ILIGAN CITY (PIA)--The Department of English of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) together with the English Language Education Department of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) in Indonesia capacitated 60 high school teachers stationed in the hinterland barangays with new skills and pedagogies in teaching English as a tool for communication and advancing cultures in 21st-century learning.
Through a community service program called "Communicate in English with Us," teachers learned how to use information and communications technology (ICT) in differentiated instruction and project-based learning to promote inclusive education.
Merciditha Alicando, chair of the English department at MSU-IIT, said the participants learned how to use QR codes and were shown how to use ICT in the classroom. She then reminded the teachers that they should be excited about teaching their students, show them real things, and encourage them to do whatever they want in life.
Eko Purwanti, dean of UMY's Faculty of Language and Education, said that their partnership with MSU-IIT was important because it gave teachers the tools to help their students learn more.
"Having this partnership, we can provide better opportunities for teachers to empower themselves. By empowering our students with English competencies, we believe that students can broaden their knowledge," she said.
Participants of the program shared the challenges that they experienced in teaching. With the program, they have gained skills in preparing learning materials and learned strategies for teaching their lessons interactively.
Moreover, Mae Camañan, an English teacher from Tubaran National High School (TNHS) in Barangay Mandulog, is thankful for the program as it helped her improve her ways of teaching.
"The program really gives me a chance to improve myself in the way I teach English, especially in the form of macro skills. It really gives me a guide on how to motivate my students on handling the plan," she said.
On the other hand, Spencer Tano of TNHS said he learned the importance of using differentiated instructions (DI) in delivering lessons based on students' learning styles. (AAA/PIA-10/Lanao del Norte)
