DepEd to put up P285-M English proficiency speech labs

MANILA, Philippines - In a bid to improve English proficiency among Filipino students, the Department of Education on Tuesday announced that it would be putting up 'speech laboratories' in every province of the country. The project, which is expected to cost P285 million, would be a software package which will provide the capability of recording, playing, analyzing, processing, displaying and storing speech. It will provide technical means to teach foreign languages and standardize and improve the acquisition and analysis of voice signals. Some advanced speech laboratories have equipment that could track acoustic signal, nasal and oral airflow and information about lip or tongue movements, the DepEd said. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said that the funding would come from the department. “We already have the funding but there are still further studies to be made since this is a little bit intricate,’ Lapus said. Lapus said that improving English proficiency among elementary and secondary level students would make them more competitive with their counterparts from neighboring countries. The Education secretary also credited his English proficiency to the speech lab classes that he and his classmates attended everyday during their time. “My proficiency in English can be largely traced back to the speech lab classes I attended everyday during my elementary and secondary years," he said. The ‘speech laboratory" project, Lapus said was made possible by the increase in the overall budget allotted to DepEd this school year. The increase in DepEd budget enabled the department to pursue programs geared towards addressing problems such as the perennial classroom shortage, procurement of much-needed textbooks, creation of new principal and teacher’s items and boosting school feeding programs. - GMANews.TV