Fulfilling its mandate as Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) Center of Development in Filipino, and in its pursuit to develop the culture of research, MSU-IIT’s Department of Filipino and Other Languages (DFIW), through its dynamic chairperson, Dr. Mary Ann Sandoval, and hardworking faculty members, successfully organized the 1st Salindunong Conference and 11th National Conference in Filipino on April 2-4, 2018 at Grand Caprice Restaurant and Convention Center, Cagayan de Oro City.
The impetus of the conference is to provide a responsive venue for the discussion and wider dissemination of information and challenges about language and literature in academic setting and multidisciplinary research to bring about meaningful cultural integration in Asia and the world, which is aptly captured through its tag name ‘Salindunong’ – a term authored by DFIW’s faculty member and writer Prof. German Gervacio that means transfer (salin) of knowledge (dunong) – and its conference theme “Language, Literature, and Multidisciplinary Research towards Cultural Integration”.
Salindunong attracted 96 participants, 73 research presenters, and 43 student-participants. The parallel sessions featured three to well-selected papers from Philippine and foreign researchers, which focused on different areas in Language and Literary Studies, and other disciplines: Language Teaching, Discourse Studies, Registers and Variation, Translation, Language Policy, Literary Criticism, Folklore, and Cultural Studies, to mention a few.
The keynote speakers are Dr. Joi Barrios-Leblanc of the University of California-Berkeley, who presented ‘Understanding/Interrogating Cultural Integration o Kung bakit tayo dapat magsimula sa talinghaga?’; and lexicographer Dr. Deny Kwary of Airlangga University, Indonesia, who talked about ‘The Representation of Australian, Philippines and Indonesian Culturally Bound Terms in English Learner Dictionaries’.
The plenary speakers include experts in the field of lexicography, to wit, Prof. Yamada Shigeru of Waseda University, Japan, who discussed ‘Recent Changes of English-Japanese and Japanese-English Dictionaries’; and Prof. Hai Xu, Ph.D. of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, China, who deliberated about ‘Internationalism vs Anglocentrism in English Learners’ Dictionaries’.
The other plenary speakers are Philology expert, Dr. Joanna Szerszunowicz of Bialystok University, Poland, who talked about ‘Figurative Language and Cultural Symbol: Polish Perspective’; and former MSU-IIT professor and Palanca awardee Prof. Anthony Tan, Ph.D., who discussed ‘Indigenous Tausug Gnomic Verses’.
A technologist from Queensland University of Technology, in Australia, Prof. Margot Brereton, Ph.D., was also invited to discuss ‘Bringing Transdisciplinary Design Research to Literacy, Culture and Language in the Digital Era’.
After ten years of organizing conferences in Filipino, it has been the department’s dream to host an international conference, which was realized now through the department’s coordination with other universities in Region X, namely, Xavier University (XU) – Ateneo de Cagayan, Central Mindanao University (CMU); and its international collaborator, the Faculty of Humanities of Airlangga University, Indonesia.
Also in attendance during the opening program were MSU-IIT’s Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance, Dr. David Almarez, representing Chancellor Dr. Sukarno D. Tanggol; Dr. Rolito Eballe, Dean of CMU’s College of Arts and Sciences, representing CMU President Dr. Ma. Luisa R. Soliven; Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ, and Dr. Juliet Dalagan, President and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences of Xavier University, respectively. Officials from CHED Region X were also present to extend their warmest congratulations to the host institutions.
Speaking on behalf of Dr. Jinky Bornales, MSU-IIT’s Vice-Chancellor for Research and Extension, Dr. Marie Joy Banawa, the Dean of the College of Arts and Social Sciences and faculty member of DFIW, appreciated all the efforts of the Institute and the faculty members of DFIW through her closing remarks, and challenged all participants to continue the handover of research-based knowledge to the most important clientele – the students.
MSU-IIT, Iligan City — Language and Literature teachers all over the country are encouraged to register for the National Conference-Workshop on Language and Literature on November 9-11, 2017. This is the first national conference-workshop hosted by the Department of English and will be held at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City.
“This is an opportunity for academicians, students, teachers and scholars to gather and discuss current issues on English language studies, especially in diverse context. It is exciting how we can problematize these issues and create frameworks for the answers,” said Dr. Nelia G. Balgoa, chairperson of the Department of English. “This will enable the Department to create a niche of its own in this particular build. We also look forward to build networks and collaborate with our counterparts from other parts of the country.”
Themed “Rethinking Literature and Languages: New Paradigms in the Teaching and Reading of the English Language/s”, the conference-workshop will focus on rethinking and reevaluating what texts to use in the teaching of literature and what language as a medium of instruction and expression proves more effective in a multicultural and multilingual classroom. It will also include discussions on the paradoxes and fractures of the country’s curricular innovations to institutions of higher learning.
The three-day workshop will feature speakers such as Dr. Jaime An Lim, Filipino poet, historian and storywriter; Dr. James Howard McLellan, a Senior Assistant Professor at the University of Brunei Darussalam; Dr. Steven Patrick C. Fernandez, director of the Culture and Arts Studies Center of the Institute; Dr. Aurelio P. Vilbar, Associate Professor of the University of the Philippines High School, Cebu; Dr. Rolando B. Tolentino, Professor at the College of Mass Communications, University of the Philippines-Diliman; and Dr. Melanie P. Estacio, Education Program Supervisor of Region XI. Workshops on Language and Literature, Language Testing and Assessment within the K-12 context, Language and Peace, and in Children’s Literature are included. Selected participants will also present their research papers on various topics in the conference.
The conference-workshop targets over 150 participants from across the Philippines. Interested participants can register online byfilling in the Google Form (http://bit.ly/2t6sk7x/). More information is available at the conference site https://ncwoll.com/.
About the Department of English
The Department of English of MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology is under the College of Arts and Social Sciences and offers a bachelor’s and master’s degree program in English Language Studies and a doctorate degree program in Language Studies. It also provides training services and workshops in developing communication skills and English proficiency. Since 2011, the department has extended to the local community through conducting trainings and workshops on teaching and reading language and literature, reading remediation, and reading towards the creation of theater.
With the aim to provide an effective setting to share vital information relating to Filipino in various disciplines, the College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) through the Department of Filipino and Other Languages hosts this year 10th national conference in Filipino on February 9-11.
Observing this year’s conference theme, “Gurong Bibo, Estudyanteng Listo: Panibagong Sipat sa Pananaliksik, Pagtuturo, Pagsasalin, at Pamamahayag, Dr. Mary Ann S. Sandoval, the department chairperson, expects that through the conference, current issues, strategies and experiences in research, teaching, translation, and journalism related to the Filipino language and literature are expected to be presented and discussed.
The conference will run for three days with plenary sessions held at the CASSalida Theater and parallel sessions at rooms situated at the second floor of the CASS building.
51 research papers of participants coming from various parts of the country were accepted for presentation.
Resource persons for the activity are professors from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Dr. Vina P. Paz and Dr. Eugene Y. Evasco; a medical doctor and children’s literature author, Dr. Luis P. Gatmaitan; a Senior Education Program Specialist and DepEd (Iligan) Coordinator, Dr. Roberto D. Napere, Jr.; and, professors from the Institute, namely: Dr. Steven P. C. Fernandez, Dr. German V. Gervacio, Prof. Louis Mark N. Plaza, and Ms. Airen C. Sajulga.
