Negotiating Multilingual Identities: Language Practices among Subanen Children in Last-Mile Indigenous Schools of Southern Philippines
Keywords:
Multilingual identities, Subanen children, language shift, Indigenous education, translanguaging, Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE)Abstract
This paper explores the process of multilingual identities being negotiated by Subanen children who attend two last-mile Indigenous schools in Dipolog City, Philippines. With a mixed-method design, data on sixty pupil-respondents and six multigrade teachers using a quantitative approach were analyzed together with the observations and interviews in the classrooms. Findings showed that there existed a loud gap between high-pride (M = 4.70) and very low use (M = 1.03) and ability (M = 0.03) of the language among the pupils. There was a uniform use of English as the medium of instruction and constant code-switching to Cebuano but no use of Subanen. The qualitative data revealed the structural, ideological, and meaningful limitations of the dominance of the English and Cebuano subjugating Subanen in the classroom. The paper comes to the conclusion that Subanen identity is an emotional centre of learners but it is linguistically relocated under the existing multilingual-bureaucracies. Results indicate a pressing necessity to use culturally responsive, translanguaging-driven pedagogies to reestablish Indigenous language practices and affirm learner identities in Philippine public education.
Downloads
References
Baker, C. (2011). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (5th ed.). Multilingual Matters.
Benson, C., & Kosonen, K. (2013). Language Issues in Comparative Education: Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Non-Dominant Languages and Cultures. Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-218-1
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and Symbolic Power. Harvard University Press.
Creese, A., & Blackledge, A. (2010). Translanguaging in the bilingual classroom: A pedagogy for learning and teaching? The Modern Language Journal, 94 (1), 103–115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00986.x
Cummins, J. (2001). Negotiating Identities: Education for Empowerment in a Diverse Society. California Association for Bilingual Education.
Department of Education. (2017). Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education Policy Implementation Review. DepEd Philippines.
Edwards, J. (2009). Language and Identity: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809842
Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.33169466
García, O., & Wei, L. (2014). Translanguaging: Language, Bilingualism and Education. Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385765_4
Giles, H., Bourhis, R. Y., & Taylor, D. M. (1977). Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language, Ethnicity and Intergroup Relations (pp. 307–348). Academic Press.
Haugen, E. (1972). The Ecology of Language. Stanford University Press.
Heugh, K. (2011). Theory and practice- Language education models in Africa: Research, design, decision-making, and outcomes. In A. Ouane & C. Glanz (Eds.), Optimising Learning, Education and Publishing in Africa: The Language Factor (pp. 105–156).
UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.
Hornberger, N. H. (2002). Multilingual language policies and the continua of biliteracy: An ecological approach. Language Policy, 1 (1), 27–51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014548611951
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory into Practice, 31 (2), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534
Nolasco, M. T. A. (2008). The prospects of multilingual education and literacy in the Philippines. UNESCO Bangkok.
Norton, B. (2013). Identity and Language Learning: Extending the Conversation (2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783090563
Ochs, E., & Schieffelin, B. B. (2012). The theory of language socialization. In A. Duranti, E. Ochs, & B. B. Schieffelin (Eds.), The Handbook of Language Socialization (pp. 1– 21). Wiley-Blackwell. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444342901.ch1
Schieffelin, K. A. Woolard, & P. V. Kroskrity (Eds.), Language Ideologies: Practice and Theory (pp. 3–47). Oxford University Press.
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
Spolsky, B. (2004). Language Policy. Cambridge University Press.
Tupas, T., & Martin, I. P. (2017). Bilingual and multilingual education in the Philippines: Education policies and local practices. In O. García, A. Lin, & S. May (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education (pp. 1–13). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02324-3_18-1
UNESCO. (2019). Policy Guidelines on Inclusion in Education. UNESCO Publishing.
Woolard, K. A. (1998). Introduction: Language ideology as a field of inquiry. In B. B. Schieffelin, K. A. Woolard, & P. V. Kroskrity (Eds.), Language ideologies: Practice and theory (pp. 3–47). Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195105612.003.0001
Published on: 30-11-2025
Also Available On
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jayson A. Dapiton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to this journal retain the copyright of their articles but agree to publish their articles under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that they indicate if changes were made. They may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses them or their use.
