TEXT A

Why Do They Say That Our English is Bad?

(An Excerpt)
Grace M. Saqueton
English teachers in the Philippines often find themselves in a very frustrating situation-no matter how hard they try
to teach the rules of written English to their students, the students still commit errors in word order, word choice, subject-
verb agreement, tenses, prepositions, articles, punctuation, and the like. Teachers get frustrated when they hear or read
sentences such as "They decided to get married," "Ana go to the canteen." It is also alarming because the rules that apply to
these sentences are supposedly simple rules that the students should have learned in grade school. Yet, here they are in
college, still committing those same errors.
Teachers and linguists alike have sought and (probably( are still seeking for ways and strategies to teach English
effectively, especially in the light of teaching English as a second language or as a foreign language. Different research
studies have been conducted and different theories have been used to address the situation. One of the topics that the
researchers have explored is the recurring errors in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and discourse of second
language learners. They believe that studying these recurring errors is necessary to address the supposed grammar problems
of the Filipino college students.
In a paper titled, "Why Does They Say That Our Sentences is Wrong When We Knows English? An Analysis of
the 'Common Errors' of Freshmen Composition," Saqueton 2008 identified some of the common errors found in the essay of
first year college students. She provided explanations, using error analysis, language acquisition theories, and Fairclough's
paradigm on the appropriacy of "appropriateness," as to what caused the "errors." This is in the hope of helping English
teachers develop teaching materials and device teaching strategies that are appropriate for Filipino first year college students
of different linguistic backgrounds.
Saqueton found out that among the students' essays, errors in the use of verbs are the most common, followed by
the use of prepositions, problems in word choice, and problems in subject-verb agreement. There are also errors in the use of
articles, conjunctions, pronouns; spelling problems are also evident.
These "errors" are considered errors because of certain standards that language teachers want their students to
follow. These standards are the ones prescribed by grammarians. Educators want their students to master Standard English as
a second language learners of English. The problem here lies in the definition of "Standard" English. Is there really a
common standard? If there is, who uses it? Whose standard should be followed?
Answering the question would entail a lot of problems. First, there should be a clear definition of what standard is.
What kind of English is Standard English? Dr. Andrew Moody, when asked during the 2008 International Conference on
World Englishes and Second Language Teaching on how to maintain correctness and consistency when teaching English in
the Philippines, said that it would be dishonest to teach Standard English as if it exists.
The answer alone could raise a lot of issues. It only shows that the concept of standard is problematic. According
to Fairclough (1995), there is a need for a particular standard in order to rationalize policies on the teaching of Standard
English. He further stated that appropriateness figures within dominant conception of language variation (234).
Is there an implied claim then that students of English as a second language or as a foreign language speak a
substandard kind of English because they do not follow the standards of General American variety? What if they (Filipinos,
for example) have accepted English and appropriated it to fit their needs and the context of situation in their own places?
Andrew Gonzalez (1985), in his paper, "When Does an Error Become a Feature of Philippine English?" pointed
out that until Philippine English is really creolized, English is still a second language, and one must accept a standard.
However, he also stressed that no matter how hard the English teacher tries, a local variety will continue to develop (168).
There will always be different perspectives on this matter, especially that language issues seem to be a highly
emotional one. Should language education then go for mutual intelligibility rather than subscribe to a certain standard?
Educators and language policy planners could go back to Fairclough's model of language learning. They have to decide what
to reach and how to teach it.

TEXT B
Mother Tongue
An Excerpt from Amy Tan's essay
I am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English
language and its variations in this country or others.
I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I am fascinated by language
in daily life. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language-the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual
image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all-all the Englishes I grew up
with.
Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use. I was giving a talk to a large group of
people, the same talk I had already given to half a dozen other groups. The nature of the talk was about my writing, my life,
and my book, the Joy Luck Club. The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made
the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy
speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her. I was saying this thing like, "The intersection of memory upon
imagination" and "There is an aspect of my fiction that relates to thus-and-thus"-a speech filled with carefully wrought
grammatical phrases, burdened, it suddenly seemed to me, with nominalized forms, past perfect tenses, conditional phrases,
all the forms of standard English that I had learned in school and through books, the forms of English I did not use at home
with my mother.
Just last week, I was walking down the street with my mother, and I again found myself saying this: "Not waste
money that way." My husband was with us as well, and he didn't noticed any switch in my English. And then I realized why.
It's because over the twenty years we've been together I've often used that the same kind of English with him, and sometimes
he even uses it with me. It has become our language of intimacy, a different sort of English that relates to family talk, the
language I grew up with.
Lately, I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to
people as "broken" or "fractured" English. But I wince when I say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way
to describe it other than "broken," as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness and
soundness. I've heard other terms used, "limited English," for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited,
including people's perceptions of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother's "limited" English limited my perception of her.
I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say, that is, because she
expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that
people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not t take her seriously, did not give her good services,
pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
My mother has long realized the limitations of her English as well. When I was fifteen, she used to have me call
people on the phone to pretend I was she. In this guise, I was forced to ask for information or even to complain and yell at
people who had been rude to her. One time it was a call to her stockbroker in New York. She had crashed out her small
portfolio and it just so happened and were going to New York the next week, our very first trip outside California. I had to
get on the phone and say in an Adolescent voice that was not very convincing. "This is Mrs. Tan."
And my mother was standing in the back whispering loudly, "Why he don't send me check, already two weeks late.
So mad he lie to me, losing me money."
And then I said in perfect English, "Yes, I'm getting rather concerned. You had agreed to send the check two
weeks ago, but it hasn't arrived."
Then she began to talk more loudly. "What he want, I come to New York tell him front of his boss, you cheating
me?" And I was trying to calm her down, make her be quiet, while telling the stockbroker, "I can't tolerate any more excuses.
If I don't receive the check immediately, I am going to have to speak to your manager when I'm in New York next week."
And sure enough, the following week there we were in front of this astonished stockbroker, and I was sitting there red-faced
and quiet, and my mother, the real Mrs. Tan, was shouting at his boss in her impeccable broken English.

TEXT C
Dear Prof. Lanuza:
Congratulations for being chosen as onr of the recipients of the ASEAN Educational Program Award. You are
invited to the 5th Annual ASEAN English Teacher's Conference. Our sponsors value the important work done by English
language teachers and they are willing to support your professional endeavors by giving financial aid in the conference.
The conference organizers and sponsors want to know more about your work and how the ASEAN English
Teacher's Conference will be able to help you. May we ask you to complete the attached questionnaire to help us provide
that information? Also, we would appreciate the opportunity for members of our Sponsorship Profile team to talk with you
about your work and the challenges and opportunities that you have identified in your study.
If you have questions, just send me an email or check this link to the conference website. Thank you and we look
forward to meeting you.
Best regards,
Prof. Hannah Lee

TEXT D
Republic of the Philippines
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
_____ Judicial Region
Branch _____, _____ City
EX-PARTE MOTION FOR EXTENSION TO SUBMIT COMPROMISE AGREEMENT
Defendant, by the undersigned counsel and unto the Honorable Court, respectfully state that:
On 5 January 2015, the Honorable Court, in open court, directed the Parties to submit their Compromise Agreement within
ten (10) days therefrom, or on 15 January 2015. Said day being a Shnday, the parties have until the next working day, 16
January 2015, to submit said Compromise Agreement.
Defendant Hannah Dy is presently abroad and needs to execute a Special Power of Attorney authorizing her
brother and Co-Defendant Roland Dy to sign the Compromise Agreement on her behalf.
Thus, the Defendant respectfully pray that the parties be given additional fifteen (15) days from today, or until 30
January 2015, within which to submit their Compromise Agreement.
This Motion is not intended to delay the instant proceedings but filed solely by reason of the foregoing. Moreover,
the filling of the same will not result in any injustice or prejudice to any of the parties herein.

Prepared by: Suaib S. Musa