Teacher Study, Language Registers, and Scientific Grammars: Long-

Term Solutions to Upgrade Teacher QualityAudrey Morallo , Janus Cabazares, and

Kevin Brandon SaureUniversity of the Philippines Diliman

English Proficiency

MPS Descriptive

Equivalent1. Structure

42.82 Low

2. Written Expression

37.13 Low

3.Reading Comprehension

59.55 Moderate

TOTAL TEST

50.53 Low

National Education Testing and Research Center, Department of Education 2012.

National Education Testing and Research Center, Department of Education 2012.

What’s the current practice in teaching

English voice to students?

Teacher’s Guide for Grade 9Task 8 The Voicea. Instruct students to read on the teaching

points.b. Allow them to study the examples given.c. The teacher may have some inputs or give

additional examples in case of gray areas.d. Solicit students’ responses on the differences

between active and passive constructions.e. Ask students to give their own examples.

What’s the current practice in teaching English voice to students?

Task 10. The Voice in Action

a. Instruct students to write their own sentences in the active voice.

b. Then change these sentences into the passive voice.

c. For in-depth analysis, instruct them to note the changes that took place in the sentences.

The Grammar Framework

(Celce-Murcia & Freeman, 2008)

• Grammar is not merely a collection of rules, but as a system with a communicative end in mind (Celce-Murcia & Freeman, 2008; Payne, 2011).

•Grammar involves three dimensions: Form (Morphosyntax), Meaning (Semantics), and Use (Pragmatics).

Meaning

What does it mean?

(Meaningfulness)

UseWhen/Why is it

used?(Appropriateness)

FormHow it

formed?(Accuracy)

The Grammar Framework (Celce-Murcia &

Freeman, 2008)

Scientific Grammars

Under the MTB-MLE the teaching of the Passive Voice must be based on linguistic studies focusing on the grammars of English and Filipino. The grammatical analyses should be appropriate for the language in scrutiny.

These should be scientific grammars which are based on current developments in Linguistics

Analyzing English Passive Voice

Form and Meaning1. Taking the active voice as takeoff point, the passive voice

construction is derived by transposing the object of the verb to the subject position and changing the verb to its be + participle form. The agent, which is the original subject, is put to follow the be + participle verb and is introduced by the marker by.

2. However, passive voice constructions are not always derived forms. Especially when the statement has no necessary agent, the construction with a be + participle verb simply denotes status, description, or process.

Usage Passive form is most often used in academic and scientific

texts (Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 1999: 354 in Roe, n.d.).

Why can’t we use the concept of English voice on Philippine Languages

(PLs)?Fundamental differences in structure renders the conceptual imposition of English voice on PLs inappropriate. Some of the important points were pointed out by Nolasco (2004 and 2006):

1. The concept of subject and object is not suitable for PLs. Instead, the concept of the most affected entitiy is suggested.

2. Traditionally considered passives are pragmatically “active”.

3. Passive constructions occur as frequently as their active counterparts.

4. While English passive has the option/tendency to drop the agent of the action, this behavior is not found, if not uncommon, in Philippine languages (Shibatani, 1988, 1991).

5. Other considerations: word order and number agreement.

Alternative analysis

Given these, an analysis that is tailor-cut for the special characteristics of PLs is proposed. As an alternative to the subject-object dichotomy, Nolasco proposes the S-A-O analysis for PLs. This roots from the categorization of English into nominative-accusative type, and the PLs into the ergative-absolutive type.

The Relevant concepts for understanding voice in Philippine Languages

The notion of subject is not relevant in Philippine Languages (Nolasco, 2004)

Concept of Transitivity in Philippine Languages:The degree of effect of an action that is transferred from the agent-like entity to a patient-like entity (Nolasco, 2004).

Language Intellectualization

•The MTB-MLE- curriculum requires the development of academic register

for various Philippine languages.

•For teaching the Passive voice, the concepts used to analyse Philippine

languages are English based categories

English grammar concepts were used as the framework to understand the

Philippine languages

[1] Subject (Simuno) –”Ang gumaganap ng sinasabi ng pandiwa” (Balarila ng Wikang Pambansa , 1944)

[2] Object (Layon) – “Tagatanggap ng gawaing sinasabi ng pandiwa” (Balarila ng Wikang Pambansa , 1944)

[3]Transitive (Palipat) – “Pandiwang maaaring lagyan ng tuwirang layon” (Makabagong Balarilang Pilipino, 2003).

English grammar concepts were used as the framework to understand the

Philippine languages [5] Active (Tukuyan) - “Ang simuno ay tahasang gumaganap at may layong sadyang ginagamapan ng gawaing tinutukoy ng salitang ugat”. (Balarila ng Wikang Pambansa , 1944)

[6] Passive (Balintiyak) - “Nagsasaad ng pagiging simuno ng dating kaganapan, pagiging kaganapan ng dating simuno, at ibang panlapi ng pandiwa” (Balarila ng Wikang Pambansa , 1944)

These categories can be used in teaching English

grammar in the MTB-MLE

TagatanggapSimunoTukuyanBalintiyakLayon

KatawaninPalipatTinigTagaganap

1 Debrief2 Discuss the Research Concept3 Compare research with Practice4 Plan Collaboratively5 Assignment

Lesson Study Group

Thank You!