The language subjects are tool subjects. Language proficiency is basic in learning.

If a child fails to acquire these basic language skills, his/her academic performance suffers. If a child is frustrated with his/her academic performance, chances are he/she drops out of school & eventually reverts to illiteracy. We are occupied with the teaching of a system of symbols & rules that is used for meaningful communication. A language uses symbols, which are sounds, gestures, or written characters that represent objects, actions, events, & ideas. A language is generative, which means that the symbols of a language can be combined to produce an infinite number of messages. A language is meaningful & therefore can be understood by other users of that language. A language has rules that govern how can be arranged.

The Building Blocks of Language Phonemes- they are the smallest distinguishable units in a language. In the English language many consonants such t, p and m correspond to single phonemes, while other consonants, such as c and g, can correspond to more than one phonemes. For example, o corresponds to different phonemes depending on whether it is pronounced as in bone or woman. Some phonemes correspond to combinations of consonants such as ch, sh & th. Morphemes- are the smallest meaningful units in a language and usually whole words or meaningful parts of words such as prefixes, suffixes, and word stems. Syntax- is a system of rules that governs how words can be meaningfully arranged to form phrases ad sentences. One rule of syntax is that an article such as the must come before a noun, after: Read book the Properties of Human Language Creative & dynamic- In Filipino, new words like tapsilog, pogi, prove that language is indeed creative & dynamic. One emerging Filipino language accepts the influences from other languages & so is very dynamic & continually evolving. Structured- there are grammatical rules to follow. Meaningful- it can be understood by other users of the language. Referential- evening star, morning star Interpersonal- my description has to be understood by my listeners.

Purpose of language teaching After the initial phase of teaching the structure of the language (in our case the Filipino & English languages), we teach our students how to communicate effectively. This means that we engage ourselves in teaching the language arts- listening, speaking, reading, & writing. Our focus in teaching communication is to help our students develop communicative & academic competencies. The use of the multidisciplinary approach in teaching language is very appropriate. In the first two grades, Science, and Health concepts may be used as content for English in addition to the English content for Sibika at Kultura serve as content for Filipino from Grades I to II and content from Araling Panlipunan integrated in high school Filipino. In other words, content knowledge and literacy development go hand in hand. In our language teaching, we should get hooked not only in the development of cultural enrichment and aesthetic appreciation for both English and Filipino. This is the rationale beyond the current practice of interspersing our language lessons with literary study especially at the secondary level.