Dr. T. Ruanni Tupas
The College of Education’s Department of Filipino, together with the Department of English of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, organized the “Daluyang Filipino” colloquy on multilingualism on April 25, 2016 at the Special Education Room, Albertus Magnus Building. This is part of the 90th Foundation Anniversary celebrations of the College of Education. Dr. Topsie Ruanni F. Tupas of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore was invited to talk about “Mother Tongue-based – Multilingual Education in the Age of Memes: Theoretical and Historical Perspectives” and “Sociolinguistics of Education: Lessons from Singapore”. The colloquy was attended by around 150 language teachers and students. Dr. Tupas was warmly welcomed by Filipino Department Chairperson Dr. Robert D. Ampil, English Department Chairperson Dr. Camilla J. Vizconde, and Education Dean Dr. Allan de Guzman.
During the first session, Tupas discussed how the medium of instruction impact classroom interaction. He emphasized that children learn best when taught in the mother tongue. He presented critical incidents for analysis. One issue he presented was the social disadvantage of non-native English speakers in the workplace. Such disadvantage is also prevalent in the academic setting where learners seem to be compelled to speak in the standard way. In the succeeding session, Tupas explained the dimensions of multicultural pedagogy which include attitudinal change, facilitative learning and cultural affirmation.
The discussion was followed by reactions from the panel composed of Asst. Prof. Katrina Ninfa Morales-Topacio, Ms. Wennielyn F. Fajilan, and Dr. Rodrigo A. Litao.
