Ilokanoak, Makasaritaak: Language Vitality, Choices, and the Teaching of English

This study sought to ascertain the vitality of the Ilokano language in the different domains of interaction and the condition of Ilokano and English in the municipality of San Manuel, Isabela, which led to the proposed activities to revitalize the language and proposed activities to facilitate the learning of English. It made use of a sequential explanatory mixed method design. Specifically, Study 1 employed quantitative method triangulated with interview while Study 2 employed the basic qualitative research technique. This study involved 500 respondents from the four barangays of San Manuel, namely: Sandiat East, Nueva Era, Malalinta, and District 4. Also, the teacher-respondents were from the four public secondary schools in San Manuel. The number of respondents was evenly distributed across each barangay and was purposefully chosen for the study. Questionnaire and interviews were carried out to elicit relevant data. The quantitative data were computed and analyzed using weighted means, while the qualitative data were elaborated narratively and analyzed thematically. The study revealed that Ilokano is the dominant language since majority of the community members speak Ilokano at home, with friends, and with neighbors whereas it was also found out that there is a decrease in the use of the language in the domains of school and with officials due to the presence of other languages such as Filipino and English. The possibility of language shift in communication is relatively big in these domains. Nevertheless, Ilokano was still maintained in the community. Also, language choice mainly depends on various contexts. The respondents used different languages to convey ideas in specific situations. The study also discovered that revitalization practices are not existing in the community. Hence, different activities were suggested that could possibly be one way of raising consciousness and may contribute for the maintenance of Ilokano. Major attention and effort are still necessary to maintain the language. Also, different activities were proposed to facilitate the learning of English with the inclusion of Ilokano language. The results have significant implications for the maintenance or gradual loss of the native language.