Prof. Marilu R. Madrunio, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Prof. Rachelle B. Lintao, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of English, Atty. Selenne Anne S.. Leynes, academic staff of the Department, graduate and undergraduate English Language Studies (ELS) students delivered presentations at the Linguistic Society of the Philippines (LSP) International Conference 2022 and 21st English in Southeast Asia (ESEA) International Conference last March 10 to 12, 2022. The event was hosted by the Linguistics Society of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University.
Their papers, which covered forensic linguistics, discourse analysis, and language education, were part of the themed panel presentation and parallel sessions during the three-day event. This year’s conference with the theme “Multilingualism, Multimodality, and Multiliteracies: Trends, Challenges, and Prospects” was held fully online.
Prof. Lintao served as the convener of the themed panel presentation titled “Studies in Forensic Linguistics: Multimodality, Facework and Face-Threatening Acts, and Communicating with Child Witnesses in Courtroom Interactions.” The panel included three graduate students enrolled in the ELS doctorate program of UST. Atty. Selenne Anne S. Leynes, a full-time faculty member of UST, delivered the first presentation where she analyzed the behaviors and patterns of exchanges observed in the direct- and cross-examination of a witness in two online courtroom hearings in the Philippines. Following her presentation, Ms. Cherie Ann M. Luna investigated the cross-examination of a case in California. She identified face and face-threatening acts that were used by the constituents to show credibility and establish rapport with the other party. Lastly, Ms. Krizza Mae C. Balisong presented how the prosecution in an American trial questioned child witnesses. She examined the linguistic features that determine power relationships and revealed the clarity and coherence of the responses provided by the child witnesses.
Prof. Madrunio and Ma. Kaela Joselle R. Madrunio, a third-year BA English Language Studies student, presented their collaborative research titled “Language in Crisis Negotiations: The Rizal Park Hostage-Taking Incident.” Their paper examined the Rizal Park hostage-taking incident from the lens of forensic linguistics that looked into crime management.
Other presenters from the undergraduate ELS program were Zion Bishop C. Ortiz with his study titled “The Language of Negotiation in Hostage Taking Incidents”; Rhen Dave V. Rafael who presented his paper, “The Language of Evaluation in Human Rights Discourses in the Philippines”; and Stephanie C. Talavera, a fourth-year ELS major who presented her paper titled “Learner Autonomy: Beliefs of Online English Language Teachers in the Philippines.”
Another parallel paper presentation titled “Filipino ESL Teachers’ Conceptions of Language Input in Second Language Acquisition” was done by the group of Prof. Lintao and her students in Second Language Acquisition at the graduate school. They include Rowela Basa, Maria Mikaela Pauline Mae Lim, Christine Paula Pedro, and Sofia Anne Tabije.
A PhD ELS student Leeroi Christian Rubio presented a paper titled “Language Attrition among Filipino Migrants in the Province of Quezon.” Another PhD student, Cherie Ann M. Luna, also presented her paper titled “The Position of Marinduque Tagalog in the Linguistic Landscape of the Heritage Town of Boac in the Province of Marinduque.” Both papers were also featured during the parallel sessions under the theme of Multilingualism, Multimodalities and Multiliteracies.
The joint conference included five plenary lectures, 14 themed panel presentations, and over 160 paper presentations. The event was attended by local and international academics, researchers, and students.
