Effects of Flalok Program to the Reading Comprehension of Grade Two Pupils at Rogaya Bajunaid Integrated School

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Flalok Project is one of the initiatives implemented in the school in preserving the Indigenous People (IP). Spearheaded by the Conrado and Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation, Inc. (CLAFI), this USAID-funded project aims to revive the Blaan art of storytelling with the help of "big books," as well as teacher guides and learning materials, that can be used as a platform to improve literacy among young Blaan learners, even while their love for reading is developed. The project takes inspiration from the Department of Education's mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTBLE) approach to teaching, with 12 major mother tongues, namely Iloko, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bikol, Waray, Hiligaynon, Cebuano, Meranao, Chavacano, Maguindanaon, and Tausug. Under the Department of Education curriculum, the mother tongue will be used both as a medium of instruction for all subjects (except Filipino and English) and as a subject itself for pupils from Grades 1 t o 3. The school saw the potential of using the Blaan language among the grade 2 learners since they composed one section and the familiarity of the language to them.

METHODS

A descriptive quantitative -qualitative method was used in this study. A questionnaire was given to the pupils with the assistance of their teachers to identify the effects of Flalok to them. The one-on-one interview was conducted to collect the reactions of the learners towards their reading comprehension since the implementation of Flalok. The respondents were the Grade 2 pupils of Rogaya Bajunaid Integrated School in the school year 2017-2018.

RESULTS

It was found that the pupils were more attentive in listening to the stories using their own mother tongue -Blaan. They were participative in the class since they can understand the language used. They can also answer the comprehension questions after each story presented to them. There was a sense of familiarity among the pupils with regards to the language used compared to other dialects so they can understand the topic given. This also paved a way in improving their reading comprehension to other subjects.

DISCUSSIONS

The teachers were concerned about how to enhance the reading comprehension of their pupils. Thus, looking on other options rather than the traditional reading, they came across the Flalok project. Since grade 2 sectioning was homogenous and was based on their mother tongue, the teachers opted to use Flalok in delivering the stories. Gradually, they integrated it to other subjects in which they were asked questions after the stories. They also participated in the discussion using their mother tongue.