Learning Spanish in The Philippines
Learning Spanish in The Philippines
Learning Spanish in The Philippines
I. The Mexican-Filipino Brotherhood
Mexico and the Philippines shared a long history of shared culture and identity.
Mexico was a trade partner of the Philippines in what is perhaps the most lucrative trade
route in history, the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade, which was more profitable than the
Silk Road Trade Route, due to its ability to connect Asia with the Americas and parts of
Europe. Through this trade route, Filipinos, Mexicans, and “Manila Chinese” (Chinese
immigrants to Manila) were carried between the two regions, where some settled away from
home. At present, there is an estimated 200,000 descendants of Filipinos in Mexico1.
As both have been under the Spanish colony, both have a history of literature, arts,
and music in Spanish or influenced by the Spanish culture. In fact, in the Philippines, writers
such as Rizal and other heroes in the Ilustrado, served as thought leaders that inspired the
revolution. They used the Spanish language to communicate between the leaders of the
different provinces, as a unified national language was not present in the country at the
time.
Politically, Mexico and the Philippines also have a shared history. As one of Spain’s
older colonies and the halfway point between Spain and the Philippines, Mexico (previously
called Nueva España or “New Spain”) r uled over the Philippines (previously called Las Islas
Filipinas or The Philippine Islands) through the Viceroy of Mexico.2 This was due to the fact
that, at the time, the only way to travel to Manila from Spain was to go through Vera Cruz,
Mexico by ship then travel by land from there to Acapulco before embarking on months of
travel by sea to Manila. The entire trip from Spain to the Philippines took a year in total. This
distance, along with time and resources required to travel from one country to the other
deterred the Spanish from directly ruling the Philippines. Spain only took over with direct
control of the Philippines in 1815, following Mexico’s declaration of independence.3
1
https://web.archive.org/web/20071015180841/http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/01/28/OPED20050
12827368.html
2
http://globalbalita.com/2004/10/01/when-mexico-ruled-the-philippines/
3
http://globalbalita.com/2004/10/01/when-mexico-ruled-the-philippines/
1
With this shared colonial history comes a shared narrative of freedom, as Filipinos
helped their Mexican brothers in seizing independence from Spain through joining the army
of General Jose Maria Morelos in the state of Guerrero in the Pacific Coast of Mexico from
1810 to 1821.4
Filipinos and Mexicans also share similarities in language and culture, apart from the
Spanish language in our local languages. In Filipino are the words “nanay”, “tatay”,
“palengke” and “tiangge”, which came from Mexican Indian words.5 In Mexico, especially in
the Pacific Coast, people today continue to drink tuba, the Filipino coconut wine, engage in
flying kites made of papel de china, a
nd call their boats “panga” which some suspect
comes from the Filipino word “bangka”. 6
II. Sharing the Spanish Culture
Mexico and the Philippines, having both been under the Spanish influence do share
similarities in the language and culture. As such, both are under the Latin Union (Union
Latina), the international organization for different countries that speak Romance Languages
or languages derived from Latin. Both the Philippines and Mexico are member countries,
with the Philippines being the only member country from Asia.
The Latin Union
The Latin Union has 3 different criteria for membership.7
● Linguistic Criteria - to have a Neolatin language as an official language, a language
of instruction, or as a means of communication in daily life and in the media
● Linguistic and Cultural Criteria - existence of significant literature in the neolatin
language, written press, and media (TV and radio)
● Cultural Criteria - direct or indirect inheritance of heritage through teaching and
perpetuating a Neolatin language by cultural exchanges with other Latin countries
Sharing the Spanish culture with the Philippines. M
exico and Philippines both
fulfill these criteria, with Mexican and Spanish telenovela and music prevalent in Philippine
media and culture. In fact, Mexican shows defined the 90’s and early 00’s television
experience, with shows such as Paloma, Por Ti, Marimar, Rubi, a
nd Rosalinda, among
4
https://web.archive.org/web/20071015180841/http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/01/28/OPED20050
12827368.html
5
https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/allure/2015/08/08/1485629/look-history-mexico-philippines
6
https://web.archive.org/web/20071015180841/http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2005/01/28/OPED20050
12827368.html
7
http://www.unilat.org/SG/Etats_membres/fr
2
others. This also gave rise to the popularity of Mexican music, such as that of the singer
Thalía.
At present, Spanish is taught in Philippine schools and is taught as a medium
instruction in the senior high school and college levels. The Spanish embassy also provides
scholarship to Filipinos who show great potential and are willing to travel to Spain.
Association of Academies of the Spanish Language8
The Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (Asociación de Academias
de la Lengua Española, ASALE) is the international association of all Spanish-speaking
academies in the world under the Latin Union. The Philippines and Mexico are both part of
this organization, with Mexico being the 4th country to join in 1875 and the Philippines
being the 11th to join in 1924.
The Philippine Academy of Spanish Language, which is Academia Filipina de la
Lengua Española [ AFLE] in Spanish and Akademyang Pilipino ng Wikang Kastila in Tagalog,
is the Spanish Language regulating-body in the Philippines. They work in conjunction with
the Instituto Cervantes in teaching and proliferating the Spanish language in the country.
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID)9
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), otherwise
known as the Spanish Cooperation Agency, is one of the institutions tasked to promulgate
Spanish culture in the Philippines. However, unlike the Philippine Academy of Spanish
Language, AECID’s focus is on the development aspect of the Philippines. As such, they
look at the aspects of Culture and Development (with the help of the Spanish Embassy),
skills training through the Technical Cooperation Office, and Education through ASALE and
Instituto Cervantes. AECID also partnered with the Department of Education in the Teaching
Spanish in Secondary Education project.10
III. The Spanish Language and Influence in Philippine Schools
Spain, which colonized the Philippines for 333 years, remains one of the largest
cultural influences in the country until today. Historically, the first schools in the Philippines
8
http://www.asale.org/
9
http://www.aecid.ph/la%20aecid%20en.php
10
http://www.aecid.ph/cooperacion%20en.php
3
were established by the Catholic friars during the Spanish occupation, many of which still
exist today. In effect, our education and language are largely influenced by the Spanish
culture.
In the Philippines, Spanish as a subject was required in schools during the Spanish
occupation and most of the subjects at the time were taught in Spanish by
Spanish-speaking instructors. After the second world war, beginning in the early 1950s,
Spanish was required as a subject in high schools. This lasted until 1987, when the Spanish
subject was decreed to be optional in Philippine schools.11
At present, Spanish as a language is taught in different Philippines universities as an
elective or as part of their foreign language curricula for major and minor degrees in
Spanish language or European Studies. Spanish as a language is also taught through the
Special Program in Foreign Language (SPFL) Program by the DepEd12 13 in partnership
with Instituto Cervantes Manila and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and
Development.14 The said program teaches different foreign languages such as Spanish,
Korean, Japanese, Mandarin, French, and German to high school students.15 In 2009,
during the pilot implementation of the program, 14 high schools started introducing the
Spanish program in their last two years of high school. At present, the program offers
classes on the foreign languages to senior high school students.
IV. Why learn Spanish?
Spain has influenced the Filipino culture in many ways due to their 333 years of
colonial rule in the Philippines. As our cultures mixed, our languages also mixed. When
using Tagalog, Filipinos usually use the Spanish word “mesa” o
r “la mesa” instead of
“hapag”. We use the Tagalized form of the Spanish “baño”, “banyo” instead of “palikuran”.
We have no words for utensils at all, as cutlery were introduced to us by the Spanish. We
11
http://www.manilatimes.net/depeds-special-foreign-language-program-sflp-in-spanish/200950/
12
http://www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-55-s-2009
13
http://www.manilatimes.net/depeds-special-foreign-language-program-sflp-in-spanish/200950/
14
http://www.gov.ph/2012/05/14/deped-enhances-training-on-foreign-languages-add-chinese
15
http://www.deped.gov.ph/press-releases/deped-enhances-learners%E2%80%99-foreign-language-s
kills-through-special-program-foreign
4
use the word “kubyertos” from the Spanish “cubierto” to this day. One can truly say that
Spanish is close to the Filipino culture and the Filipino heart.
Spanish also provides practical advantages as it supplements English, allowing
Filipinos to score better in aptitude tests such as the TOEFL. Likewise, learning Spanish
allows one to learn other Romance languages more quickly due to similar words and
conjugations. In effect, a person who fully understands Spanish may also understand some
Italian or Portuguese, especially in its written form.16
Spanish is also one of the official languages of the United Nations17 and is the
second most widely spoken language in the world with about 400 million speakers, making
it more widely spoken than English.18 This allows fluency in the language to open many
opportunities for Filipinos who usually already speak English and Filipino. A number of
Filipinos see this opportunity. This is why in Spain alone, according to the Commission on
Filipinos Overseas, there are 42,804 Filipinos as of 2013, of which 32,226 individuals are
permanent immigrants.19 Spanish is also spoken not only in Spain but in Latin American
Countries and in areas in the United States, where it is the second most widely-spoken
language.20 As of 2013, about half of the 10.2 million Filipinos are in the Americas and
Europe. 21
Locally, fluency in Spanish also offers various economic opportunities. One of the
local economic opportunities for Spanish-fluent individuals is in translation services. This
can take the form of freelance translation of documents, as well as working in embassies,
among other formal positions. Another is being employed by local and multinational
corporations that require Spanish speakers. This includes health institutions, consultancies,
and business process outsourcing companies.
16
hhttp://opinion.inquirer.net/114425/ph-youth-embrace-spanish
17
http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/official-languages/
18
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/the-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/
19
http://www.cfo.gov.ph/images/stories/pdf/StockEstimate2013.pdf
20
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country
21
http://opinion.inquirer.net/17637/why-spanish
5
One quick glance at JobStreet.com gives us a few of the companies that recruit
Spanish-speaking individuals. The salaries are usually above 30,000 PHP and on average
go from 45,000 PHP to 80,000 PHP.22 Here is a table of some positions a Spanish-speaker
can take in different companies:
Pinoy Partners Outsourcing Spanish Bilingual Agent 30,000 PHP to 60,000 PHP
Center Inc.
HCM Nexus Consulting Inc Employee Service Desk, HR 80,000 to 90,000 PHP
Admin Specialist
22
JobStreet.com
23
http://www.scholars4dev.com/category/country/europe-scholarships/spain-scholarships/
24
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/156790/spanish-envoy-vows-to-keep-sending-filipino-scholars-to-spai
n
6
This is why the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) also
offers Spanish as one of the foreign languages to teach Filipinos in their different offices.
Languages include not only Spanish but also Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, and Arabic,
each running for 100-150 hours per term or language education level25. These languages
are targeted towards people who want to become Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), with
professions like nurses and careworkers, among others.26
V. Learning Spanish in the Philippines
In the Philippines, apart from TESDA, which is centered on educating future OFWs,
there are several modes by which the Spanish language can be learnt, often in conjunction
with each other. Namely, these are 1) in a formal setting through established institutions, 2)
through mobile applications and online tutorial sites and channels, 3) through hands-on
methods.
Learning Spanish through established institutions
Among the established institutions in teaching Spanish are the Instituto Cervantes
Manila, the Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines-Diliman, Berlitz
Language Center, and Enderun Colleges. In terms of learning other foreign languages, other
established foreign language institutions are the Alliance Française de Manille (for French)
and the Goethe Institut Manila (for German).
The classes in the Instituto Cervantes Manila are taught by a mixture of local
teachers fluent in Spanish and Spanish native speakers. Local teachers teach beginner and
intermediate level Spanish, while the advanced levels are taught by natives alone. The
prices for the classes are at 5,100 PHP to 5,600 PHP for individuals joining classes27. Prices
vary depending on the number of hours of the study, the schedule, and level of
intensiveness of the class. On the other hand special group classes for 15 individuals cost
87,400 PHP for 30 hours. In comparison to other established foreign language institutions,
25
http://www.tesdaonline.info/2015/04/tesda-offers-foreign-language-course.html
26
http://www.tesda.gov.ph/About/TESDA/39
27
http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/spanish_courses.htm
7
Instituto Cervantes Manila offers affordable classes. Individual tuition for French classes at
the Alliance Française de Manille costs 5,100-7420 PHP28, while individual tuition at the
Goethe Institut costs 6,800-30,000 PHP. Both institutions have no set rate for special group
classes.
Instituto Cervantes29303132
Instituto Cervantes offers language courses designed to equip students with skills
that will enable them to communicate in Spanish, or to improve their Spanish
communicating abilities. The student gains the necessary techniques of reading, writing,
comprehending and speaking the Spanish language in the classes provided by the
institution.
Beginning June of 2008, the curriculum of the Instituto Cervantes de Manila adapts
to the levels of reference for Spanish dictated in the curriculum plan of the Instituto
Cervantes headquarters. The levels of reference for Spanish are the following: A, B and C
are subdivided into sublevels: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2. The duration of A, B and C is
distributed in 840 hours. If you have never enrolled in any Spanish classes at any Instituto
Cervantes but already have a background in Spanish, you may take their assessment test.
Each class has a maximum of 20 students and a minimum of 10 students.
Textbooks include Etapas Plus A1, A2, B1, B2.
28
http://www.alliance.ph/learn-french/general-info/
29
http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/spanish_courses.htm
30
http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/students_spanish/general_courses_spanish/general_begi
nner_spanish.htm
http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/students_spanish/general_courses_spanish/general_inter
31
mediate_spanish.htm
32
http://manila.cervantes.es/en/courses_spanish/students_spanish/general_courses_spanish/general_adva
nced_spanish.htm
8
Levels:
Beginner Level
A1/A2 (Courses 1 to 8, 240 hours)
Communicating in Spanish begins during the first day of the course. In this level, the course
teaches the students to learn how to express needs and to understand and familiarize
themselves with the common expressions as well as simple phrases that address the
immediate needs of a person. Moreover, the courses also educate the student on how to
describe simple aspects of the past as well as the environment. It also encourages the
students to establish short conversations using simple phrases to describe daily life as well
as to write letters, simple notes and short stories.
Intermediate Level
B1/B2 (Courses 9 to 22, 390 hours)
Students are able to acquire conversational capacities on familiar subjects and the ability to
use communicating strategies to maintain related conversations with the past and the
future. It will also teach the students how to write general and simple literary texts, and to
compose letters and essays about the general aspects of daily life. As the level advances,
the course provides detailed information about general themes and educates students to
express with fluidity and to write lengthy compositions. The students themselves can utilize
communicating strategies to maintain conversations on different contexts and situations.
Advanced Level
C1/C2 (Courses 23 to 36, 480 hours)
The student will be able to debate points of view, to expose arguments and to utilize
idiomatic expressions and other types of resources that will allow the creative use of the
language. It does not entail too much difficulty to read Spanish and contemporary Latin
American texts.
The levels, along with hours needed and prices from Instituto Cervantes are in the following
table.
9
Level Code No. of Hours Schedule Price
10
Advanced B2.1 30 Saturday 5,600 PHP
33
https://www.eurobooks.co.uk/languagebooks/series/NPRI
34
https://www.bookdepository.com/Nuevo-Prisma-A1-NUEVO-PRISMA-TEAM/9788498483659?ref=gr
id-view&qid=1531919132437&sr=1-1
35
https://www.eurobooks.co.uk/languagebooks/series/ETPL
36
https://www.bookdepository.com/Etapas-Plus-Acceso-A1-Macarena-Sagredo-Jer%C3%B3nimo/978
8498481396?ref=grid-view&qid=1531919105585&sr=1-1
11
ELE Actual37
ELE Actual is the updated version of a previous Spanish
learning book series, Nuevo ELE. Like Etapas Plus, ELE Actual
has 4 levels of books: A1, A2, B1, and B2. It is designed for
adult beginners and places a strong emphasis on the
communicative approach. ELE Actual also explores Spanish
and Latin American culture, with special attention to Latin
American Spanish. SRP: ~1,800 PHP for A138
Mobile applications and online tutorial sites and channels
In learning Spanish, there are several applications via Android and iOS, youtube
channels, podcasts, and websites. Here are a few of them:
Duolingo is a freemium language-learning platform that teaches
28 different languages to about 200 million registered users
around the world. Spanish is one of the languages they teach.39
37
https://www.spanishbookshop.co.uk/spanishbooks/series/ELAC
38
https://www.bookdepository.com/Ele-Actual-Virgilio-Borobio-Carrera/9788467551815?ref=grid-view
&qid=1531919425519&sr=1-1
39
https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/duolingo-facts-statistics/
12
Babbel is a premium, subscription-based
language-learning platform that offers 14
languages to 1 million active users in 2016.
40
They offer beginner and intermediate
classes including grammar,
tongue-twisters, idioms, colloquialisms,
and sayings.
StudySpanish.com is a freemium website
that offers Spanish-learning content. It
offers a travel helper, cultural notes, a
conversation course, daily word, and verbs
conjugation tool.41
Notes in Spanish is a podcast by husband and wife Ben and
Marina. Ben is a British man while Marina is a lady from
Madrid, Spain. They use real conversational phrases about
real-life happenings. The podcast offers editions for beginner,
intermediate, and advanced learners. Their podcast has been
around since 2005 and has had at least 14 million downloads.
42
40
https://www.fastcompany.com/company/babbel
41
https://studyspanish.com/
42
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-podcasts/
13
43
https://www.youtube.com/user/sgelele
44
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL4AMMMXKxHDu3FqZV6CbQ/about
14
Hands-on methods in learning Spanish
There are several hands-on methods in learning Spanish. Two of these methods are
consuming Spanish media and joining language exchange groups through facebook and
meetup.
News in Slow Spanish is part of the 4-language initiative of
Linguistica 360 to deliver world news in slow but not too slow
Spanish, German, French, or Italian to help individuals learning
the language practice their listening skills. As world news are
common language, listeners will not have a difficult time
following the conversation.45
Corporación de Radio y Televisión
Española, S.A. (Spanish Radio and
Television Corporation) is a Spanish media
corporation founded by the Spanish
government. It broadcasts a variety of
programs for television and radio.46 It can be
accessed through http://www.rtve.es/
Joining language exchange groups
through meetup and facebook is another
approach. It allows a person learning Spanish
to use the language to relate with another
speaker of the language, as well as correct
their use of the language through talking to
more fluent speakers. Two such groups are
English-Spanish Exchange (facebook) and
Spanish Language Meetup of the Philippines
(meetup).
45
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/feb/09/top-podcasts-learning-language-german-japane
se
46
http://www.rtve.es/
15