UP, USPF SPEAK IN ENGLISH-LANGUAGE ENHANCEMENT TRAINING-WORKSHOP

For the second time, DEBESMSCAT succeeded in providing training/workshop on areas of difficulty gleaned from research conducted involving professionals within the province and students of the Graduate School.

“This is a testament to the continual effort of the institution to extend its services to its clientele. We are driven to elevate the levels of our services—ever extending beyond our limits,” said Erwin H. Malto, SUC President, as he expressed both his delight and support for the activity.

The said language enhancement training-workshop was divided into two parts: speaking and writing.

Dr. Kathleen Solon-Villaneza, a doctor of language, started off the training with a talk on “speaking.” She addressed one of the reasons why Masbateños mispronounce English words: limitations of the sounds in the native language.

“How many vowel sounds do we have in Tagalog (Filipino)? Five. How many vowel sounds do we have in English? More or less 24. Now, how many vowel sounds do we have in Cebuaño and Hiligaynon? We have three: a, i and u. The reason most of us can’t pronounce English correctly is that most of the vowel sounds in English do not exist in our language.”

The six-hour talk of Dr. Solon engaged the participants in activities aimed at helping them produce the correct English sounds.
The second part of the training was “writing” by Ms. Grace M. Saqueton, a professor of UP Diliman and published author from Baleno, Masbate.
“The writing craft is very exacting. What is appropriate for one type of writing may not be suitable for another. Thus, it is necessary to be aware of the difference and to develop the knack for writing for various purposes.”

Participants underwent writing activities under the guidance of Ms. Saqueton and the facilitators from the Graduate School.
The two-day event ended with praises and laud from the participants. Some of them agreed that the training-workshop is probably one of, if not, the best training within the province that they’ve attended to.

“This is the type of training that I want the school to deliver: something our clientele can actually use in real life and something delivered in the most efficient and effective way. Let’s form collaborations like this with other academic institutions, both state and private, in the future,” ended SUC President Malto.