English as a subject in basic education (ESBE) in the Philippines has undergone significant changes over years of curriculum reform. A bilingual approach to teaching and learning implemented by the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) was in place for over two decades until a mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) approach was institutionalised.
Fifteen years since the shift towards multilingualism in basic education, a number of language-related issues have remained. Their impact on the readiness of basic education learners to access opportunities for further education, and eventually employment, has been a subject of recent public discussions, chiefly enquiring whether Filipinos are already losing their competitive edge in terms of communicative competence in English.
Against this backdrop, the Scoping study of English as a subject in basic education (ESBE) in the Philippines was designed and conducted. It aimed to identify English language teaching, learning and educational management needs, and opportunities in the Philippines. Guided by a systems perspective, the study affords a number of recommendations to bring stakeholders together to enhance ESBE in the Philippines.