FIL 7-8 Honors offered at Otay Ranch High School and Sweetwater High

June 17, 2021     |Gng. Mendoza
 
MAY 2021, Ms. Mary Rose Peralta, Otay Ranch Principal, broke the news to the Council for Teaching Filipino Language and Culture (CTFLC) that  UC San Diego approved the FIL 7-8 Honors. Ms. Peralta advocated to have FILIPINO 7-8 Honors in her school  and pushed CTFLC to work on the course description, which was submitted to UC San Diego by Ms.Troy Mason, APEX District Coordinator in the Curriculum and Instruction at Sweetwater Union High School District.
 
CTFLC Curriculum Committee headed by Gng. Mendoza with the cooperation of CTFLC educators worked and formulated the course description before and during summer break.  Most of the discussion and brainstorming of ideas were done virtually.

According to the Filipino 7-8 Course Description, “Filipino 7-8 Honors is designed for students who have successfully completed Filipino 5-6 and for students who are heritage speakers of the Filipino Language.  It is a rigorous course that focuses on the continued development of communicative competence in the target language and understanding of the culture(s) of the people who speak the language. Students will increase reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to achieve intermediate high and advanced low proficiency. They will also increase their comfort level with the interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational modes of communication in Filipino. They will be exposed to more complex features of the language from concrete to abstract concepts. They will be able to understand materials presented on a variety of topics related to contemporary events and issues in the target culture(s). They will make progress in communication utilizing authentic situations in  Filipino and develop communicative and intercultural competency in order to work productively both as individuals and in collaboration with others.  Through these activities, they will  gain perspective on cultural and historical achievements in Filipino-speaking cultures as well as on relevant issues of diversity.” 

Pres. Rizalyn Cruz expressed, “Since we don’t have AP Filipino, Filipino 7-8 Honors is the next best thing that Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) can offer to students.”

Furthermore, this Filipino 7-8 Honors satisfies one of the criteria for achieving the Seal of Biliteracy, which is a certificate given to graduating students to prove that they are both proficient in English and Filipino (or other foreign languages). They may use this for job applications and other purposes.

Here’s the pathway of Seal of Biliteracy as shown in the diagram created by the Sweetwater Union High School District:

We encourage parents and students to take advantage of this course.  This is a way to continue and to enhance learning about Filipino language and culture, earning more credits for graduation, and receiving a Seal of Biliteracy.