BOARD of Education Chairman Herman Guerrero yesterday praised the organizers of the 1st Annual Bilingual Academic Challenge Bowl for their efforts to promote the CNMI’s two indigenous languages. Guerrero said an increasing number of Chamorro and Carolinian descent children could hardly speak their native languages.
“There is a growing number of students whose primary language is English. They are basically re-learning the language of their parents and grandparents,” he said.
This is somewhat alarming because language is an important cultural heritage, Guerrero said.
Competitions like the bilingual academic challenge bowl, according to Guerrero, would create more interest among local children to learn and study Chamorro and Carolinian.
“I certainly encourage the bilingual competition. If our Constitution requires that we support the local culture of the Northern Marianas, I think it’s incumbent on our part also to encourage kids to learn Chamorro and Carolinian,” Guerrero said.
“I commend the kids for doing their best in the bilingual event although most of them are English-speakers,” he said.
The 1st island-wide bilingual academic competition was held last June 8 at Kagman Elementary School. (See page 9 for results)
Saipan and Rota students who qualified for the final round competed against each other in different grade level categories.
Although the competition was created to test the bilingual knowledge of the public school students, students were also asked about science, math, history, language and arts.
