Assessing the Usability of the Draft Minasbate Working Orthography vis-à-vis An Maayo na Barita Hali sa Dios and the Actual Usage of Masbatenyo K to 3 Teachers

Abstract

One of the challenges that Masbatenyo teachers face in the implementation of the Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) under the K to 12 Reform is the lack of standardized writing conventions that they could use in the preparation of instructional materials (Bermudo et al., 2018; Blancaver, 2015; Williams et al., 2014). To address this, a working orthography was developed in 2016 through the initiatives of Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa, Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMCAT), in partnership with the local government unit of Masbate. From 2018–2019, the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Masbate Province gauged the orthographic practice of Masbatenyo K to 3 Teachers before and after the orientation on the draft Minasbate Working Orthography (MWO). To contribute to the refinement of the draft MWO, this paper examines the usability of the draft MWO by comparing it with An Maayo na Barita Hali sa Dios (The Good News from God) and the utilization of teachers of the draft MWO. The study aims to identify the alignment and consistency of draft MWO with the written literature in the language and actual practice of the target users of the MWO. It also points out the potential areas of orthographic confusion and proposes recommendations on the revision and refinement of the draft MWO.