Last November 2022, the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) hosted a Masters Teachers Training on the National Roadmap for Global Competitiveness in Communication Skills (NRGCCS) in Zamboanga City which was attended by two faculty members of the ADDU Department of Languages, Literature, and Arts (DLLA). The nuances of the workshop were re-echoed to the DLLA Chair and the Assistant Dean of the Humanities and Letters Cluster, and the desire of the DLLA to forge a Common Framework of Reference (CFR) for Language Learning in the University became more palpable.
Part of the short-term targets of the National Roadmap for Global Competitiveness in Communication Skills (NRGCCS) Project is to further raise the level of awareness and boost the adoption of international standards in language teaching techniques. It emphasizes the importance of English-medium education not as a priority above the native tongue, but as a real educational capital that will make our students even more competitive on the global stage.
In response to this call by CHED, the DLLA was determined to learn more about how to successfully develop a CFR for Language Learning as well as employ successful methods and approaches toward CFR implementation. Hence, this February 2023, the DLLA embarked on a week-long study visit among various HEIs in NCR. They benchmarked with CHED and the NRGCCS Technical Working Group. They also had meetings with Mapua University and the Ateneo de Manila University. Toward the end of their study trips, the DLLA attended the Workshop hosted by the British Council that reviewed the newly developed internationalization Quality Assurance policy as well as the assessment tool for internationalization and English-medium education standards.
The research and benchmarking trip was attended by Dr. Stella Marie Arcenas, Chair, Department of Languages, Literature and Arts (DLLA); Dr. Benedict Omblero, Director, Ateneo Language Center; Dr. Josyl Aquilam, DLLA Faculty; and Ms. Shiela Guinal, DLLA Faculty.