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Description
Linguistic schoolscape, as a subdomain of the study of linguistic landscape (LL), recently gained popularity, which investigates the roles of English and other languages in signages available for public consumption. Language scholars and language teachers believe that exposure to authentic signs can pave the way to a more realistic and holistic language learning experience. The current study explores the schoolscape of selected public high schools in Dasmarinas City, Cavite, Philippines. A total of 914 signs were collected from six secondary schools to determine the language preferences in signs and observe the existing linguistic ecology and ideologies. The distribution of language preferences and materiality were initially tallied, while Scollon and Scollon’s (2003) notion of place semiotics was utilized to determine the sociological and semiotic discourse of the place. Lastly, discourse analysis was employed to see, in a more profound sense, the language’s involvement in the intersection between society and culture. Findings revealed that, while the country is known for its bilingual policy, thus the interplay between English and Filipino, it is still evident that English dominates in the local schoolscape. It is also observed that signs initiate advocacies, specifically in implementing the safe-space act and promoting nationalism, which students are expected to follow. The findings also suggest that top-down signs carry the power to direct and control the consumers of signs. Evidently, the recent Department of Education classroom policy affected the existence and placement of signs in the linguistic schoolscape.
