Filipino Ethnic School of South Australia (Salisbury, Inc.) or F.E.S.S.A. has been around since 1989 and a provider of mother tongue language teaching under the Department of Education and Ethnic Schools Association of South Australia.
Mrs Cora Bernardo Daniell is one of the founders of F.E.S.S.A., which is a realization of her dream to become a teacher - that was not fulfilled instantly - as her journey took a turn when she pursued nursing.
“Just to see the faces of the kids after school na nakikipag-usap sila sa magulang nila kung ano ang natutunan nila, satisfied na ako (speaking with their parents about what they learned, that satisfies me),” shares Cora on the sense of satisfaction she felt being a Filipino language teacher.
Students in her class came from all age groups but she stressed that the number of students learning Filipino pales in comparison to other language groups: “Compared sa ibang nasyon, maliit ang Filipino school (Compared to other nations, Filipino school is quite small).”
Cora called out parents to encourage their children to attend school consistently as well as support their learning in the home. She believes that second language acquisition for children is the responsibility of both the teacher and the parents.
In the celebration of the national language month in the Philippines, Cora shares the value of learning the Filipino language despite being in an adopted land: “Hindi natin dapat kalimutan ang ating kultura, tradisyon at wika. Kailangang ibahagi natin iyan sa ating mga anak, mga apo, sa mga extended families natin. Kailangan natin ibahagi iyan kasi doon tayo nagsimula. Dapat lumingon tayo sa ating pinanggalingan.”
Source: Facebook page of FESSA
(We should not forget our culture, tradition and language. We need to share it to our children, our grandchildren and even to our extended families. We need to share it because we started from there. We should look back and honour where we came from.)
(Editor's note: August is the national language month in the Philippines and this year, the Department of Education through Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino [KWF] released this theme for the celebration – 'Filipino: Wika ng Saliksik' [Filipino: Language of Research]. The theme recognises the Filipino language as a medium to create and spread knowledge and development within the national context.)
