The UST Department of English and Linguistic Society of the Philippines (LSP) jointly hosted a webinar titled “ELT[echnology]: Teaching English is the ‘Now’ Normal” held on June 20, 2020 focusing on the use of technology in English language education. The two-hour webinar was attended by 300 participants from different parts of the Philippines as far as Marawi and Sultan Kudarat, and other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand.
The speakers were National Institute of Education, Singapore Principal Lecturer Dr. Willy A. Renandya, UST Graduate School Asst. Dean Dr. Camilla J. Vizconde, and LSP Director for Membership Dr. Dennis H. Pulido.
Renandya’s talk titled “Is technology a silver bullet for language learning” argued that technology should be used in ways that are well-aligned with L2 learning theories involving language nutrition, processing, and use.
Vizconde’s session on “Digital Literacy in the ‘Now’ Normal” tackled the meaning of the “‘now’ normal”, the digital literacy frameworks previously provided and how they operate in the new normal, how higher education calibrates itself to adapt to the new normal, how families navigate in the new normal and the common ground for teachers and families in the new normal.
Pulido’s lecture on “Computer Technology and Reading” described how students use computer technology and the internet to develop their reading skills. He also presented certain interventions that the teachers can adopt to further enhance the reading skills of the students.
The webinar was moderated by UST Department of English Chair Dr. Rachelle B. Lintao.
