THE AVERAGE Thomasian may have been used to speaking in “Taglish” or a mix of Filipino and English
But to Marilu Madrunio, the newly appointed chair of the UST Department of Languages, “code-mixing” or the interchanging of English and Filipino words should be shunned.
Madrunio, the former chair of the Department of Languages, Literature, and Philosophy, was appointed languages department chair by the committee of the Department of Languages last June 1. She urged the strict implementation of language policies, particularly in English to counter Thomasian’s deteriorating proficiency level in the languages. A report by the European Chamber of Commerce that 75 percent of the Philippines’ 400,000 college graduates annually have sub-standard English skills.
“Of the 40 hours that a student stays on campus a week, we will oblige students to speak three hours of straight English,” Madrunio said. “What I really want is for the subject English to be a Center of Development which I know the University is capable of achieving.”
Madrunio sees a “communicative approach” in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages or TESOL.
“With TESOL, English will not be taught on language-structure alone but on the use of Hallidayan approach,” said Madrunio. “The Hallidayan approach focuses on a practical and functional use of grammar.”
The University has already sent two teachers in 2004 and another two a year ago in Singapore to train under the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Language Center (SEAMEO-RLC) on teaching TESOL. Among the teachers sent to Singapore is Madrunio.
Madrunio explain that when TESOL, a post graduate diploma course, is implemented, English courses of the General Education will focus more on teaching students the proper application of English in conversations rather than just teaching the correct grammar and structure of the language.
“Often a student may know the basics of English, such as how to properly construct a grammatically-sound sentence, but does not know how to speak the language correctly.
“With TESOL, there will be no need for a separate grammar course because will already be integrated in all English courses,” Madrunio said.
Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Dr. Armando De Jesus said that with TESOL, Thomasians could penetrate the globalized community that prefers people whose English proficiency do not extend to writing alone.
Madrunio also plans to integrate English Plus (Intensive English), a supplementary English course, in the English 101a course, making a 5-unit English program next school year. Madrunio said this will keep up with the 6-unit English courses offered in Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. Furthermore, she said that establishing Speech and Writing laboratories in every college will aid Language professors to help students who are having difficulty in learning Language subjects.
Madrunio proposed the celebration of a Spanish day and an English week which would showcase Thomasians who are proficient in their respective languages. There would also be forums from resource speakers who are experts in English and Spanish who can share their insights and knowledge on developing projects in the languages.
For the University’s Filipino program, Madrunio is pushing for the establishment of the Sentro ng Pagsasalin, a center aimed to translate foreign documents in Filipino which will be housed under the Language Center.
“When I was a former chair (of the Department of Languages, Literature and Philosophy) in the Faculty of Arts and Letters, I received a number of calls from industries asking me to recommend people who could translate documents from English to Filipino,” Madrunio said. “So if we have a translation center here we can easily refer more Thomasians.”
In addition, Madrunio is also proposing the creation of a masters program in Filipino-Translation Studies in the Graduate School which would further strengthen the proposed Sentro ng Pagsasalin. Madrunio earned her doctor’s degree in Applied Linguistics at the De La Salle University.
Meanwhile, Dr. Joyce Arriola, the Department of Media Studies chair in the Faculty of Arts and Letters, was appointed last June 1 as the new chair of the Department of Humanities. The Department of Humanities was separated last June from the Department of Languages.
On the other hand, the Math and Natural Sciences, and the Social Sciences departments still have no appointed chairpersons as of press time. These departments were both established in 2004 under the General Education. Marc Laurenze C. Celis and Adrian T. Elumba
