This is a little off the beaten track for digital broadcasters vendor news, but as a loyal Englishman to my country, my way of speaking correct English and the BBC, I punched my fist into the air and exclaimed aloud, "yes, yes" on reading* that English - English is being broadcast by radio station "DZRB" to school children audiences in the Philippines, which we all know is a very pro-American speaking country!
In Manila, the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) said it wants to put a radio in every classroom in the country to broadcast voice lessons on English proficiency.
The man behind the project is Education Secretary, Jesli Lapus.
Thank you Mr Lapus!
Mr Lapus said the award-winning radio program modules were produced by the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC).
He said the modules were part of the "Adopt-a-School" program of the department where local government units (LGU's) and the private sector are encouraged to donate funds to improve the quality of education.
The radio station we have to thank is "Radyo ng Bayan" or otherwise known as radio station, "dzRB" on AM768kHz.
Station dzRB is part of the Philippine Broadcasting Service, government radio of the "Philippine Information Agency", created in 1986 by virtue of Executive Order 100 signed by former President Corazon C. Aquino.
Mrs Aquino believed in the importance of a national agency to build a strong republic to respond to the information needs of the citizens.
Back to the "English By Radio" from the BBC - “The problem is giving radios to every classroom. We are tapping LGUs for that through their Special Education Fund (SEF) and the public sector. We call on these sectors to help us,” said Lapus during a recent press conference at the DepEd National Office in Pasig City.
“I’ve heard it (the BBC program) and I think it’s very good. It’s very basic and it will be good for the students. Our expert educators here say it would be good for the teaching of English as a second language,” Lapus said.
Note:The first language of the Philippines is of course, Tagalog, but the country has 111 languages and dialects. English is therefore very much the every day language "lingua franca" amongst the educated classes alongside Tagalog.
According to a 1998 law, Lapus said private corporations would be given tax incentives to sponsor the "Adopt-a-School" program. So far, he said, the private sector has contributed around 2.2 billion pesos (USD1.00 = P50 approx) to the project.
“We are continuing these programs with more rigor. We want to take these programs on a nationwide scale. Time is of the essence in the strengthening the quality of education,” he said.
It is worthwhile noting that radio is still the most accessible form of media in the Philippines, reaching 81.22% of households compared to a 44.93% television reach.
Latest count there are over 250AM and 200 FM radio stations in the Philippines. These are operated by commercial, political and civic organizations. AM radio stations broadcast mainly in Filipino and the regional dialects; FM radio stations are usually in English. News updates are broadcast every hour.
Hear for yourself the lessons on "dzRB" can be heard online at: http://www.pia.gov.ph/pbsradio.asp?fi=dzrb-live
Other Philippine Broadcasting Service radio stations online:
"DZRP" "Radio Pilipinas Overseas Broadcast" online at: http://www.pia.gov.ph/pbsradio.asp?fi=dzrp
"DZSR" "PBS DZSR Radio" online at: http://www.pia.gov.ph/pbsradio.asp?fi=dzsr
"DZRM" "PBS DZRM Radio" online at: http://www.pia.gov.ph/pbsradio.asp?fi=dzrm
"DWBR Live" "PBS Business Radio Live" online at: http://www.pia.gov.ph/pbsradio.asp?fi=dwbr-live
We at [digital broadcasters vendor news] are happy this application of English-English in the Phillipines. We hope similar broadcasts expand throughout the region.
*Partly referenced from the The Enquirer: http://globalnation.inq7.net/
No comments:
Post a Comment