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ICALLE 2025 INVITED SPEAKERS
PLENARY SPEAKERS
Professor Paul Kei
Matsuda
University of Arizona
USA
Dr. Kornwipa
Poonpon
Khon Kaen University
Thailand
Dr. Wilkinson Daniel Wong
Gonzales
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong SAR, China
ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
English Language Education in the Philippines: Current Situations and Future Directions
Dr. Irish Mae Fernandez-Dalona
Director, Center for General Education / Chair, English Department
Mindanao State University - Iligan Institute of Technology
Dr. Irish Mae Fernandez-Dalona is an alumna of the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) program, where she took Writing and Cross-Cultural Communication courses while also doing Teaching Assistantship at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Her research interests include Discourse Analysis, Cross-Cultural Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, and Translanguaging. She had been involved in interdisciplinary research and projects funded separately by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Erasmus+, and by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Currently, she is the Director of the Center for General Education and the Chairperson of the English Department of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).​​​​
Dr. Ana Cristina G. Fortes
Director, Extension and Training Services
Sorsogon State University
Dr. Ana Cristina G. Fortes is an Associate Professor at Sorsogon State University. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics from De La Salle University in 2019. She teaches in the undergraduate programs of the Colleges of Teacher Education and Technology and serves as a lecturer in the university’s graduate programs. As Director of Extension and Training, she leads the university’s community extension services and oversees its extension management initiatives. She also spearheads major academic events, including two flagship international conferences: SEAMREEC 2023 and the Joint International Decade of Indigenous Languages & International Mother Language Day 2025.
Beyond her university role, Dr. Fortes serves as Internal Vice President of the Bicol Association of Language and Literature Teachers (BALLT), a regional organization that organizes international conferences, trainings, and workshops for language and literature educators. She previously held the position of Research Cluster Head.
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Her research interests include the documentation and description of languages in Sorsogon, localized dynamics of mother tongue-based education, second language learning, and ESL writing. She has published in these areas and participated in multiple trainings on L1-based multilingual education. In 2023, she was an understudy in the two-week professional course for multilingual education and literacy trainers under the MLE Leaders Program.
Dr. Jovito B. Madeja
Dean, College of Education
Eastern Visayas State University
Dr. Jovito Bordo Madeja is Professor III in language and linguistics and currently serves as the Dean of the College of Education at Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU), Tacloban. He has previously held key leadership roles, including Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Criminal Justice Education, and Director for Research, Campus Management, Extension Services, and Administration Services.
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He has presented in numerous academic conferences and has served as a keynote speaker in India and Indonesia. His editorial and collaborative engagements span institutions such as the University of the Philippines, Visayas State University, and University of Rizal System. Dr. Madeja is the first recipient of The Felipe Abrigo Research Achievement Award from Eastern Samar State University (ESSU) and has received distinctions including Outstanding Faculty Researcher in 2021 and Best Paper Presenter in both local and international fora.
As a Faculty Development Scholar of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), he earned his degree in Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics from De La Salle University, where he completed his dissertation titled A Reference Grammar of Waray. As a researcher and mentor, Dr. Madeja is a lead or co-proponent in over 30 on-going research projects with colleagues and students.
Dr. Ruth A. Alido
Director, Curriculum Management and Insdtructional Materials Office
Philippine Normal University
Dr. Ruth A. Alido is the Director of the Curriculum Management and Instructional Materials Office (CMIMO) of the Philippine Normal University. Prior to this present designation, she has served in various capacities among them as Dean of the College of Teacher Development (CTD), Associate Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Languages (FAL), Technical Assistant to the Vice President for Academics, Head of then-University Curriculum Management and Instructional Materials Office (UCMIMO), and Chair of the Department of English. She was also once assigned as Chief-of-Staff at the Office of the University President.
Dr. Alido finished her PhD in Applied Linguistics at De La Salle University and her M.A. in Education at the University of Kansas, USA on a Fulbright Scholarship and the World Fellowship Grant of the Delta Kappa Gamma International. She has a Diploma in Applied Linguistics from the Regional Language Center (RELC), Singapore. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Secondary Education (BSESE) major in English graduating Cum Laude from then Philippine Normal College. Dr. Alido’s research interests include discourse and genre analysis and curriculum and instruction.
THEMED PANELS
English Language Education in the Philippines: Current Situations and Future Directions
Building Corpus: The Whats and the Hows
Convener and Chair: Dr. Shirley N. Dita (De La Salle University, Philippines)
Overview
In this panel, we present the different corpora that have been built by the graduate students at the Department of English and Applied Linguistics. The presenters will share the whats and the hows of corpus-building, tackle methodological and ethical questions, and provide some potential topics for research! It is hoped that the attendees of this panel will be able to:
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Discover innovative tools and methods
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Explore real-world applications in teaching and especially, in research
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Connect with other scholars working on the same topic
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Get practical tips from the presenters​​
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SHARP​ by Ma. Angelica Gumangan & Eduard Gemer DC. Roxas
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The Senior High Academic Research Papers (SHARP) Corpus is a learner corpus with about 1.5 million words. It was developed at De La Salle University, Philippines, as part of a graduate grammar class project. The collection includes 233 research papers from nine senior high school tracks, compiled into 798 text files. These papers, written between 2015 and 2017, serve as authentic samples of student academic writing. The corpus continues to grow, with more recent papers being added to support further research and exploration.​
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FiERCE by King Arman A. Calingasan
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The Filipino Engineering Research Corpus of English (FiERCE) is a domain-specific corpus of 322 engineering research articles from the Philippine Engineering Journal (1981–2024), an open-access publication of the University of the Philippines Engineering Center. Only works authored by Filipino scholars were included to ensure representativeness of Philippine English. Using a whole-text approach, each article was segmented into six rhetorical sections, producing 1,606 files and 1,054,819 tokens. Across four decades, the introductions and the results and discussion sections yielded the largest token counts, while the literature reviews and conclusions were comparatively brief. FiERCE provides a diachronic linguistic resource for studying Philippine English in engineering discourse.​
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CoPE represented by Audrey B. Morallo, Ivan Dolph F. Fabregas, Christine Joy B. Aquino, Luvee Hazel C. Aquino, and April C. Gonzales
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The Corpus of Philippine English (CoPE) is a 1.5-million-word balanced dataset compiled between 2015 and 2025 by PhD in Applied Linguistics students at De La Salle University, Philippines. The corpus integrates genres that reflect local usage and represent Filipino speakers of English in varied formal and informal contexts. Spoken data were collected with informed consent, ensuring anonymity and ethical handling.
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The spoken component (752,022 words) consists of face-to-face conversations, business meetings, news broadcasts, talk shows, broadcast commentaries, classroom lectures, podcasts, and formal speeches. The written component (751,780 words) includes press editorials, press news reports, sports magazines, showbiz magazines, food blogs, government documents, novels, fictional prose, humanities and social sciences articles, science and technology articles, cellphone text messages, weblog entries, fashion blogs, travel magazines, and student essays. By balancing spoken and written data across 23 genres, CoPE provides a comprehensive resource for examining register variation, discourse practices, and the development of Philippine English.
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CRAFT represented by Kamille Lopez-Legaspi, Raffy A. Aquino, Mark Donald E. Balo, Jasper Eric C. Catan, France John C. Formaran, Jemer B. Andres, and Jenina Nicole L. Tagudin
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The Corpus of Research Articles by Filipino Thinkers (CRAFT) is a 2-million-word dataset built from 1,000 Filipino-authored research articles spanning 2015–2024. It ensures balanced representation across ten disciplines: 1) Business, Tourism and Hospitality, 2) Economics, 3)Agriculture, 4) Nursing and Allied Health, 5) Engineering, 6) Psychology, 7) Political Science, 8) Applied Linguistics, 9) Education, and 10) Anthropology. Articles were sourced from prestigious indexed databases and carefully cleaned, formatted, and tagged for structured accessibility. CRAFT stands as the most extensive collection of its kind, showcasing Filipino academic contributions to global scholarship.
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Enhancing Intercultural Communication in Higher Education
Convener and Chair: Dr. Joshua Kidd (Utsunomiya University, Japan)
Overview
Intercultural communication, the ability to engage effectively across cultural lines, is an essential skill in today’s globalized world. It encompasses language proficiency, social norms, and cultural awareness, all of which contribute to fostering meaningful interactions. While global similarities exist, cultural distinctions define our identities and shape our perspectives. Effective communication across cultures enhances relationships and promotes mutual understanding, making it crucial for the success of multinational and intercultural collaborations. However, improving intercultural communication skills can be challenging, particularly in isolated areas where exposure to different languages and cultures may be limited. This panel explores strategies and initiatives undertaken at a Japanese national university to enhance students’ intercultural competencies, fostering confidence in communication and cultural exchange. ​​By presenting these initiatives together, this panel highlights innovative approaches to intercultural education. These programs bridge the gap between theory and practice, offering students firsthand experience in cross-cultural communication. This panel will contribute to scholarly discussions on best practices for fostering intercultural communication in higher education, providing actionable insights for educators, program developers, and researchers in the field.
​​​​​Integrating International Internships into COIL
Joshua Kidd
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In response to limited opportunities for cross-cultural engagement among university students, an English program at a Japanese university launched a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) initiative. Delivered as a 15-week credit-bearing course, the program connects students with peers from partner institutions in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Using Zoom, students collaboratively explore topics related to language and culture. The program emphasizes accessible internationalization by removing financial and geographic barriers. ​To enhance the learning experience, five student interns from an Australian university’s Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) program participated as intercultural facilitators and mentors. These interns were responsible for designing and delivering presentations aimed at fostering intercultural awareness and communicative competence. They were granted creative autonomy in selecting and developing content for their sessions. To prepare the interns for their roles, course lecturers provided training that included exploring intercultural themes, designing and trialing lessons, implementing activities, and engaging in debriefing sessions. This scaffolded process aimed to support the interns in creating effective and engaging learning experiences for the students. ​This study focuses on the integration of PACE internships within the COIL framework. Guided by Creswell’s (2003) constructivist approach, where meaning is generated through interactive processes, a mixed methods design was adopted. Data sources included pre- and post-program surveys, presentation materials, and transcripts from preparation and reflection sessions. Semi-structured interviews provided deeper insights, while quantitative analysis supported by SPSS involved both category-based and cross-thematic approaches. Qualitative data were thematically coded to identify emerging patterns related to intercultural competence, learner engagement, communicative confidence, and facilitation strategies. ​Preliminary findings suggest that embedding international interns in COIL not only enriched student learning but also significantly supported the professional development of the interns. The results highlight the value of integrating virtual internships into COIL as a sustainable, financially accessible, and impactful model for global education.
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Japanese and Filipino Student-Initiated Lexical Innovation of Japanese, Filipino and English
Kasumi Arciaga
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This study examines a cross-cultural collaborative project on lexical innovation conducted by students from De La Salle University in the Philippines and Utsunomiya University in Japan, as part of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program. The COIL context provides a dynamic platform for intercultural interaction and creative imagination with group tasks which are specifically aimed at designing the creation of innovative lexical items. The research focuses on how students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds (i.e., Japanese and Filipino students) construct new words by blending elements from three languages: Filipino, English, and Japanese. These invented words offer not only as creative linguistic artifacts but also as reflections of students’ intercultural awareness. Drawing on conceptual blending theory (henceforth CBT) (Fauconnier & Turner, 2002), the study investigates the cognitive processes through which students linguistically integrate elements from multiple languages to form novel lexical items. Participants are required to present their invented words in group presentations and provide explanations regarding the semantic motivation, contextual relevance, and intended meaning behind each lexical creation. Although the final number of participants is yet to be confirmed, the project will be conducted between May and July 2025. Each group is expected to consist of three to four Japanese students and one or two Filipino students. Data will be collected from words produced and students’ accompanying verbal explanations recorded in the video or in the audio in the PowerPoint presentations. The analysis will focus on semantic structures, morphological blending strategies, and the sociolinguistic significance of the new lexical items. The present study will combine qualitative analysis grounded in CBT with descriptive categorization of emergent patterns. This study therefore aims to contribute to discourse on intercultural communication, multilingual creativity, and cognitive approaches to language learning in virtual exchange settings.
Enhancing Intercultural Communication through Project-Based Learning (PBL)
Rory Banwell
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Globalization has brought an increased complexity that now requires people to have certain skills that enable them to work effectively in professional and academic settings with people from diverse backgrounds. This necessitates a pedagogical shift within the language classroom that departs from more traditional language education methods (Sakamoto & Miyatani, 2016). This presentation explores a project-based learning (PBL) English-language course implemented within a first-year English Honors Program at a Japanese university. The course engages freshmen from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds with TOEIC scores of 750 points or above in collaborative, student-directed projects designed to foster intercultural communication, 21st-century life skills, and student autonomy. The three major projects included the creation of multilingual bulletin boards, a university magazine for the diverse student body, and video productions showcasing cross-cultural interactions. In order to employ such a method effectively, the course draws on PBL frameworks and intercultural competence theory from other research. It emphasizes scaffolded, structured project planning that incorporates three main components: creating project plans, self-evaluation during and after projects, and feedback from instructors. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning by proposing, planning, and executing projects in groups working entirely in the English language. The research employs a mixed-methods approach to data collection, using pre- and post-project questionnaires, self-evaluation surveys, feedback on teaching strategies, and examinations of the final products. Preliminary results indicate increased student confidence in communicating across cultures and expressing ideas in English, improved teamwork, and a greater sensitivity to diverse perspectives. This study aims to contribute to language education by illustrating that PBL has the potential at the university level to support language learners in developing linguistic proficiency, intercultural competence, and improving learner autonomy. The research would be particularly relevant for educators seeking to create inclusive, student-centered environments that prepare learners for global communication challenges both academically and professionally.
Beyond Classroom: Fostering Intercultural Competence through Peer Interaction
Noriko Takizawa
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This exploratory study investigates university students’ experiences in the process of acquiring intercultural competence through informal, face-to-face English conversations with peers from diverse cultural backgrounds. The research focuses on the Drop-in-Chats program at a Japanese university, where students engage in 15-minute English conversations in a communal learning space designed to support students’ independent study alongside relaxed interactions with peers and teachers. ​In predominantly monolingual and monocultural Academic English classes at a local Japanese university, opportunities for students to develop intercultural communication skills are often limited. However, these skills are essential for effective language use, complementing grammatical competence and other components of communicative competence (Byram, 1997). Although classroom-based approaches may emphasize traditional methods, they rarely provide authentic, interpersonal opportunities to apply these skills in diverse contexts. The Drop-in-Chats program addresses this gap by offering students casual yet structured English discussions with student staff proficient in English (CEFR B1 or higher). This innovative initiative fosters practical language use, promotes cultural exchange, and helps students gain confidence in navigating intercultural interactions. ​The study assesses the program’s impact on participant students through a 40-item questionnaire based on CARAP (European Center for Modern Languages, 2012) and Matsumoto’s research (2013). The questionnaire examines participants’ knowledge of language and culture, attitudes toward intercultural communication, and critical thinking for intercultural learning, while collecting background information. Follow-up interviews with volunteer participants provide deeper qualitative insights into their experiences and perceptions, offering a comprehensive view of the program’s outcomes. ​Preliminary findings indicate that informal peer interactions foster intercultural development in spontaneous and authentic contexts. These interactions enhance students’ ability to navigate cross-cultural exchanges, build positive relationships, and adopt global perspectives. The study highlights the potential of out-of-class learning environments to bridge communication gaps and reinforce practical language skills beyond traditional classroom settings.
Workplace English: Negotiating Identity, Power, and Performance in the Philippines
Convener and Chair: Dr. Ariel Robert C. Ponce (Polytechnic University of the Philippines)
Overview
This themed panel explores the complex sociolinguistic landscape of English in the Philippine workplace, highlighting emerging trends, tensions, and transformations shaped by globalization, neocolonial legacies, and local linguistic identities. The four presentations investigate how English functions as a socio-economic tool, a site of discrimination, and a marker of identity across diverse occupational contexts—business process outsourcing (BPO) centers and online tutoring platforms to cosmopolitan office environments and the hospitality industry.​ The first paper probes the level of acceptability of Philippine English phonology among BPO-voiced employees which reveals a nuanced balance between linguistic pride and professional pragmatism. The second investigates linguistic entrepreneurship among Filipino online English tutors, unpacking how economic motivations shape tutors’ attitudes toward English and redefine communicative effectiveness. The third tackles accentism in Metro Manila workplaces, exposing subtle and overt forms of accent-based discrimination that affect employment prospects and reinforce colonial hierarchies. The final study focuses on language strategies in multilingual hotel companies, emphasizing the need for institutional policies to support linguistic diversity and inclusive communication. Together, these papers illustrate how English in the Philippines operates at the intersection of identity, ideology, and economy. The panel offers fresh insights into how Filipino workers experience, negotiate, and resist linguistic norms and expectations, and it contributes significantly to broader discussions on language policy, linguistic justice, and socio-economic mobility in postcolonial multilingual societies.
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The level of acceptability of Philippine BPO-voiced employees towards Philippine English Phonology
Mark Christian M. Bermejo, Jhon Stewart L. Collano, & Reymart V. De Guzman
This study investigates the acceptance of Philippine English phonology within the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. While existing research on Philippine English primarily focuses on grammar, lexicon, teaching pedagogy, and the attitudes of college students, there is a notable gap in understanding phonological acceptance and awareness among BPO employees who engage in voice-based work. This research aims to address this gap by evaluating how Philippine English phonology is perceived and utilized in the BPO sector. A mixed-methods approach, integrating both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, was employed to provide a comprehensive analysis of these phenomena. The findings reveal that BPO employees generally consider Philippine English phonology to be acceptable, demonstrating a clear awareness of its distinction from other English varieties, the influence of local language repertoires, and its role in linguistic and cultural identity. However, despite this acceptance and awareness, there remains a partisanship in employee preferences for the practical use of language in the workplace, indicating a complex interplay between acceptance of linguistic nuances and actual language practices in professional settings. These findings suggest that individual acceptance and awareness of Philippine English phonology do not directly influence its use in professional contexts. This research provides new insights into the Philippine language and workplace, which potentially could impact future studies.
Words for hire: understanding linguistic entrepreneurship by learning the language attitudes of Filipino online English tutors towards English
Pauline Anne R. De Lima, Glen Carla P. Dela Cruz, & Liza Marie T. Sulit
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Linguistic entrepreneurship, as defined and discussed by De Costa et al. (2018), refers to the strategic exploitation of language skills to enhance one’s socio-economic value. With the power of English as a lingua franca and the ongoing pursuit of online education as a growing economy, this study details and explores the language attitudes of Filipino online English tutors and their contributions to the perpetuation of linguistic entrepreneurship in the Philippines. Employing thematic analysis, this research delves into the shifting attitudes of tutors towards the English language, particularly in the context of online tutoring. Key findings reveal that tutors have undergone significant changes in their attitudes (emotional and attitudinal responses) towards English, with a growing emphasis on effective communication rather than strict linguistic adherence. This shift supports the notion of linguistic entrepreneurship, where English proficiency is viewed not only as a marker of human capital but also as a strategic asset in the global competitive tutoring market. This study highlights how Filipino online tutors' evolving attitudes toward English are shaped by both their professional experiences and personal beliefs and biases. This research underscores the complex interplay between language attitudes, teaching practices, and economic motivations, offering valuable insights into the role of language attitude in linguistic entrepreneurship.
Accentism in the Philippine cosmopolitan workplace
Carissa Jamel Caniero, Annlhei F. Caringal, & Jet Chan Chai Casupang
In contemporary society, discrimination has become a daily occurrence. Various types and forms of discrimination are acknowledged by numerous laws around the world. However, one often overlooked form of discrimination that has persisted for years is language discrimination, specifically, accentism. The purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of how accentism affects job opportunities and job performance of Filipino English speakers in workplaces within Metro Manila, with a particular focus on non-communication-centered jobs. Participant interviews reveal that accentism highly depends on the nature of the job and the interlocutors involved. Generally, non-communication local-centered jobs tend to experience covert and self-perceived accentism, while foreign-centered jobs experience direct and overt accentism more often. It elevates certain accents as superior or “more correct,” thereby reinforcing linguistic hierarchy. While English serves as a crucial tool of globalization, this hierarchy creates feelings of insecurity and self-doubt among Filipino professionals who feel pressured to adopt the accents of major English varieties rather than use their legitimate variety, Philippine English, ultimately affecting their job opportunities and performance.
Minding the Gaps in K to 12 English Language Education
Convener and Chair: Dr. Sterling M. Plata (De La Salle University, Philippines)
Overview
The Philippines faces a significant "learning crisis," where, despite a high basic literacy rate, functional literacy remains a major challenge. The World Bank notes that 9 out of 10 Filipino 10-year-olds struggle with reading comprehension, a condition known as "learning poverty." This issue is compounded by a demanding K-12 curriculum, rapid technological changes affecting how students read, and a general need for pedagogical reform. This panel directly addresses these challenges. Dr. Sterling Plata will discuss gaps in the DepEd Reading Literacy Curriculum to provide actionable solutions for improvement. King Calingasan will explore the psychological impact of praise on struggling readers, offering teachers more effective strategies for motivation. Harold Taguba will then delve into why students either engage or disengage with teacher feedback, helping educators refine their delivery for better results. Lastly, Karen Macawile will highlight the benefits of translanguaging—using students' full linguistic repertoire—as a pedagogical resource to enhance comprehension and create a more inclusive and equitable classroom environment. Together, these experts provide a comprehensive look at the obstacles and opportunities in modern reading education.
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Minding the Gaps in DepEd Reading Literacy Curriculum
Sterling M. Plata
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The proliferation of digital technology has significantly altered the landscape of reading literacy. These changes necessitate a closer look at how reading literacy is defined and measured. With this in mind, this presentation compares the DepEd and OECD PISA frameworks. It compares the definition of reading literacy, the purpose of reading, the nature of text, the assessment of reading literacy, and the proficiency levels. The comparison showed that the DepEd curriculum focuses more on literary texts, emphasizing reading comprehension without a real-life purpose for reading texts. On the other hand, the OECD PISA framework uses authentic texts found in the digital space and highlights the important role of reading purpose. Despite using identical terminology, the two frameworks differ in their competencies and assessment criteria. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for teachers to enhance reading assessments and foster reading literacy.
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To Praise or Not to Praise Struggling Readers
King Arman A. Calingasan
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Previous research on praising students to improve their motivation and mindset has yielded mixed results. This inconsistency was the impetus for this paper. The present study employed a mixed-methods experimental design to examine the effects of effort praise on the reading motivation and mindset of 60 Filipino seventh-grade students categorized as struggling readers. They studied English as a second language (ESL), where they were expected to comprehend various texts with appropriate reading styles based on the Grade 7 curriculum guide of the Department of Education in the Philippines. Using the Implicit Theory Scale (Dweck et al., 1995), the study found that effort praise led students in the positive rule group to endorse a growth mindset, while the students in the inverse rule group adopted a fixed mindset after receiving effort praise. Moreover, although it may increase reading motivation, the positive effect of effort praise on struggling ESL readers with fixed and growth mindsets may be short-term. This paper concludes with a schematic diagram that illustrates and explains how effort praise affects the mindset and motivation of struggling ESL adolescents in reading. It also provides practical recommendations to improve reading teachers’ practice of giving positive feedback, specifically effort praise.
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Why Students Engage or Disengage with Teacher Feedback
Harold K. Taguba
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Teacher feedback is a critical component in L2 academic writing classes. Despite extensive research on how feedback affects students’ writing and confidence, influences on how students engage with teacher comments remain unclear. The present study addresses this gap by exploring the engagement strategies of L2 senior high school students and the reasons for their disengagement. The results of the semi-structured interviews uncovered strategies for cognitive, affective, and behavioral engagement. Analyzing disengagement through the lens of L2 writing self-efficacy, low linguistic confidence and weak self-regulation were identified as contributing factors. These results suggest the need to embed feedback engagement strategies in academic writing instruction and to provide targeted interventions to address the lack of linguistic confidence and self-regulation among students with low L2 writing self-efficacy.
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Translanguaging as a Pedagogical Resource: Perceptions of Senior High School Teachers
Karen Lynn G. Macawile & Sterling M. Plata
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The scant research on translanguaging in teaching and assessment in senior high school contexts in the Philippines prompted this research to explore teachers' perceptions of classes where English is the required medium of instruction. The present study investigated the perspectives of 24 senior high school (SHS) English teachers in a focus group discussion from selected schools in Region VI-A, Philippines, and 65 SHS teachers who completed a survey questionnaire adapted and modified from the studies of Nambisan (2014) and Turnbull (2018). Findings reveal that the participants leverage translanguaging as a resource to help students in knowledge construction, problem-solving, and meaning-making. In addition, the participants allow translanguaging in formative assessment but not in summative assessment tasks. This paper argues for the need to explore the role of translanguaging in teaching and assessment to ensure equity for all students. Keywords: pedagogical resource; translanguaging; senior high school; language learning; meaning-making.
AI and EdTech in Language and Research Education:
Pedagogical and Methodological Trajectories
Convener and Chair: Dr. Alen Mateo S. Muñoz (De La Salle University, Philippines)
Overview
The unprecedented artificial intelligence (AI) entrenchment and other educational technology innovations have redefined language and research instruction, addressing the more complex needs of the ever-evolving 21st-century educational landscape. Hence, in this colloquium, we will untangle the intersection of AI, educational technology, and language and research education, particularly focusing on their pedagogical and methodological trajectories. We will unpack the stakeholders’ views, attitudes, and instructional practices relative to AI adoption and the gamification of educational experience. Also, we will feature an autoethnographic approach, an emerging, innovative way of dissecting and narrativizing language educators’ AI experience. It is hoped that attendees at the colloquium will obtain valuable insights into how AI and educational technology in general can be leveraged to revolutionize language and research education.
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Disentangling the Intersection of Autoethnography and Artificial Intelligence in Research Education: Zooming in on the Philippine Context
Janeson M. Miranda & Alen Mateo S. Muñoz
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Given its highly reflexive and non-invasive nature, autoethnography has been employed by some language and research educators to examine their adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in their educational technology practices. While such autoethnographic research on AI in language and research instruction has been expanding, it is very limited in the Philippine context. Hence, using an autoethnographic case of a Filipino research and language teacher, we will illustrate how autoethnography can help language and research educators circumspectly dissect their AI practices to reflect more Filipino educational realities. We will unravel the MATAPAT Personal AI Ethics and some practical ways of employing AI in teaching research as a reflexive product of our autoethnographic case. Finally, we will showcase the Co-evolutionary and Devolutionary AI Stories, particularly focusing on the technological autoethnographer’s evolution from AI Doubter (AI as Kalituhan) to AI Explorer (AI as Katuklas), then to AI Navigator (AI as Katuwang), and hopefully AI Commander (AI as Kaisang-Kilos), and ultimately, AI Captain (AI as Kabanyuhay) as part of the research teacher’s educational technology transformation.
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Welcome to Haraya! An English Game-Based Learning Environment for Primary Grade Students in the Philippines
Alen Mateo S. Muñoz, Ethan Jared Saquilayan, Ryan Samuel Dimaunahan, & Kyla Reese De la Cruz
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Blended learning in the Philippines has not solved classroom challenges such as inferior student engagement attributed to obsolete approaches. Welcome to Haraya! is an educational game that immerses students in an innovative and engaging game-based learning environment (GBLE) and integrates interactive learning of Bloom’s lower-order and higher-order competencies with game mechanics. The competencies are “to remember and apply arguments for a particular stance when they are identified in a scenario or situation” (LO) and “to organize arguments as ‘for’, ‘against’, or ‘irrelevant’ upon being given a specific scenario and situation” (HO). Framed by Communicative Language Teaching and Game-Based Learning Design, the research employed a mixed-methods approach, including a pretest and post-test experimental design and a survey involving 6th grade public school and external play testers. Using the MEEGA+KIDS model, the game’s quality was evaluated. T-test and Wilcoxon test showed a significant difference in the performance of the two groups. While the public school students showed no significant improvement in their post-test scores, suggesting a lack of enhancement of their learning, the external play testers’ performance improved as shown by their post-test scores. The latter’s baseline language proficiency and age may have led to learning. The findings recommend strengthening the teaching of prerequisite skills and improvement of the game’s iteration to enhance GBLE - enabled instruction.
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Insights from Experts and End-Users on AI Tools in English Language Education: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study
Edwina R. Bensal, Nguyen Ngoc Long Hai, Chaoping Wang, Suksan Suppasetseree, & Nattaya Puakpong
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The rapid proliferation of AI tools in English language teaching and learning (ELT/L) has created both opportunities and challenges for educators worldwide. However, existing research has yet to comprehensively explore AI integration through the combined lens of both international experts and end-users - a critical gap this study seeks to address. Employing a convergent mixed-methods design, the study examined the perspectives of university teachers (end-users) from China, Vietnam, and the Philippines through the adapted Ning et al.’s (2024) AI-TPACK scale, alongside in-depth interviews with seven international experts (i.e., AI directors, CALL/TELL leaders, editors-in-chief of leading CALL journals, and educational technology trainers). Findings revealed that among the three countries, Vietnam consistently reported higher familiarity with AI tools, followed by the Philippines, with China showing lower levels across familiarity and ethical awareness. Both groups (experts and end-users) had similar perceptions of AI’s impact in AI-TK, AI-TCK, AI-TPK, while also identifying shared challenges regarding AI-TK, AI-TPK, and AI-EK. ChatGPT and Grammarly emerged as the most widely recommended tools across both groups. Experts further emphasized the importance of not only providing educators with access to AI tools but also ensuring they receive adequate training and support to use them effectively and ethically. This study also highlights the value and limitations of both survey and interview methods and calls for sustained professional development to foster more intentional, reflective, and ethical AI integration in ELT/L.
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AI Anxiety and Readiness of English Language Teachers and Students: A Philippine University Case Study
Maria Ana G. De Guzman, Pia Patricia P. Tenedero, Wilfred Gabriel A. Gapas, & Abigail M. Deabanico
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While the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is steadily gaining ground in schools globally, higher education institutions in the Philippines have been slow to develop policies to govern its use and help ensure its responsible application to benefit teaching and learning goals. As of the time of this writing, only one state university has a documented policy statement on AI use on its official website. Benchmarking on this practice while acknowledging the unique context of each university, a three-part project was designed to help understand the attitudes and application of GAI in the English language teaching (ELT) in a top-ranking, private university in Metro Manila. The focus on ELT is justified by the critical implications of GAI use in relation to writing and research pedagogy. This quantitative study evaluates the readiness and level of anxiety among English language teachers and students toward the use of GAI tools and the demographic variables that have a statistically significant influence on their self-reported attitudes. The results show that while both teachers and students share a positive attitude and readiness towards integrating AI in the ELT classroom, there are concerns that could be allayed in the presence of robust policies that will define the ethical use of GAI tools in producing authentic assessments. Future investigation could focus on identifying strategies to effectively integrate the use of AI in the ELT classroom.
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Exploring Feedback Quality in Teacher vs. AI-Generated Feedback on Filipino Grade 12 Students’ Creative Nonfiction Essays: A Case Study
Belle Beatriex’ M. Alemania
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The advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT-4, has reshaped the feedback landscape in language classrooms. While prior studies have explored AI’s role in technical and academic writing, little is known about its application to creative genres. To address this gap, this study compares AI-generated feedback with teacher-provided feedback on 20 Grade 12 Filipino ESL students’ creative nonfiction essays in a private Philippine institution. Guided by Graham’s (2018) Writer(s)-Within-Community Model (WWC), feedback quality was assessed using the framework of Steiss et al. (2024), also recently applied in Southeast Asian contexts, such as Thailand, to evaluate feedback in blended learning environments. Preliminary findings revealed that while teacher feedback provided richer contextualization and personalized commentary while ChatGPT-4 feedback excelled in consistency, criteria alignment, and supportive tone. Results suggest that integrating AI through a human-AI feedback partnership model, where AI provides structured, criteria-based suggestions and teachers supplement with contextual and affective insights, can enhance creative writing instruction. Nonetheless, these findings contribute to refining feedback delivery frameworks and support intentional AI adoption in language education curricula.
Aviation Language Education: Corpus, Context, and Comprehensibility
Convener and Chair: Ramsey Ferrer (De La Salle University / Philippine State College of Aeronautics)
Overview
This themed panel presents three interconnected studies that contribute to scholarship on Philippine Aviation English (PhilAE) as a professional lingua franca, addressing pedagogical, policy, and operational issues in multilingual aviation contexts. ​The first paper, Co-constructing Knowledge in Aviation English: Learning with Philippine Aeronautical Students (Prado & Ferrer), reports on a collaboration with 60 aeronautical students reviewing the Radiotelephony Plain English Corpus (RTPEC). Framed within the English as a Lingua Franca in aviation (Ishihara & Prado, 2021), it demonstrates how corpus-based tasks enhance operational awareness, analytical skills, and understanding of the continuum between standard phraseology and plain English (Bieswanger, 2025). ​The second paper, What Aviation English as a Professional Lingua Franca Can Teach Us: Corpus Evidence from ACE-PHI (Ferrer & Dita), introduces the Aviation Corpus of English–Philippines (ACE-PHI)—the first large-scale empirical corpus of spoken aeronautical communication in Southeast Asia. Multidimensional analysis and multivariate statistical modelling reveal domain-specific register variations shaped by the interplay between global aviation communication norms (Estival & Pennycook, 2023) and localized communicative strategies, positioning PhilAE as a context-specific register. ​The third paper, Comprehensibility of Approach Air Traffic Controllers’ Domestic Philippine English Accents to Filipino Commercial Pilots (Junio & Ferrer), investigates the comprehensibility of three domestic accent varieties using comprehension tests, readback accuracy assessments, and interviews. Results identify comprehension challenges and recommend adjustments in speech delivery to improve clarity and safety. These studies integrate applied corpus linguistics, language education, and operational communication, offering evidence-based strategies for training, assessment, and language policy in aviation education.
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Co-constructing Knowledge in Aviation English: Learning with Philippine Aeronautical Students
Malila Prado (Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University) & Ramsey Ferrer (Philippine State College of Aeronautics)
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Based upon a collaboration with 60 aeronautical students in the Philippines who are reviewing the Radiotelephony Plain English Corpus (RTPEC, Prado & Tosqui-Lucks, 2019), this paper explores how knowledge co-construction in an aviation English communication course was enabled by the exchange with linguistics-focused teachers. It demonstrates how the students, who are in the early stages of operational competence, tackled challenges in reviewing, reorganizing, and annotating the corpus. By adopting the English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) framework in aviation (Ishihara & Prado, 2021), it discusses the influence of the students' linguistic and operational repertoires in their understanding of aviation communication, and in their awareness of the continuum between standard phraseology and plain English (Bieswanger, 2025). It then offers practical implications for incorporating corpus-informed tasks into aviation English teaching as well as strategies for engaging students with authentic yet complex data. It concludes by reflecting on how this co-construction process fosters students’ operational awareness while cultivating the collaborative and analytical skills essential for safe and intelligible communication in global aviation.​​
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What Aviation English as a Professional Lingua Franca Can Teach Us: Corpus Evidence from ACE-PHI
Ramsey Ferrer & Shirley Dita (De La Salle University)
This paper introduces the Aviation Corpus of English–Philippines (ACE-PHI)—to date, the first large-scale, systematic empirical corpus of spoken aeronautical communication among Filipino pilots and controllers in Southeast Asia. It demonstrates how Philippine Aviation English (PhilAE) functions as a context-driven professional lingua franca, drawing on a multidimensional corpus-linguistic analysis of ACE-PHI and Prado & Tosqui-Lucks’ (2019) Radiotelephony Plain English Corpus (RTPEC). The study shows how linguistic features shift systematically as pilots and controllers perform distinct operational tasks across six domains (approach, departure, ground, ramp, tower, taxi). Using a General Linear Model with multivariate analysis of variance, it highlights statistically significant domain-specific register variations that reveal the interplay between ICAO-standard norms and localized communicative strategies. Framed by global aviation communication (Estival & Pennycook, 2023) and English as a lingua franca in aviation (Prado & Ishihara, 2021), the discussion positions PhilAE as a context-specific register. It concludes by engaging participants in exploring implications for language policy, targeted training for outsourced and non-tower controllers, and the development of corpus-informed assessment tools for multilingual aviation professionals.
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Comprehensibility of Approach Air Traffic Controllers’ Domestic Philippine English Accents to Filipino Commercial Pilots and Its Implications for Aviation Communication Education
John Emmanuel Junio & Ramsey Ferrer (Philippine State College of Aeronautics)
Recent studies have highlighted the growing awareness of different varieties of Aviation English (AE) (Alizieri, 2010; Flores & Ferrer, 2019; Babboni & Quast, 2020), particularly in the Philippines, where research on AE is still emerging. While existing studies have examined AE’s linguistic characteristics (Estival et al., 2016; Ferrer & Dita, 2024), differences between standard and plain aeronautical English (Prado & Tosqui-Lucks, 2017; Ferrer et al., 2017), pronunciation (Sullivan & Girginer, 2002), prosody (Trippe, 2018; Trippe & Baese-Berk, 2018), speech acts (Prinzo, Hendrix, & Britton, 1995), and speech functions (Zhao, 2023), there remains a significant gap concerning the comprehensibility of AE accents among Filipino pilots and air traffic controllers (ATCs). Although accented pilots have been found to demonstrate lower accuracy in providing correct feedback compared to native English-sounding pilots (Estival et al., 2019), it is unclear whether domestic-accented speech is perceived as less comprehensible, and whether reducing the degree of accentuation could improve comprehension. This study addresses this gap by assessing the comprehensibility of three domestic Philippine AE accents—Negrense Hiligaynon English, Cebuano Visayan English, and Native Tagalog English—through comprehension tests, readback accuracy assessments, and interviews involving forty Approach Air Traffic Management Officers (ATMOs) and sixty commercial pilots. Results indicate that Negrense Hiligaynon and Cebuano Visayan English accents are rated as slightly comprehensible, whereas the Native Tagalog English accent is considered comprehensible. Pilots reported difficulties in understanding lengthy phraseology, adjusting to varying speech rates, and extracting critical information, often requiring repetition. These findings highlight the need for more precise communication practices, with pilots recommending that phraseology instructions be delivered more slowly to enhance comprehension. Overall, the study underscores the complexities of AE communication in the Philippine airspace and the importance of addressing these challenges to improve operational efficiency and safety in aviation (Flores & Ferrer, 2019; Ferrer, 2024).