The medtrics

“Now is the time to bring out the writer in every teacher’s persona.” -Melchor Cayabyab, PhD

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utcomes-based education, results-based performance appraisal, evidence-based planning, and reflective teaching are currently among the most popular concepts in educational parlance, next to K-12 Curriculum and Senior High School. These emerging theories, approaches, systems, and programs have greatly influenced the way teachers practice their profession nowadays. It is not enough for them to simply claim that they have taught the hard way after a day’s work and their effort leads to an increase in student achievement or an improvement in school performance. For such claim to be valid and valuable to various education stakeholders, both the processes and products have to be documented, reported, and reflected on. It will also matter to an informed and vigilant public what factors facilitate and debilitate the workability of a chosen program, project, or activity at a certain context.

In effect, a document or evidence of success stories about state-wide and school-based curricular reforms and implementation should be readily accessible to the public. Accurate, logical, truthful, and creative publication of write-ups about school events, innovations, research, and classroom activities is needed to encourage further the system’s policy makers and strategic partners to keep on reinvesting in the education of the Filipino youth. Publication will also pave way for the benchmarking of best practices and their adaptation to diverse organizational milieus by, no less, the unsung heroes of this country, all for the benefit of the Filipino learners.

Now is the time to bring out the writer in every teacher’s persona. Putting on that teacher-writer’s hat requires a support system, a platform that will level the playing field. Coming up with this professional magazine where teachers, especially from the mainstream, are free to express their insights within the bounds of ethical and responsible journalism is but a humble beginning to promote and nurture the writing culture essential for the advancement of the teaching profession both in basic and higher education. Unless these teachers imbibe the culture of publishing, they would less likely have what it takes to be competitive and marketable in a knowledge-based society. It’s either to publish or to perish. The first option should be prioritized by the so-called 21st century teachers to save them from a rocking boat.

Editor-in-Chief Melchor Cayabyab, PhD Managing Editor Jenifer Lilet G. Galisim Writers Jose C. Aliniado Jr. Jonathan Aquino Melody G. Belisario Jaenelle Pauline G. Calimlim Diana Rose C. Purganan Bonifacio S. Santos, Jr. Dynasty E De Leon Alyssa Glazellle Y. Notarte Layout and Graphic Artist Bobbit Dale M. Bulatao Consultant Dr. Alfredo S. Calugay

LNU-UP ties level up

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Dynasty E. De Leon

Lycean leads nat’l lesson exemplar competition Bonifacio S. Santos, Jr.

Teachers’ judgement on preposition usage: Americanized or Filipinized?

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Jonathan N. Aquino

What’s trending in Trends in Language Teaching?

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Demystifying TESLation

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Filipinos in the midst of catastrophe

Melody Geminiano-Belisario

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The difference between traditional classroom instruction and BPO communications training

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Jaenelle Pauline G. Calimlim Melchor Cayabyab, PhD

Dynasty E. De Leon Jenifer Lilet G. Galisim Alyssa Glazelle Y. Notante

Dear students: A congratulations letter

Melchor Cayabyab, PhD

There’s always room for improvement

Diana Rose C. Purganan

Meet the cast from TESLation

Agnes D. Molina

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by Jose C. Aliniado, Jr.

he public lecture series involving professors of the University of the Philippines (UP) plus the badges given by the system’s open university has established stronger ties between the country’s premier institution and the Lyceum-Northwestern University (LNU), especially for the faculty and students of the PhD and Master’s Programs with specialization in English Language Teaching.

The strategic partnership began in 2005 when the PhD Language Teaching Circle of the Institute of Graduate and Professional Studies (IGPS) organized a seminar-workshop on English language teaching and research and invited Dr. Elizabeth A. Calinawagan, the dean of the College of Arts and Communication (UP Baguio) to discuss about language education in a multilingual society and the internationalization of academic research.

Two years after, the Department of Lingusitics of UP Diliman, in cooperation with the International Network for Secondary English Teaching (INSET), held its extension program at LNU last June 10-12, 2017. In attendance were more than 80 graduate students from LNU besides the delegates from other universities. Professor Emeritus Jonathan Malicis facilitated the national seminar-workshop which covered the following topics: the structure of language variation, language acquisition and learning, language change, language planning, evolution of language among humans, and language and culture.

The third of a four-part collaboration entered into by UP and LNU was the invitation of the chancellor of UP Baguio, Dr. Raymundo D. Rovillos, as the resource speaker during the faculty research colloquium on September 30, 2017. The event that showcased the research papers of select faculty was organized by the Research and Development Management Office (RDMO) of the university, under the auspices of University Director Cynthia P. Lopez, was held as one of the highlights of this year’s Founders Celebration and a support mechanism for strengthening the research culture in the university.

On top all of these undertakings, around 35 students of the Master in Education major in English recently got their badges from the UPOU after completing the Distance Education Readiness (DER) Module. The students used DER badge to enrol another massive open online course entitled I S “Designing Learning in Open and Distance e-Learning.” “In this course, we C I MAL were introduced to the principles in creating an online lesson. The activities and discussions were very challenging and informative.

They helped us conceptualize our final project in Trends in Language Teaching which is a language learning website,” said Jaenelle Pauline Calimlim, a MEd-English student.

According to Dr. Melchor Cayabyab, Associate Professor of English, inviting experts from research universities to give talks is one way of enhancing the delivery of the graduate curriculum in language teaching. “It is highly encouraged by Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and guided by the principle of peopleto-people connectivity which is articulated in the ASEAN SocioCultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint 2025,” he added. “ Allowing our students to experience online education is a preparation for the offering of new modes of teaching and learning, from face-to-face to blended learning, to which the university is heading anytime soon to make its transnational presence in the region felt.”

by Bonifacio S. Santos, Jr

Commitment, creativity, and cultural sensitivity brought Melody G. Belisario to success, earning her a national award from the Philippine Cultural Education Program (PCEP) of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) last September 29, 2017.

Belisario, who earned her master’s degree at Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU), reaped the highest honor over 30 participants nationwide in the 5th Diwang: Leksiyong Nakabatay sa Kultura Contest.

The judges unanimously declared her entry as one that best integrates the contextualization of the cultural icons and traditions of the Philippines in the teaching of English based on the following criteria: learning content (30%), teaching-learning processes and expected outcomes (50%), and learning resources (20%) .

Inspired by her experience in the subject Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), with Dr. Melchor Cayabyab as her professor, Belisario based her lesson exemplar on the theme, “Filipinos in the Midst of Catastrophe.” She used it to develop a number of communication competencies, together with the 21st century skills, among her students in Pangasinan National High School with the use of differentiated instruction strategies.

“As educators, we need to widen our horizons. We need to participate actively in different events. We need to be risk-takers. As long as we put our hearts into what we are doing and pray to our Almighty God, nothing is impossible,” Belisario said.

Teachers’ judgement on preposition usage: Americanized or Filipinized?

Jonathan N. Aquino ABSTRACT The study surveyed the acceptability of American English (AE) and Philippine English (PE) among English teachers in a public school in Pangasinan, Philippines. Chosen via complete enumeration, the 15 respondents answered on a scale of 1-7 (where 1 represents “very much unacceptable” and 1 the opposite) a teacher-made questionnaire with items randomly selected from Bautista’s (2000) listing of deviants and innovations on preposition usage found in the International Corpus of English (ICE)-Philippine Component. The average weighted means corresponding to AE and PE are 5.86 (SD = 1.07) and 5.57 (SD = .92), respectively, suggesting the acceptability of both varieties. This finding was corroborated by the not-significant-result of the T-test for correlated means (t(15) = .81, p < .05).

Keywords: Standard American English (SAE), Philippine English (PE), language preference

English language is a definite advantage as far as a promising prospect for employment is concerned. One of the competitive advantages that induce foreign investors to come to the Philippines is that the labor force is English-speaking. However, a growing threat that looms is that the use of the English language among Filipinos had deteriorated each year. This is substantiated by the report of the Department of Education (DepEd) on the National Achievement Test in 2004 where more than half of the examinees had a passing grade of only 34% which is way below the “mastery level” of 75% for English (Manila Bulletin, 2005). Accordingly, among graduating high school students, only 6.59 percent could read, speak and comprehend English well enough to enter college while some 44.25 percent had no English skills at all. In the tertiary level, 75 percent of the 400,000 annual graduates have substandard English skills. Probably, one of the factors lies on the interference. As defined by Dulay et al. (1982 in Bhela, 1999), it is the transfer of rules carried by the first language to the target language. Lekova (2010) views interference as a deviation from the conventions of a specific language, the change of linguistic structures and structural elements. In the particular study, it will focus on the usage of prepositions in the two varieties of English, American and Philippine.

Prepositions in the English language are used to denote position in sentences. Spatial concepts in writing require a very detailed and specific description due to the precise nature of directions and location.

"Perspective taken in spatial descriptions varies within complex descriptions as well as across situations and environments" (Tversky, 1996; Taylor &Tversky, 1996 in Grabowski & Miller, 2000, p. 525),thus, perhaps resulting to a wide variety of prepositions in the English syntactic repertoire. Cuypere’s (2013, p. 122) semantic analysis on prepositions revealed that there are certain difficulties that need to be addressed when studying English preposition, specifically, prepositions of movement (e.g. to, towards, through, etc.).

The study argued that certain prepositions of movement present complications with spatial concepts for non-native learners. Since these concepts may vary across different cultures there is high probability for discrepancies in the syntactic use of prepositions by the learners.

Using the print material subcorpus of the Philippine component of the International Corpus of English (Bautista, Lising&Dayag, 1999), Bautista (2000a, summarized in 2000b) described the standards of Philippine English (PE) against American English (AE). She found numerous instances of deviations in subjectverb agreement, articles, prepositions, tenses, mass and count nouns, pronoun-antecedent agreement, word order, and comparative constructions. She showed the sentences with deviations to a native speaker of English to confirm whether these seemed to be a divergence from Standard American English

Research 1

INTRODUCTION

English is one of the subjects in high school that stresses the importance of mastering the communication skills among students. To achieve mastery, students should apply the connection between what is taught in class and what is happening in their respective lives.

To have good communication skills in English is a burning desire for most people. It really shows that English nowadays is the major medium to communicate with the whole world and the main language used for international trade and academic study (Wang, 2013).

In a short period of time, English displaced other languages and became the leading means of communication worldwide.

Its domination continues to extend. The modern world of media, mass communication, and Internet demands a good knowledge of English, especially of spoken English. Every person wishing to get the benefits of modern education, research, science, trade, etc. knows that it is impossible to do so without a working knowledge of the English language and good communication skills. A person without communication skills will suffer in this era of competition and may find it difficult to achieve a higher position in an organization.

For the Filipinos, English is recognized as the second language and is accepted as the medium of choice among the global workforce. The facility to use English has become both a necessity and a requisite in most professions.

Therefore, it is surmised that oral competence in the

(SAE).

For instance, Filipino speakers would use result to and based from instead of result in and based on. She argued that these instances were due to the absence of distinctive items to represent the prepositions on, in, at, toward in the Filipino syntactic repertoire which has only one generic preposition known as "sa" which is equivalent to various English prepositions. However, prepositions such as result to and based from and the variable use of at, on, in might be acceptable in educated Philippine English (PE) because of semantic considerations.

According to Bautista (2001), the Filipinisms result to and based from can be explained as the association of destination with “to” and of source with “from”, thus prepositional usage here may not be a serious breach of grammar.

But English teachers in the Philippines should still correct the prepositions and use the occasion to explain idiomatic usage and why PE usage is judged deviant in those instances.

Thus, the study was conducted with the aim of determining the judgment and preference of public school teachers between AE and PE preposition usage.

Statement of the Problem

The study aimed to determine the judgment and preference of public school teachers between American and Philippine English Preposition Usage.

Specifically, the study sought answers to the following sub-problems: 1. What is the level of acceptability of AE and PE, particularly on preposition usage?

2. Is there a significant difference between the levels of acceptability of AE and PE, particularly on preposition usage?

Null Hypothesis There is no significant difference between the levels of acceptability of AE and PE, particularly on preposition usage.

METHOD Research Design

The study used the descriptive method of research to determine the judgment and preference of public school teachers between American and Philippine English preposition usage.

Description emerges following creative exploration, and serves to organize the findings in order to fit them with explanations, and then test or validate those explanations (Krathwohl, 1993), as cited by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (2001).

Many research studies call for the description of natural or man-made phenomena such as their form, structure, activity, change over time, relation to other phenomena, and so on.

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from page 6 Sources of Data

The 15 English teachers of Daniel Maramba National High, Sta. Barbara,Pangasinan were the respondents of the study. They are the teachers who are in the service covering the school years 2016-2017. Total enumeration was used in the selection of the respondents.

Instrumentation and Data Collection

A survey questionnaire adapted from Bautista et al. (1999) was the main instrument of the study. The instrument was answered by the teacher-respondents on the day scheduled by the researcher and during their break time.

The researcher distributed the questionnaires to the respondents personally. Prior to the administration of the questionnaire, the researcher sought the approval of the principal assigned in the research locale. The data were handled with utmost confidentiality.

The table reveals that there are thirteen(13) sentences along American English which are acceptable with two (2) sentences unacceptable – sentences 3 and 12 . This is 86.67 %; while, twelve (12) or 80% of the sentences are acceptable along Philippine English with three (3) unacceptable sentences and these are numbers 6, 7 and 20, according to the responses of the respondents. This implies that the level of acceptability of both American and Philippine English particularly on preposition usage by respondents was based from their exposure and usage of the language. Errors which deal with prepositions are the most common mistakes done by non-native speakers especially in their writing" (Tetreault and Chodorow, 2008 in Arjan, Abdullah &Roslim, 2013, p.167), confusion in preposition use may arise even between two commonly used prepositions in sentence construction.

probability for discrepancies in the syntactic use of prepositions by ESL/EFL learners.

CONCLUSION

Although the teachers are aware of the rules governing an exonormative variety (AE), they subconsciously interface, in passing grammaticality judgement, emerging cross-linguistic tendencies as an expression of their Filipino identity and their linguistic environment as well. As this phenomenon occurs in a multi-lingual society, particularly in the educational setting, policy makers and educators are being urged to possess awareness on the potential of planned and emergent varieties of English in deepening understanding or classroom interaction, but at the same time to be extra cautious over the specific variety to target at from teaching to assessment

Research 2

Tools for Data Analysis

The empirical data and information collected through the questionnaires were collated, analyzed and interpreted, which then provided answers to the problems in this study.

Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to compute the data of the study.

Average weighted mean was used to determine the levels of acceptability of AEand PE, particularly on preposition usage.

T-test correlated was used to test if there is a significant difference between the levels of acceptability of the two varieties under study.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION `This chapter presents the findings and results of the study as presented in the succeeding tables.

Table 1 shows the levels of acceptability of AE and PE, particularly on preposition usage.

Table 1. Levels of Acceptability of AE and PE

Meanwhile, the test for significant difference between AE and PE shown on Table 2.

Table 2. Significant Difference between the Level of Acceptability of AE and PE

References Bautista, M. L. S. (2001). Attitudes of English language faculty in three leading Philippine universities toward Philippine English. Asian Englishes, 4. Retrieved from www.eric.com

The table above discloses the t-computed value of 0.814 with the p-value of 0.429>.05. This means that the null hypothesis is accepted. There is no significant difference between the levels of acceptability of AE and PE preposition usage. The findings imply that both the two varieties are acceptable.

Interference, as defined by Dulay et al. (1982 in Bhela, 1999) is the transfer of rules carried by the first language to the target language. Lekova (2010), as cited by Chua et al. (2015), views interference as a deviation from the conventions of a specific language, the change of linguistic structures and structural elements. This concept of deviating from the established conventions of the English language has been slowly gaining keen interest in the field of psycholinguistic research especially with the increased acceptance of the concept of World Englishes (Kachru&Smith, 1008 in Groves, 2010, p. 111) which, as suggested by Kachru (1985a) and Schneider (2003 in Groves, 2010, p. 111), has been a result of the multicultural growth and assimilation of the English language in various multilingual settings all over the world.

Cuypere’s (2013, p. 122) semantic analysis on prepositions revealed that there are certain difficulties that need to be addressed when studying English preposition, specifically, prepositions of movement (e.g. to, towards, through, etc.).

The study argued that certain prepositions of movement present complications with spatial concepts for nonnative learners. Since these concepts may vary across different cultures there is high

Bautista, M. L. S.,Lising, J. L., &Dayag, D. T. (1999). Philippine English data for the International Corpus o f English Project.

University Research Coordination Office, De La Salle University, Manila.

Bhela, B. (1999). Native language interference in learning a second language: Exploratory case studies of narrative language interference with target language use. International Education Journal 1 (1), 22-31.

Chua et. al (2015). Interference between Filipino and English prepositions: A comparative analysis of male and female Filipino bilingual learners in the World Englishes paradigm in the Philippine setting.

De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines.

Groves, J. (2010). Error or Feature? The issue of interlanguage and deviations in non-native varieties of English. H o n g K o n g B a p t i s t U n i v e r s i t y P a p e r s i n A p p li e d L a n g u a g e S t u d i e s 1 4,108-129.

Retrieved from www.sciencedirect.com.

Manila Bulletin (2005).Department of Education (DepEd) on the National Achievement Test in 2004.

Wang, Y. (2013). Developing Taiwanese Elementary School Pupils’ EFL Communicative Competence through Communicative Language Activities J. Eng. Technol. Educ. (2013) 10(1): 27-41 March 2013.

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re you familiar with the fairy tale movie entitled, “Enchanted?” In this film, the protagonist from the world of animation has been transported to the world of reality. There are sudden shifts in life as there are riveting plot twists in movies. We can’t even seem to catch up on all of them.

Since trends appear suddenly, and then disappear just as suddenly, allow me to write a memoir of a few trendy things I did in the subject Trends in Language Teaching to completely leave a mark on the world of English Language Teaching at LyceumNorthwestern University even before this semester ends.

Being in the graduate school is a big decision and it requires a genuine commitment. I am in my 3rd semester already. It is tough yet very rewarding. Professionals

enrol in graduate studies for two reasons: thirst for knowledge and aspiration for promotion.

Whatever the reason, it surely is for a good cause.

This semester has been a blast! The activities in Trends in Language Teaching allowed me to enter into a new perspective that a teaching methodology course has still a lot more to offer. To think of it as boring or even taxing is a misconception.

For one thing, our class created a group page on Facebook that enabled us to keep each other posted and have access to the course materials anytime, anywhere. Through our group page, we managed to submit our requirements ahead of time and also monitored who among us haven’t submitted outputs yet. on next page

from page 8 Aside from that, we gave comments on our classmates’ work, allowing us to weigh and reconcile diverse viewpoints in the discussion board.

Another perk of enrolling in the course was the chance to enrol in one of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU). The course, Learning Design in Open Distance e-Learning (ODEL), is especially designed for online course facilitators who do not have the luxury of time to attend face-to-face training but need to update and develop their knowledge and skills in creating and teaching an online course. In the online classroom, we met lots of amazing people whose interests and areas of expertise are the same as mine. Aside from expanding our professional network, the course became instrumental in writing our three short reflective essays and our Course Blueprint which was publicly exhibited during the gallery walk.

Lastly, as our final requirement, we were asked to make our own blog showcasing the different folktales of the ASEAN countries. I must admit, the process was a long and tedious one. We were very careful to every detail of our blog. The agony didn’t end with developing our web page.

The ultimate baptism of fire was the oral

defense of our innovation before a panel of competent evaluators. We had mixed emotions while waiting for our turn. The other groups finished in the blink of an eye. When it was our turn, I realized, “Oh, this must be the feeling my classmates felt when they were standing here.” Gladly, the presentation went well. We completed the task with positive comments from the panellists. This last activity developed teamwork among us despite of our diverse personalities and backgrounds.

Before this semester comes to an end, I came to realize that being in the graduate school is no bed roses. But with hard work and commitment, we can hurdle mental and emotional challenges and eventually savor every bit of our accomplishments.

We have experienced roller coarse moments in this course. Truly, building a castle that will stand the test of lifetime will take so much hard work, compared to molding sandcastles. Thanks to Trends in Language Teaching! My engagement and empowerment in our online classroom has lead me to a better understanding of the role of technology in creating a 21st-century classroom.

So, what’s trending in Trends in Language Teaching? Too few to mention, but they have created a huge impact on me.

When such rare opportunities pass by your doorstep, do not be afraid to say, Welcome!

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typical life in the graduate school is characterized by intensive reading of books and journals, listening to lectures and asking questions, giving an oral report, taking comprehensive exams, having discussion with professors and classmates, and writing papers of all types (summary, critique, position, concept, and research). Traditionally, these academic activities usually take place in the private spaces of the professor and the students. In doing the assigned readings, for instance, the students interpret the messages of the respective authors, but seldom can the students easily give their feedback, personally, to the writers of those articles or books. When the professor is giving a lecture, the least thing the students can do is to take down notes; and when given the privilege, they may pose questions. As a term or semesterender activity, academic papers are submitted to the professor who manages, most of the time according to his personal judgment, to evaluate the merits of the requirements within a busy academic schedule. In all of these scenarios, the interaction between the professor and the students is mainly monologic or one-way, with the latter mainly playing the role of knowledge

consumers.

With wide acceptance of the view that knowledge is a social construction shaped and reshaped in a community of practice, there has been a dramatic shift in the kind of interaction that is supposed to exist among professors and graduate students, from being monologic to dialogic.

This holds true even with their interaction with other mediation tools (e.g. books, the Internet, social media sites). Although reading can still be a personal and private activity, it has become a social and interactive process in that print reading materials are now digitized and accessible on Wattpad, blogs, and other online platforms.

Readers would keep their insights private before but not nowadays. Understanding, appreciation, and critical comments about information in print and digital media can be expressed publicly. Even in writing, ideas are not only generated from oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s readings, but also from oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mentors, colleagues, friends, and linkages and networking activities. on next page

from page 10 While the inputs from the experts are indispensable throughout the writing process, the transmission of feedback should be governed by a dynamic and multi-way mechanism so that the novice writers will most likely produce a discourse that conforms to the conventions of the academic community while maintaining a distinct authorial voice. Simply put, in both knowledge generation and dissemination the public at large are part of the equation. The public sphere is a fertile ground for the cultivation of the ideas of the so-called apprentice scholars.

Enrolment in graduate studies is an initial step professional teachers can take to become experts in their chosen fields. For the “rite of passage” to be truly empowering, the classroom activities should be geared towards promoting a culture of inquiry and innovation where: 1) the students are trained to judge the strengths and weaknesses of arguments and take a stand for something they believe in; and 2)the students adapt to new ways of thinking and doing things not solely on the basis of sound theoretical underpinning and principles; but, more so, on the relevance and responsiveness to their situational contexts. Such academic socialization within the university context slowly succeeds at the individual level. It is maximized in the social realm with constructive criticisms from the members of the academic community. Dealing with criticisms positively helps in the production of scholarly and creative works whose content and form truly represent the identity of a certain professional community.

The work produced within the learning community has to be made public so that “it can be subjected to critical scrutiny and can inform the field” (Nunan & Bailey, 2009, p.16), Publication of academic work has been classified

by Nunan & Bailey into four types. These include: 1) informal-unwritten, 2) informal-written, 3) formal-unwritten, and 4) formal-written.

Presentation in faculty meeting is an example of the first type. Listserv posting or professional blog is considered informal and written. Oral presentation at a conference, whether refereed or invited, is a formal and unwritten form of

publishing. Articles in refereed journals and invited chapter or section contribution to a book exemplify the formal-written type. Since most teachers are already at ease with the first two types of publication, it is high time to embark on the third type, which is, in the words of Vygotsky, within the zone of proximal development. It is something that the graduate students can do with the help of their peers, professors, and experts in the field. It is an achievable endeavour where they can have a pleasant experience. TESLation: A Public Lecture and Exhibit, therefore, is a response to the mandate of Lyceum-Northwestern University to create a learning environment where students are not afraid to scale up and be accustomed to all possible types of publication.

TESLation is the keyword of the event.

The suffix –ation, meaning action or process, is attached to the aconym TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) to suggest that the teaching profession is dynamic and continues to progress.

The tagline also implies that staging a public lecture and exhibit entails thinking and action from the exhibitors, presenters, evaluators, and discussants before, during, and after the event.

The proceedings and activities of TESLation revolve around the theme of reflective and evidence-based language teaching. The classroom is a rich source of data that can be subjected to reflection. Reflection is done to thresh out the good practices and share these for their sustainability. It also aims to distinguish the best from the poor and turn the poor practices into the best ones. This goes on and on as long as there are learners in the classroom and their needs and of the society’s are changing. By and large, teacher practitioners need to constantly examine their beliefs and practices to improve student learning and achievement, to elevate the teaching profession, and to help them hone or refine their craft.

Reference Nunan, D., & Bailey, K.M. (2009). Exploring second language classroom research: a comprehensive guide. Boston, MA: Heinle, Cengage Learning.

Filipinos in the midst of catastrophe

by Melody Geminiano-Belisario

ABSTRACT The whole world is a living witness that resiliency is in the veins of Filipinos. We often experience hard times in life caused by natural calamities such as typhoons. In times like these, we help other people, even those strangers to us.

We offer food, shelter, and other basic needs to the needy typhoon victims. We wholeheartedly volunteer to disaster-relief works. We become bearers of light, as we help our brothers get back on their feet. We also smile not as a sign of insensitivity but of bravery, hope, and optimism. We always choose to smile amidst hardships and we face life with a strong faith in God. This lesson exemplar highlights the theme of resiliency in teaching English and the 21st century skills— critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating and collaborating.

Specifically, the competencies to be covered, based on the K to 12 English Curriculum Guide , are 1) sharing viewpoints based on the ideas presented in the materials viewed and 2) showing appreciation for songs, poems, and other listening texts. Regarding the 21st century skills, the students will think critically by recalling and describing their previous experiences. They could enhance their creative thinking by sketching, singing, role-playing, making poster-slogan and writing poems and songs. They could communicate and collaborate through their group activities which could let them show their time management, leadership, and teambuilding skills.

of literature and other texts types for a deeper appreciation of Philippine Culture and those of other countries (DepEd, retrieved 2015).

The learners will show resiliency of Filipinos in different activities, tapping into their creativity and interests as borne out by the Google Forms survey questionnaires floated online to gather the learners’ socio-linguistic profile.

It is important for students to know how well they are doing as they learn. This is because such knowledge gives students a sense of direction in the course of learing . Similarly, it is also important to let students know when they have made a mistake so that they will learn from it and take corrective measures. (Y.K. Ip, 2005).

Constructive criticism or feedback will be given based on the differentiated instruction rubrics which will be used as assessment tools in the performance of the students.

METHOD Students

Grade 10 students from the Special Science Class (Section Grade 10-STEM A Benjamin Franklin) for the School Year 2017 – 2018. There are 34 students in the class, 10 males and 24 females with ages ranging from 14-16 years old. Most of them belong to middle class families since their parents have finished education and have stable jobs. A few of them belong to the well-to-do family. They are reading English books, dictionaries, magazines and novels. But they prefer searching using the internet now. Some are nature lovers; others are fond of writing poems, songs and scripts.

Still, some are fond of drawing and sketching.

Many are motivated by parents and teachers to learn the English language and they’ve learned something about English language when they were still in their earlier years. They just use their mother tongue in informal setting. They are not used to read and write Pangasinan literary pieces, so they are better at speaking English and Filipino language as well as in reading English and Filipino literature. Most of them could speak English with just a few flaws. They still want to improve their ability to speak the language to enhance their vocabulary and to improve their knowledge about grammar.

Lesson Background

Students will view a video clip about the most devastating typhoon in our country and of the Filipino resiliency. Then, they will be grouped into five (5) and share their experiences about typhoons and how they’ve built defenses against these adversities. The leader will sum up the insights of his groupmates and present these orally in class. After the oral presentation, they will watch a video clip about the resiliency of Filipinos. They will be grouped into five again and will complete the tasks given to them with resiliency of Filipinos as the theme.(The groups are based on the survey on their linguistic profile) Group 1.The Poets - They will write a four stanza poem and present it in class.

Group 2. The Environmentalists - They will picture themselves as nature lovers. They will prepare a poster-slogan that will encourage people to help mother nature grow after an adversity.

Group 3. The Singer - Song Writers - They will write a song about resiliency and present it in class.

Group 4. The Scriptwriters and Actors - They will write a script about Filipino resiliency and act it out in class.

Group 5. The Image Makers - They will draw/ sketch their interpretation of resiliency and present in in class.

Constructive criticisms or comments will be given by each representative in each group and the teacher. A rubric for differentiated instruction will be used to assess their performance

LESSON PLAN 1

INTRODUCTION

This lesson exemplar banks on the resiliency of Filipinos, which has become our cultural identity. Resiliency is connected with hospitality and customs of habitation in our country. It refers to the first two aspects of culture, namely, patterns of thought and patterns of behavior which show common ways of thinking, including factual beliefs, values and emotional attitudes, and common ways of behaving (Allwood, 1985). It is also inspired by the mission of the Department of Education to protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culture-based and complete basic education and the core values of Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa.

Moreover, this lesson plan is in relation to the topics in Grade 10 English with world literature themes about overcoming challenges, building up defenses, reconciling with nature and establishing solidarity. Through this lesson, the students will vicariously overcome challenges given by nature, build defenses against adversities, reconcile with nature, and establish solidarity as Filipinos.

It is also in line with the K to 12 Curriculum which uses localization, contextualization and differentiated instruction to cater the needs of students who have multiple intelligences.

This curriculum’s program standard states that the learner demonstrates communicative competence through his/her understanding

Setting

The lesson exemplar was implemented at Pangasinan National High School in Lingayen, Pangasinan. It is a public school where junior high school students are studying English subject focused on world literature, which covers the themes: overcoming challenges, building up defenses, reconciling with nature and establishing solidarity. We have shifting of classes, so we hold our class at 4:20 to 5:10 in the afternoon. The strategy of letting teachers move in their assigned classrooms is being practiced in this school, so the room that we used was a Science/Laboratory Room since the students were under the Special Science Class and not an English Room. The teacher brings a laptop for the students to view video clips. There is a chalkboard and a white screen in the classroom.

We can borrow the projector from the English Learning Center to be used as well as other references about Grammar and Literature.

Armchairs and learner’s materials are provided for each learner with a 1:1 ratio. There is a time frame of 50 minutes per class every day.

Learning Objectives/Competencies /Expected Results By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to do the following: 1) recall previous experiences and observations about typhoons; 2) share viewpoints based on the ideas presented in the materials viewed; 3) express their thoughts through writing (poem and song), performing (singing and acting) and drawing; 4) show appreciation for songs, poems, and other listening texts; 5) set goals and monitor their achievement; and 6) collaborate with each other to achieve the expected product or performance.

Materials

Video clips retrieved online will be provided by the teacher. There will be a list of team names, roles and tasks to be given by the teacher. Students will need paper, pencil, ballpen, cartolina, coloring materials (if there’s any) and other props. The teacher will roam around the room to check the work of the students.

The teacher prepared questionnaires for the socio-linguistic profile of the learners.

Rubrics retrieved from www.atozteacherstuff. com are used for assessment.

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Sources

Actual Video of Storm Surge of Typhoon Haiyan Yolanda in Leyte Philippines retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNh-_SXdUgA Video on the resiliency of Filipinos prepared by the teacher using images from flickr.com and google.com with PhotoStory3 for Windows as video editing tool PowerPoint presentation prepared by the teacher

Procedures/Timing

REFLECTION

As I presented the lesson, I could see excitements from the faces of most of my students, but they became serious when they’ve watched the video of the actual footage of Typhoon Yolanda. After viewing it, I asked them to group themselves into five and choose their leader. I asked them to recall some of the devastating typhoons that affected and devastated their places and homes and the things they did to build up defenses against theses adversities. The leaders in every group wrapped up their insights and shared these in class well.

After the oral presentation, I asked them to watch a video clip that I prepared about Filipino resiliency which depicts Filipino culture with its background music “Bangon” by Rico Blanco which could really touch one’s heart.

After viewing the video clip, I asked what the students could say about it. Some said that the video was inspiring, motivating and let them feel proud of being a Filipino having a very strong spirit that could withstand any adversities in life.

For the next task, they were regrouped based on their interests which were taken from the results of the survey on their socio-linguistic profile floated online through Google Forms.

Most of them wanted to become poets, imagemakers, environmentalists, scriptwriters and actors. Only two chose to be singer-song writers.

The members of each group did their part while I roamed around to see what they were doing.

Unfortunately, time constraint prevented them from polishing their work. They needed to attend

to their next class so I dismissed them on time.

We didn’t meet the allotted time for the activity.

I just advised them to come to school early the following day for them to continue with their work.

On the second day, the students were very excited to present, although others were still polishing their outputs. During the presentation, the poets started it right with a poem entitled “The First to Rise.” The group compared Filipinos to a reed which still grows even after being burnt or destroyed by any calamity.

The environmentalists thought of a very good reminder to all citizens and to our government to cherish each moment in our environment. The singer-songwriters who have only two members unintentionally left their first composition, but the show must go on, so they composed another song. The representative of the group sang with all his heart touching the hearts of those who listened to him. The message of the song was clear and heartwarming. The scriptwriters and actors encountered a minor problem in terms of showing their emotions and teamwork during their presentation. The actors and actresses were quite nervous, but they tried their best to act out their script. The last group, the image makers, were great artists! Each member shared something about the illustration they made.

After each presentation, a representative in every group was asked to give feedback. I also gave feedback constructively aside from the rubric for differentiated instruction that I used to assess

them.

I requested two of my students to be the videographers for the two-day lesson about the resiliency of Filipinos. They lent their cameras and exerted all the efforts to get a good angle of our class discussion. But still, there were some problems encountered especially during the first day since the cameras sometimes were against the light, so there were blurry parts of the video.

For this lesson, I guess my strengths fell under the motivation factor, letting my students develop their leadership skills and decision-making and giving feedback constructively. For the time management, I should have allotted more time for their preparation on the first day. The lesson may have been as smooth as I imagined. I realized also that I moved a lot inside the room and I used hand gestures most of the time while explaining or sharing something to my students.

The activities given were in line with the principles of contextualization and differentiated instruction strongly encouraged in the K to 12 Curriculum. Technology helped me a lot in implementing this lesson exemplar because of the videos presented. The tasks of the students let them use more of their advanced skills. Through these activities as well, the learners showed their hidden talents and could possibly dream to pursue what they want to be in the future.

E

nglish is the most studied language in the world.

Statistics both from the Internet and from the Guinness Book of World Records reveal that the most studied language in the world is English.

The main reason for this, of course, is the fact that English evolved to be the international language. Strangers from different countries usually communicate through English.

Anybody can go to a foreign country and can easily communicate either to locals or foreigners using English.

The rationale behind this is that almost all countries in the world study the English language and any country will always have someone who can speak and understand English. Although English only has about 500 million native speakers, it is used by almost 2 billion people in the world on a regular basis.

Here in the Philippines, we study English as early as the primary level. It is included in almost all curricula both in public and private schools, although there might be a degree of difference in the emphasis of instruction.

English study is more encouraged in private schools.

Some private schools even practice an EOP (English Only Policy) while inside their school campus.

Let us count how many times we study English while at school. We spend at least an hour per subject each day while we are in elementary. We get 200 schooldays or

more per year here in the Philippines. That will be 200 hours studying English per grade. We spend 6 in elementary; thus, we spent 1200 hours studying English in elementary grades alone. That should make an elementary graduate proficient in the English language. Now let us add the number of hours spent at Junior High which is 4 years and at Senior High which is 2 years and that will be another 1200 hours of learning English assuming that we also get the English subject everyday as we had in Elementary. If somebody graduates from Grade 12 now, he/she should be very proficient in English. Add a college degree which is mostly 4 or 5 year courses which definitely will include English whatever course then, a college graduate must have all the skills that make him/ her a very proficient English communicator.

Looking at statistics reported by GMA in one of their feature stories, only 3 out of 10 Filipinos can speak English and not so proficient at that. Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority, among children 6 to 12 years old, 81.1 percent had reached or finished at most elementary education while 5.6 percent had no grade completed. More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of the household population aged 13 to 16 years reached or completed at most high school.

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About 36.3 percent of the persons aged 17 to 24 years had post-secondary and college education. If these statistics are true, there is a very large conflict between the percentages of people who can speak English against the percentage of persons who finished at least elementary level. Who is to blame for this discrepancy then? Is it the teacher, the student, or both?

Let us take a look at a Grade 1 English book. It is written in English! It contains some pictures and some English words that the grade one student will match. Here is a copy of a page downloaded from the Internet:

Wonderful! That is if the pupil knows how to read those words or understand them. Big deal, isn’t it? Whoever developed the subject and whoever wrote the book expected the 6 or 7 year old child to know the meaning of those words. Let us divert real far from the subject. Let us say if a Filipino (even a college graduate or a master’s degree holder) is given a grade school book in Mandarin with some pictures and Chinese calligraphy and is asked to match the characters with the pictures, what will be the rate of success? There is a very small chance of getting a correct match, right? That is the dilemma a child faces when he/ she does not understand any word in a book and is asked to match it with the correct picture. We can check these books at DepEd sites because these can be downloaded for free. Can we blame DepEd then for being over-enthusiastic in developing a real English book for starters? Or can we blame whoever came up with the idea of a book written in pure English for grade one students.

Who will make the adjustment then? The teacher or the student? I guess it would be on the shoulders of poor old Madam or Sir. The teacher will have to patiently translate the English words to Filipino or to the vernacular. That will eat up the teaching hours and it will be a factor of not being able to finish the book for the school year. The children will move up to the next grade without being able to finish all of the lessons form the previous school year that will make the learning foundation somewhat weak. Add another year of unfinished lessons and the students move up another grade again and that will justify the findings of GMA that only 3 out of 10 Filipinos

can speak English.

How is English taught in the classroom really?

Teachers have a lesson plan that they need to follow which is good because it will standardize the learning throughout the country as long as all teachers adhere to the lesson plan. The lesson plan contains written instructions like lectures on the blackboard or prepared PowerPoint slides; written examinations with prepared questions that students are required to answer which will be the basis of their grades; and oral recitations where students are required to talk in English about a part of their lesson. From the elementary level to the high school level and up to the college level, that is the usual practice. And this is what can be termed as the traditional way of teaching English.

It is what we know and it is how we learned. Some might become good eventually but not everyone.

Where can we find English instruction at its best?

The answer is simply in the BPO training. What is a BPO? BPO stands for Business Proponents Outsourcing. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a third-party service provider. It is a very fast growing industry in the Philippines today. Here is an excerpt from a report by Inquirer.net last April 2016: “The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (ITBPM) industry has grown to be the second largest source of dollar income for the Philippine economy, according to the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP). In 2015, the industry generated 1.2 million direct jobs and US$ 22 billion in revenues. In addition, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) also revealed that “should current growth rates continue, the IT-BPM industry will overtake Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) remittances by 2017,” proving that Filipinos do not need to leave the country to provide for their families with millions of BPO jobs available in the Philippines.”

How are communication skills trainings conducted by BPO’s? The answer is simple; very different from traditional classroom instruction. The trainer encourages 100% participation at all times. All trainees speak English even among themselves. There are penalties for violating the English Only Policy inside the training room. Trainees are expected to know how to communicate in English using correct grammar. The big difference is practice.

Trainees are required to talk in English at all times with the proper pronunciation and intonations, especially the accent.

If classroom teachers at higher levels like high school or college will put the EOP to use inside the classroom that will definitely help develop students into good English speakers. The key is not getting ashamed of speaking in English as most Filipinos do. Proficiency can only be achieved by constant practice to constant use.

Dear Students, The journey towards scholarship is never easy. It is a path that most professionals avoid because creating is the most difficult mental function in Bloom’s taxonomy, as updated by Anderson and Krothwohl. To produce a good output, one must exert enough effort, put a lot of time, and spend some money. Creating a lesson exemplar, course blueprint, website, or module cannot be done overnight.

Along the way, many of you almost gave up. You almost lost selfconfidence because you were hearing discouraging comments about your work. It is a good thing your family and friends were with you in trying times. They were around to cheer you up one way or another.

Man is not alone in the midst of hard times, just as he is at the peak of success. Even your selfie, a photograph you have taken of yourself, is shared via social media. You post it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to keep your friends updated about your activities and thoughts. If you can use social media to create your social identity, then you can also use a lecture, exhibit, or professional magazine to build your academic integrity.

At the rate things are going, the creation and construction of knowledge as well as the development of expertise in the academe can never be devoid of social interaction in public space.

Considering the outputs you have this semester (reflective and evidencebased lesson exemplar, UP Open University distance education readiness badge, sentence outlines, PowerPoint presentation, online learning platform, course blueprint, action research, and module) and the objectives of the Master in Education Program stipulated in CHED Memorandum Order No. 53, s.2017, namely: 1) update and enrich classroom teachers’ content knowledge in a specific subject area; 2)enhance and expand classroom teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and skills for teaching a specific subject area; and 3) improve the classroom teachers’ efficacy in producing innovative and creative instructional programs or materials that will improve the teaching-learning process—there can be only one conclusion: you are at par with the national standards.

Meeting the standards means there is a good quality in the education you have here at Lyceum-Northwestern University. The seal of quality is a by-product of the interplay among the curriculum, the teaching method, the faculty, the school facilities, and, most importantly, the students. Excellence does not happen by chance but by choice. It is a collective, not an individual, undertaking. It is socially constructed.

Congratulations, for you dare to take an active role in creating a culture of excellence.

You dare to lead and manage change for the betterment of the country’s Love, Dr. MC

A

teacher is someone who does not just teach but also inspires, shares, understands, forgives, communicates, listens, and many others. S/he makes it a point to educate minds and touch hearts for the betterment of the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. S/he prepares for the everyday challenge that teaching offers. S/he does instructional materials for easier understanding of ideas needed to be shared with learners. S/he does all these without hesitation. Even if problems and difficulties come her/his way, s/he would always remain steadfast to her/ his oath of giving quality education to every child who needs to learn.

Learning, on the other hand, is a responsibility. Learners should bear in mind that it is their liability to do everything they have to do to make it up for teachers who give their all just to make them educated and learned. Their tasks include listening, understanding, analyzing, interpreting, applying, creating, among others.

These do not imply that they do not have time for recreation. Teachers organize interesting activities that cater to individual differences. One thing that learners should do is to put their 100% into everything that they are in for their own success in the future.

The teaching-learning process speaks about the transfer of knowledge between the teacher and the learners and the dynamics resulting from their interaction with some other elements of the learning environment. Every classroom is unique.

May it be with the type of learners it has or the strategies that the teacher uses; one cannot say that there are two classrooms that are exactly alike.

The teachers, as well as the students, need to work hard to establish a smooth-flowing process. If the other side does not do its supposed responsibility, then, it would definitely result

to failure.

I am a Senior High School Teacher III at Ildefonso Quimson Community High School in Alaminos City, Pangasinan. It has been more than a year now since I became part of the Department of Education family.

I taught in the private sector for three years. Teaching, both in private and public, I can say, is not all glory. It also presents the different realizations that a teacher can think of with regard to his/her students. Poverty, family, and self; these all contribute to the reality that a teacher would see once he/she teaches.

For the past six years that I was teaching, I have already met different faces and races of students.

Some were foreigners, others were full-blooded Filipinos. Some had a good grasp of the English vocabulary, others did not have. Some were kind-hearted, others were really stubborn.

When it was my first month in my current station as a public servant, I really had a hard time adjusting to the level of my students. For the reason that I was used to having students from private school who were good-looking, well-mannered, and intelligent, I had a culture shock. My students in public school did not even know how to compose a good sentence in English. When I was teaching some English subjects to them, they seemed to be lacking confidence in using the language. I even had to speak in Filipino, worst, in the mother tongue, for my English subjects, just for them to understand the things that I wanted them to comprehend.

As I was encouraging them to just speak the language until they get used to it, I noticed that they were really trying their very best. Even if we are situated in a rural area, I wanted them to be equipped with the right knowl-

edge in English as they would be using it in their future endeavours.

As I wanted them to know a bit of everything about English, I really spend some time in making and preparing instructional materials. I make it a point that each session I have with them equates to one event in their lives when they have learned something. I always make engaging PowerPoint presentations for them to be glued to my discussion the whole hour that I am with them. I continuously encourage them to just speak the language.

It is not a sin to say English words. They have not perfected it yet but one thing is for sureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;they would go a long way for they really try their best to speak English fluently.

The teaching and learning process in my class is not that perfect. I still have to make some adjustments and try other strategies for the benefit of my students. With Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s help, my students and I can make a difference.

Meet the cast from TESLation 2017

T

by Agnes D. Molina

he end justifies the means. The quality of the input and the dynamics of interaction available in one class can only be considered outstanding by virtue of the quality of the outcome. Having successfully responded to the call to apply theory to practice and to continue making the university’s graduate school a knowledge creation and innovation hub, the presenters during the public lecture series held on October 14, 21, and 28, 2017 need to be presented and congratulated before the “curtain call.” Here they are.

Lesson Exemplar Writers Agnes D. Molina Allen Roy C. Perez Alyssa Glazelle V. Notarte Bobbit Dale M. Bulatao Bonifiacio S. Santos, Jr. Diana Rose C. Purganan Dynasty E. De Leon Feah Katryna B. Manuel Fershalen V. Belen Jazer Ann N. Penuliar Jean Louise B. Baguidudol Jelina O. Molina Jenifer Lilet G. Galisim Marjury F. Soriano Mercy R. Joves Mildred C. Castillo Sienna Larissa N. Amla Tiffany Macaraeg Vanessa F. Manuel Venus L. Cardenas

Action Researchers

Alyssa Glazelle V. Notarte Feah Katryna B. Manuel Fershalen V. Belen Jacquel S. Aquino Jean Louise B. Baguidudol Jomalyn G. Pagsolingan Krista M. Espanol Marites C. Yanguas Mercy C. Joves Rhezainie T. Bacutana Shiela P. Salinas Tiffany R. Macaraeg Venus L. Cardenas

Web Page Developers

April Lee C. Caretero Bobbit Dale M. Bulatao Camille Ann Centeno Dennis Jay M. Lutu Dianne Dacanay Donita Joy T. Eugenio Elizabeth F. Naval Jaenelle Pauline G. Calimlim Janice D. Donato Jesilyn R. Angeles Jessica B. Laderas Jomalyn G. Pagsolingan Jonalyn Jarabata Jose C. Aliniado, Jr. Krisley Ann Sison

Module Writers

Agnes L. Molina Alyssa Glazelle V. Notarte Daniel P. Somintac Daniel P. Somintac Dynasty E. De Leon Feah Katryna B. Manuel Fershalen V. Belen Jacquel S. Aquino Jazer Ann N. Penuliar Jazer Ann N. Penuliar Jesabel P. Buenafe Jomalyn G. Pagsolingan Julie Beth V. Reyno Krista M. Espanol Ma. Lourdes Collado Marites C. Yanguas

Lorna D. Soriano Ma. Ivy E. Santiago Madonna Lee Pascua Maria Elena F. Bonode Michelle P. Rosario Mike V. Cabote Myra F. Ocampo Nina D. Castillo Norien Marie C. Ferrer Rene G. Millet Rosela B. Disu Rowena L. Arenas Siony Lopez Suzette B. Ferrer

Mary Maricon Mabalot Mercy C. Joves Rhezainie T. Bacutana Shiela P. Salinas Shiela P. Salinas Shiena Marie L. Bustillo Sienna Larissa N. Amla Sienna Larissa N. Amla Tiffany R. Macaraeg Tiffany R. Macaraeg Vanessa F. Manuel Venus L. Cardenas