RITQ participates in roundtable to enhance English language teaching
RITQ’s Dr. Ali Anudin and Mikkey Tuazon participate in a roundtable discussion to improve English teaching in the Philippines. Photo by British Council Philippines
RITQ joined key leaders from education, government, and industry to discuss strategies for advancing English language education and assessment in the Philippines.
In a roundtable event hosted by the British Council Philippines on 11 December 2024, critical areas on the role and status of the English language in the Philippines were covered through plenary talks, panel discussions, and presentation of study findings.
Among the highlights of the roundtable event were updates on the Department of Education’s (DepEd’s) policy directions relevant to the implementation of Republic Act No. 12027, a newly-enacted legislation on the use of Mother Tongue as a medium of instruction; unpacking of the English curriculum in Philippine basic education; and the crucial role of teachers in ensuring attainment of proficiency and competency in English among basic education learners.
Representing RITQ in the roundtable event were Senior Program Manager Dr. Ali Anudin and Project Officer Mr. Mikkey Tuazon. Building on the presentation on the “English as a Subject in Basic Education (ESBE) Scoping Study,” Dr. Anudin shared during the open forum RITQ’s findings from the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the revised K-to-10 curriculum, which highlights the critical need to complement the curriculum with relevant teacher training and professional development, primarily through capitalizing on the school-based collaborative expertise sessions among teachers.
RITQ Project Officer Mr. Mikkey Tuazon discusses concrete policy directions that would support teachers across their development continuum during the roundtable event.
Mr. Tuazon led the presentation of group insights in the afternoon’s roundtable activity by enumerating concrete policy directions that would support teachers across their development continuum.
Joining the panel discussions in the morning was Dr. Jennie V. Jocson, Executive Director V of the Teacher Education Council Secretariat and former RITQ Director. In her presentation, Dr. Jocson underscored the importance of identifying the current baseline competencies of teachers in teaching English as a basic education subject, citing the Teacher Development Needs Study (TDNS) conducted by RITQ in 2015 which assessed in-service teachers’ knowledge of subject content and pedagogical knowledge of English, among other learning areas.
Dr. Jocson further shared the ongoing initiative of TECS in partnership with RITQ in revisiting the pre-service teacher education curriculum in which Language of Instruction – and its reframing in a multicultural context – is emerging as a possible curriculum feature. “Let us focus on our teachers. We do good for our teachers, we can solve half of our problems in education,” said Dr. Jocson. (RITQ Communications)
