AureoNisce said La Union is the first province in the country that has a comprehensive ordinance protecting and revitalizing the native language.

“This Code will preserve our native dialect… Speak Iloko to know your heritage and it should be proper for the young generation to learn the native language,” Nisce said.

Nisce said the ordinance is fully supported by Gov. Manuel Ortega because Iloko is slowly deteriorating, especially in urban areas where Filipino and English dominate.      

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‘Mother tongue’ education finds methods in teaching

By Gina Dizon

NAGTIPUNAN, Quirino – Minda Bayangan  who hails from Ifugao and  Mountain Province  uses Ilocano and Tagalog in teaching  Agta kinder with  the aid of her pupils.  

Half of  the 20  Kinder 1 Agta  pupils enrolled in Djoryong  Elementary School who  speak Ilocano and Tagalog translate words in  the Agta  language to their classmates who only speak their  native  Agta dialect.      The newly opened Grade 6 level for school year 2012  adds up to 82 pupils from Kinder 1 to Grade 6 since the school was  established 10 years ago.

Asking  the  help of  pupils  who know the  native  dialect is  one among the techniques of implementing the mother tongue approach of the  Department of  Education  under its K to 12 program, was  identified in a multilingual education training held recently at the  Lyceum of the Philippines University.

Another method identified is with the aid of community teachers who help  Dep-Ed  teachers in  isolated  IP areas where there  lacks  education services.  With the aid of the regular teacher, they do translations from Ilocano and Tagalog and English to the native dialect to make learning better understood by the children.

Fielding community  teachers  is especially supported by  the Community Outreach and  Service Learning (COSEL) of the Luceum of the Philippines in 15 elementary schools  in indigenous peoples places  located in isolated areas of the country aided by the  program Philippine’s Response to Indigenous and Muslim Education (PRIME). 

The PRIME program is funded by Australian Aid  and  implemented with the  cooperation of  the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the  Dep-Ed.

Dr. Marilyn Ngales, Director of LPU’s  COSEL program  said  the mother tongue  shall be taught as a separate subject for  Grades 1,11 and 111.  Aside from making learning easier to IP children through the use of their mother tongue,  the vernacular  is taught to IP children who don’t speak their native language anymore.

Community teachers bring about local application in COSEL’s  Pamana’y Ugatin, Hasain at Arugain  (PUGAHAN) project,  a village-based learning  program with a three year learning and four-tiered geared to comprehensive  functional  indigenous peoples education.   

They shall enrich curriculum development “built around the venue and timeliness of learning.  The foundations of learning are generated from the familiar to the strange in the same way that the tool for communication emanates from the comprehensive to the more complex.  Curriculum thus provides the core of learning evolving from what the children can grasp and gradually expanding to what they can comprehend as they learn more”, Ngales said.  

Djoryong  Elementary School is one among  identified  PRIME-PUGAHAN’s  school- partners  where  children  of  indigenous communities   attend  kindergarten and Grade 1 classes in primary schools of  Quirino, Aurora,  Quezon,  Rizal and Palawan.

Bayangan is  supported by  the provincial government of  Quirino  through the Local School Board.

Other K1  pupils  supported by  PRIME-PUGAHAN  are in San Martin of  Quirino;  Matuwe,  Umiray, SingawanCaragsakan, Dikapanikian of Dingalan, Aurora;  Militunglan, Uma, Bumbanan, and Madaraki of General Nakar, Quezon;  Paglitao of  Antipolo,  Rizal beginning this school year June 2012.

For this school year, some  80 school children from five sitios shall receive primary education in General Nakar, Quezon Province and Paglitao, Calawis, Rizal.  Indigenous Batak shall also be reached in remote TinitianRoxas, Kalakwasa, Tanabag, and Puerto Prinsesa in Palawan.

Appreciating one’s culture among indigenous children who don’t know how to  speak their native dialect and those fluent with their native language  is equally a major  intent of  the mother tongue approach of Dep-Ed.

There are only 12 identified  lingua franca to be used this school year in the Dep-Ed’s  mother tongue medium of instruction  namely  Tagalog, Kapampangangan, Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaoan,  Maranao,  Chabakano.

The rest of  indigenous languages not identified  is now up to the  teacher to innovate.

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School opens June 4 with DepEd K-12 curriculum

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – Public elementary and high schools will open on June 4 with the Department of Education piloting the K-12 program’s new curriculum for Grade I and Grade VII.

City schools division administrative officer Atty. Augustin Laban III said the K-12 curriculum will use the Mother-Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTB-MLE) where the country’s 12 “mother tongue languages” will be used as medium of instruction.

             

The languages are Tagalog, Iloko, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Maguindanaoan, Maranaoan, Tausog and Chavacano.

           

 “K-12 offers a more balanced approach to learning that will enable children to acquire and master lifelong learning skills as against a congested curriculum under the ten-year basic education for the 21st century,” Laban said.

            

The “K” in the K-12 basic education program stands for the institutionalization of kindergarten as part of the basic education system and is “compulsory for admission to Grade 1.”

This means that children aged five years old are required to enroll in kindergarten classes prior to their admission to Grade 1.

            

The “12” on the other hand refers to the 12 years basic education required under the program spread out as follows: six years in the elementary, four years in junior high school and two years in senior high school.

            

“A 12-year program is found to be the adequate period for learning under basic education and is a requirement for recognition of professionals abroad,” Laban said.

            

“A student who completes the K-12 will be equipped with skills, competencies and recognized certificates equivalent to a two-year college degree.”

            

Laban said the additional two years of senior high school will be offered for free in public schools.

            

He said the House of Representatives approved the 2012 budget amounting to P238.8 billion which includes P2.4 billion for the kindergarten component of the program and more budget is expected to be earmarked when the Grade 11 component is introduced in 2016.           

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Mother tongue-based multilingual education

EDUCATION UPDATE
Amante B. Ulep

BALBALAN, Kalinga – The Institutionalization of mother tongue-based multilingual education in formal education is now posing as a big and interesting challenge for educators.

The Department of Education issued Order No.74 on July 14, 2009 and according to the order, integration of multilingual education (MLE) will extend to pre-school and to the Alternative Learning System.

Education that begins in the language of the learners has far more positive effects in school children was the rationale of the order.

According to information issued by the DepEd, studies show that children learn best when instruction at the primary level is in their first language, or mother tongue. Research also reveals that a child is more comfortable learning in the primary language. This allows for better conceptualization and deeper thinking.

The DepEd, in a recent press statement, said it will continue teacher training in mother tongue-based multilingual education, so teachers will acquire a clearer understanding of the principles, practices, roles and responsibilities needed for the successful implementation of mother tongue-based multilingual education.

An MLE Framework has reportedly been prepared for teachers, school managers, instructional quality assurance staff and education officials.

Among ten fundamental requirements, the MLE framework requires a working orthography or spelling for the chosen local language that is acceptable to stakeholders; promotes intellectualization of that language.

It also requires development, production and distribution of inexpensive instructional materials in the language at the school, division, and regional levels, and; gives priority on early reading and children’s literature.

MLE, is the effective use of more than two languages for literacy and instruction. The Philippines’ DepEd introduced a MLE Bridging Plan to be used for reference during the first three years of MLE implementation.

The department will also collaborate with MLE specialists to incorporate an MLE certification process. Their aim is to retain the privilege of establishing MLE certification procedures to maintain quality MLE programmes.

According to UNESCO, ethnic and linguistic minority people face obstacles to access quality basic education. This leads to high illiteracy rates and a poor quality of life. It is also a threat to the survival of their language and culture.

UNESCO has a strong commitment to support mother tongue instruction and bilingual/multilingual education to improve educational quality, especially for disadvantaged groups, and to promote cultural and linguistic diversity in all societies.

A “reflection paper” by Paulo C. Dorongon says “bilingual or multilingual education is a common practice adopted by many countries. As such learners are expected to learn one or more languages aside from his or her mother tongue. As in the case of most Filipinos, learning a second or a foreign language means learning new culture, new grammar, new words, etc. Questions arise as to whether learners have the real capacity of learning two or more languages all at the same time. But how do learners really learn a language?”

More in his own words: According Chomsky (1959), language is not learned solely through a process of memorizing and repeating, but that the mind contains an active language processor, the language acquisition device (LAD) that generates rules through the unconscious acquisition of grammar.

“Learning two or more languages is quite interesting. Learners are exposed to different cultures, different grammatical structures, different words and sentence patterns which will later create a big problem in their language acquisition. Lado (1957) stated that when studying English as a second or foreign language, learners found it troublesome to master the language because of many grammatical devices that need to be considered. He added that it is important to keep in mind that a variety of formal devices may signal grammatical meanings. And it is this variety that causes many of the learning problems in mastering a foreign language, since the use of different devices by two languages will constitute a problem.

Among the most frequent elements used in various languages to signal grammatical structure are word order, inflection (bound morphemes) correlation of forms, function words, intonation, stress, and pauses. Given this scenario, learning another language would not be an easy task to students; they need to master several grammatical elements and words which are entirely different from their native language.

On the other hand, teachers are faced with different challenges and problems when teaching bilingual learners. Sosa (1992) as stated by Diaz-Rico and Weed (1995) said that bilingual educators continue to face numerous challenges.

Some of these are as follows: need to integrate innovations (cooperative learning, etc) into bilingual education, need to explore ways to avoid placing language minority students in programs that contribute to dropping out and need to examine state policies that adversely affect LEP students (e.g., exit exams for graduation, remedial ESL classes).

With these, it is a challenge among educators to devise learning materials, and to create a teaching strategy that would meet the needs of L2 learners.

References:
Diaz-Rico, L. and Weed, K. (1995). The Crooscultural Language and Academic Development Handbook. Massachusetts: Allyn& Bacon Company

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