Effects of Language Policy and Learners’ Sociolinguistic Background on Educational Achievement in a Multilingual City in the Philippines

Abstract

In the Philippines, most children speak regional languages like Ilokano, Cebuano, and Hiligaynon as their first language (L1), but they have historically been schooled in English and Tagalog (i.e., Filipino). In 2012, the Department of Education (DepEd) institutionalized Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE), designating regional/local languages as the primary medium of instruction in the early grades. Despite this major policy shift, data on how it affected children of different linguistic and ethnic backgrounds remain scarce. This study addresses that gap by examining the effects of language-of-instruction (LOI) policy, child L1, and parental ethnicity on Grade 1 academic achievement in San Fernando, La Union—a multilingual city where Ilokano is the predominant language of the community and Ilocos Region. This quasi-experimental pre–post cohort comparison leverages an exogenous policy change to analyze data from 3002 Grade 1 students across 10 urban public schools in two consecutive school years: the last year of the old English–Filipino bilingual policy (SY 2011–2012) and the first year of MTBMLE (SY 2012–2013). Ordinary least squares and mixed-effects linear regression models estimate the effects of LOI policy, child L1, parental ethnicity, and their interactions on achievement scores. Under the old L2-oriented bilingual policy, L1 Ilokano children (the demographic majority) achieved significantly lower academic ratings than their L1 Tagalog peers, with an estimated gap of approximately 1.17–2.13 points (up to 0.5 standard deviations). Within one year of MTBMLE implementation, this gap decreased to just 0.10–0.18 points (less than 0.1 SD), driven primarily by an increase in Ilokano-speaking children’s achievement across all subjects. Parental ethnicity moderates these effects: children with at least one Ilokano parent showed greater achievement gains under MTBMLE than children with no Ilokano parents, but having one Ilokano parent was more advantageous than two. This suggests that multilingual home environments influence outcomes in complex ways. Overall, the findings provide empirical support for MTBMLE’s positive impact on educational outcomes and equity, observable even within the first year of implementation. They carry urgent implications as the Philippine government has suspended the policy under Republic Act 12027 of 2024. Policymakers are urged to disaggregate educational achievement data by children’s home languages, and incorporate L1s in instruction, assessment, and program evaluation.