My kids’ progress in Filipino at The Learning Library
It’s been almost a month since my two older kids started attending workshops in Filipino at The Learning Library. I have to admit, we missed a couple of days during the month because my middle and youngest children fell sick and we all had to stay home to give them time to rest and recuperate.
So where are they right now in Filipino?
So far I’ve received very encouraging feedback on both of them. I was shocked to find out from Teacher Wen that my 10-year old can now write sentences in Filipino and it’s only been their third week. You must know that on their first week, Teacher Rhyse who taught their group then, said that he needed work with his sentences as he could translate a lot of words in Filipino but had poor grammar structure.
(READ: Finding a homeschooling partner in The Learning Library)
Filipino, she explained, is structured differently from the English language.
Teacher Mark, on the other hand, said that my 7-year old was able to memorize all the words that he was supposed to learn on their first week.
The Age Gaps
The kids are enjoying their classes. I’m really glad that my kids are used to socialising with people of different ages as they had no problem interacting with the kids in their groups.
My 10-year old is in the Basic Filipino class with mostly 6 or 7 year olds. My 7-year old was put together with, I think, a 9-year old and a 10-year old, in a Talas Salitaan class. If you must know, the kids were assigned in classes based on their language skills, not their ages.
All’s good because they are enjoying their classes a lot and like their teacher, Teacher Wen, very much. I think that the teacher-student dynamic is important in a learning environment.
Home reading
So far, they haven’t had any homework except for the books to read with either me or their dad. My kids really appreciate me reading to them and going through the Filipino words with them. At times, they shower me with kisses and lots of ‘I love you’s’ when I’m reading to them.
Sometimes, Jay pitches in and reads to them but my kids say they prefer me doing it, haha! Not that he minds, really, because most of these books are loooong! But like I said, I’m loving that they love me for it, so let’s do deeezzz!
Everyday application
One thing’s that evident is my kids’ growing interest in learning the language. My 10-year old has been exerting more effort in speaking in Filipino in everyday situations, such as in asking simple questions like, “Mom, ano po ito?” (Mom, what’s this?) Or “Hindi sa kanan, sa kaliwa!” (On your left, not on your right!)
I can see that he’s more determined and encouraged now to learn to communicate with it. He’s really doing well.
My 7-year old likes the borrowing of books part the most. He thinks that The Learning Library is a real library and he’s been begging us to take him to one. TLL does have over 4,000 books to lend to their students, just so you know.
A photo posted by May De Jesus-Palacpac (@fullyhousewifed) on
In terms of talking, he does surprise us by inserting Filipino words here and there. The Learning Library has made such a strong impact on our kids.
Jay and I are currently discussing how we’ll be able to proceed with their classes after April. We’ve got a really busy schedule ahead (especially Jay) and we need to make sure that we can take the kids to their classes once we commit.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but we’ve been independently home schooling our kids for a couple of years now and they may have to take the DepEd accreditation exams (PEPT or ALS) in the future. A good handle of the Filipino language is necessary for a child to pass these exams as sections of the tests are in Filipino. Or if they decide to have college education in government universities like U.P. or P.U.P.
The Learning Library is a big help in this area for us.
Plus, as I’ve written before, the language ties us to our culture and to our identity. We are, after all, Filipinos. It is only right that our children will learn how to speak and write in their God-given language.
By the way, The Learning Library has two new branches – one at Fully Booked in BGC and another venue in Pasig. They will have their second round of workshops beginning on May 2.
If you want to know more about The Learning Library, check out these links:
Website: The Learning Library
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheLearningLibrary/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelearninglibrary_ph/
20 Comments
Charis
Thank you for sharing this and Thank God I found a class/language school which the focus is on Filipino Languange especially for kids. Will inquire with them.
Jerzee Benavente
The Learning Library is obviously doing a great job! I am very happy about the progress of your sons! Definitely, the more they practice the language, the more they will get used to it. The next time I meet your sons, it will never be a blood draining moment again. You know what I mean. Lol!
Coi
Good for your sons that they are learning our language! Good job to The Learning Library and of course to you Mommy and to the husband! Thank you for sharing 😉
Charley's Mommy
This type of workshop is truly helpful for kids whose first language is not Filipino. Good luck on your kids’ journey! 🙂
Neri Ann
There’s one in Marikina! Good to know na there are a lot of choices for kids now to learn our language. For us, we think we still need to check if our kids need to learn more on English or Tagalog kasi bulol pa sila until now!
Ming
I think, I will be needing this kind of school if I have three kids like yours and it’s hard to teach them sabay sabay. Good thing they’re having fun learning our language. Keep it up!
Sarah Tirona
lots of achievements in just 3 weeks! looks very promising. my daughter has the same problem w tagalog but she’s slowly getting better day by day 😛
Maria Teresa Figuerres
4,000 books, that’s a lot! My 9-year-old son will absolutely love it there!
kareenliez
My daughter needs a workshop like this because she can hardly speak our dialect, how much more Filipino. I’m kind of worried because she might find it hard to understand Filipino in school when she gets to elementary.
berlin maynigo
Ow, I like the set up. Its very intimate and the student-teacher ratio is so small, giving the teacher more time for each student. And I agree as well that for kid to learn and understand more, they have to apply it.
Way to go boys! Hope to read more of your progress here.
Janice
Hay, we still haven’t been able to take Ziggy to The Learning Library for his assessment. I also still haven’t decided yet if we want him to take the Filipino class too or the English reading one. Gotta decide soon!
Vanessa Bicomong
Salamat, Mommy May. We are happy to be part of your children’s journey!
Edel
I think most kids nowadays, especially those in private schools, need to study Filipino. Some of my daughter’s classmates in high school get low grades in Filipino. I, for one, is not really that good when it comes to writing grammatically correct sentences in Filipino. This is very helpful.
Ma.Me.Mi.Mommy
That’s great progress in just a short period of time! Galing! I’m sure we’ll also have a hard time with Filipino when the time comes.
Maan
That’s awesome news! I actually meant for Yuri learned Filipino first before English. One of the reasons — it’s harder to form sentences using Filipino than English, which I learned in linguistics class. Go boys!
Louisa
I think my kids need Filipino lessons! Something to explore for them.
Nina Sogue
This is very helpful for me in the future. I personally struggled with Filipino when I was a kid so I want my child to have a different experience. Good thing they have schools like this now. Excited to read more about your kids’ journey.
Arlene
Personally, I would want my son to learn English first. Not that I’m unpatriotic. But growing up, I found it easy to learn Filipino as it’s our mother tongue and everybody else around can speak it.
Thanks for sharing this. I look around me and all the kids I know are speaking in English, even my son. And it’s good to know there are still those who make way for younger generations to get rooted in our language.
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