The Department of English of the Faculty of Arts and Letters met with Dr. Akiva Weiss and Dr. Donna Bain Butler, English Language Specialists from the US Department of State with expertise in Language and Law, on January 13, 2023.
Weiss and Butler were in the country to perform a needs analysis that would help them in the development of a training program designed to hone the grammatical competence, presentational speaking and workplace writing skills of key officials and rank and file employees from the Philippine National Police (PNP). They were accompanied by Embassy of the United States of America Cultural Affairs Officer Ms. Connie Chico and Regional English Language Officer for Asia and the Pacific Dr. Carleen Velez.
The Department of English will be assisting the US Department of State, through the two specialists, in the language training of PNP professionals, particularly on the development of their legal communication skills.
The roll-out is scheduled for April or May 2023, with approximately 25,000 rank and file personnel and officers involved.
Also present in the meeting were forensic linguistics researcher and former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters Prof. Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio, Ph.D., Department of English Chair Prof. Rachelle B. Lintao, Ph.D., and AB International Relations and Programs Coordinator Asst. Prof. Michelle Desierto.
