A. INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Research

Why Filipinos Have a Hard Time Speaking English?

In the Philippines, the English Language has been selling like an old flavor of ice-cream and has been served repeatedly to millions of students in all the schools for the past decades. Most of us actually have tried this 'ice cream' but not everyone had liked it. These schools though, exerted a conscious effort on how to smoothly deliver this subject matter to every student.

Like ice-cream makers, public schools claim that they have already mastered this overwhelming 'ice-cream-making' process. While private schools brag that theirs is 'yummier', since they are now putting some 'cherries on top'. But after all, why still most of the Filipinos can't speak English better or they having a hard time on it?

2. Statement of the Problem

Speaking in English is not our lingua franca (mother tongue). It means that English is not our first language. And we, Filipinos find it difficult to speak English during a certain speech in a formal gathering or those students who have this English Zone Policy in their respective school, colleges, and states/universities. There are lots of Filipinos who are not that good in speaking in English and are trying hard to express themselves in English.
I recognize that learning to speak and write in English in this age of globalization is necessary especially if we would like to be able to compete in the knowledge-based world. Such training can best be done in a classroom. But if we look at things realistically, it seems like our public education system is just not set up for this yet. And so I just can’t help but wonder? Should we really impose a certain language as the primary medium of instruction? I understand that standards are needed and must be met. But couldn’t we perhaps just be a bit more liberal with our views? Should not teachers be allowed to use the most effective communication tools that will allow them to articulate their lesson plans best? Would not that, in the end, help their students to grasp the material better and truly learn? English is our universal language but Filipino is my first language. We must start to learn our own, and our own way will lead us to know another way. It is just like this, we learn English because we know Filipino language. So therefore there is no understanding in English if we don’t know the Filipino language.
But speaking of fairness, every nation in the world has its own peculiar language or dialect. In our case, if we speak Tagalog the way we do it every day in our households, the foreigners, even though they are learning or are tutored on our language, will have also a hard time getting clearly what we are talking. So, what’s to be done in order to correct or shall I say to cope up with this problem? Well, there are study modules for this matter. That’s why in colleges Speech Subjects/Activities is a must.

3. Importance of the Paper

Many people are just too shy to speak because we have a culture of making fun of others who are trying to learn and speak English. Instead of admiring those who are learning a language other than their own, they would rather make a mockery out of them. It's really a backward culture when it comes to learning and speaking English.

The importance of this study is to know the reason why many of Filipinos/ Students having a hard time to speak English and to know the solution on how to express yourself in English in a right grammar.

4. Definition of Terms