Phil the Fil-Am: The Way to Teach Kids About Filipino Language and Culture
August 14, 2014Campaign, Features, Must-Watch, Phil the Fil-Am,
I have noticed that many Filipino-American children don't know how to speak Filipino or Tagalog. It's a sad reality. Why is this happening? I've heard from friends of friends that they believe that teaching their kids their mother tongue would cause confusion and non-mastery of the second language, English. They're so afraid that their kids would not be able to cope up when they socialize with their English speaking friends.
I also heard stories that parents were not able to teach their kids to speak Filipino due to their very busy schedule. They were already adapted and used to speak in English outside and inside their homes.
I have cousins who were brought up in America since they were preschoolers but they were taught how to speak and understand Filipino. When they went here in the Philippines for a visit, they tried their best to communicate with us in our mother tongue. What our aunts and uncles did was they were obliged to speak in Filipino at home and they were not allowed to speak in English at all. They were only allowed to speak in English when they were in school or at work.
I'm so proud of them! They have shown that it's possible to be bilingual.
To validate the importance of learning the mother tongue, I came across with a very informative article written by Dr. Josebelo Chong on his blog A Dugyot in the U.S.A. He wrote, "According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), there are various phenomena which can masquerade as deficit arising from bilingualism; however, the recommended approach is actually REINFORCEMENT of both languages (and cultures, as the case may be) and NOT EXCLUSION of one or the other. Interestingly, it states that 'Children all over the world learn more than one language without developing speech or language problems'. Bilingual children develop language skills just as other children do. A study done on German-English bilingual toddlers and published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in 2002 comes to the conclusion that 'early simultaneous acquisition of more than one language is not an inherent disadvantage for the child'."
Dr. Chong emphasized, "The truth is that teaching a second language can be BENEFICIAL. According to an article in the Linguistic Society of America's website, 'Some people worry that learning more than one language is bad for a child, but nothing could be further from the truth'. In fact, there are a lot of advantages to knowing more than one language. They then go on to say that bilingualism can ENHANCE cognitive development, IMPROVE the development of a child's cultural identity, and ENCOURAGE cross-cultural awareness and understanding.",
(See the full article here: http://thedugyot.blogspot.com/p/why-cant-filipino-americans-speak.html.)
He also mentioned a link to the article "Second Language Protects Against Alzheimer's".
Therefore, it doesn't cause confusion and it's not bad for individuals to learn more than one language.
I also heard stories that parents were not able to teach their kids to speak Filipino due to their very busy schedule. They were already adapted and used to speak in English outside and inside their homes.
I have cousins who were brought up in America since they were preschoolers but they were taught how to speak and understand Filipino. When they went here in the Philippines for a visit, they tried their best to communicate with us in our mother tongue. What our aunts and uncles did was they were obliged to speak in Filipino at home and they were not allowed to speak in English at all. They were only allowed to speak in English when they were in school or at work.
I'm so proud of them! They have shown that it's possible to be bilingual.
To validate the importance of learning the mother tongue, I came across with a very informative article written by Dr. Josebelo Chong on his blog A Dugyot in the U.S.A. He wrote, "According to the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), there are various phenomena which can masquerade as deficit arising from bilingualism; however, the recommended approach is actually REINFORCEMENT of both languages (and cultures, as the case may be) and NOT EXCLUSION of one or the other. Interestingly, it states that 'Children all over the world learn more than one language without developing speech or language problems'. Bilingual children develop language skills just as other children do. A study done on German-English bilingual toddlers and published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology in 2002 comes to the conclusion that 'early simultaneous acquisition of more than one language is not an inherent disadvantage for the child'."
Dr. Chong emphasized, "The truth is that teaching a second language can be BENEFICIAL. According to an article in the Linguistic Society of America's website, 'Some people worry that learning more than one language is bad for a child, but nothing could be further from the truth'. In fact, there are a lot of advantages to knowing more than one language. They then go on to say that bilingualism can ENHANCE cognitive development, IMPROVE the development of a child's cultural identity, and ENCOURAGE cross-cultural awareness and understanding.",
(See the full article here: http://thedugyot.blogspot.com/p/why-cant-filipino-americans-speak.html.)
He also mentioned a link to the article "Second Language Protects Against Alzheimer's".
Therefore, it doesn't cause confusion and it's not bad for individuals to learn more than one language.
Kids nowadays are luckier because they are exposed to multimedia. They can learn their mother tongue easily if only there's a show like "Dora the Explorer (who teaches kids to speak in Spanish and English)" in Filipino-English version.
This has been a dream of our kababayan in America, David Asis, who is currently creating a trailer for Phil the Fil-Am, an English/Tagalog children's cartoon about Filipino culture and social/analytical skills.
David's parents were from the Philippines. He was born in America. His kids are Fil-Am also, but
they know more Spanish and Chinese. They learn to speak the languages more than they do Tagalog or Filipino through watching Dora the Explorer and Ni
Hao Kai Lan.
According to David, he is not saying that knowing about Spanish and Chinese culture is a bad thing,
but he would like his kids to learn about their own roots as well. That's why he is creating Phil the Fil-Am. It's his way of teaching his kids and all kids as well
about Filipino culture in a format that they're familiar with.
The main character is named Phil and is modeled after David's son, Michael.
The main character is named Phil and is modeled after David's son, Michael.
He is currently fleshing out the other
characters, such as his nephew, Benjie, in the Philippines, who will serve
as the show's primary method for relaying life and culture in the
Philippines.
To turn his dream to a reality, he has launched a Kickstarter project to raise funds to create a two-three minute trailer of Phil the Fil-Am. Phase One of creating this show will be used as a launchpad for future phases of development. Phase Two will be to create a 22 minute Pilot episode, and Phase Three will be to create a 10 episode first season of the series. 80% of the goal funds will be used towards animation and music, while 10% will be used for art, script writing, story boarding, and voice talent, and the remaining 10% will be used promoting the series and miscellaneous expenses.
Here's a video to learn more about David's story and Phil the Fil-Am on Kickstarter:
I
think it's great and all worth it to help David. All kids especially the ones who live abroad will benefit from it. It's also a way of us, Filipinos, to be known for our rich culture and heritage. You may go to THIS LINK to learn more about Phil the Fil-AM on Kickstarter or HERE to back this project for a minimum of $1.00 pledge. This project will only be funded if at least
$2,500
is pledged by 5:14 PM Australian Western Standard Time (AWST).
Sharing this on your own social media accounts can be a big help too.
Your friends might be interested to pledge to make David's dream come true! Thank you so much!
You may also like Phil the Fil-Am's Official Facebook Page for more updates:
https://www.facebook.com/PhiltheFilAm
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