Two faculty members from the FEU Department of Language and Literature—Robert John P. Pastera and Faith Edlehn Jovellanos—participated in the 21st AsiaTEFL International Conference last Aug. 17 to 20 at the Daejeon Convention Center, Daejeon, South Korea and through online meetings.
Pastera presented his paper, “Narratemes and Binary Oppositions in Philippine Folk Literature” last Aug. 18 at Room 205, DCC while Jovellanos presented her paper, “Genre Analysis of Digital Advocacy Infographics: Inputs into a Genre-Based Approach to Purposive Language Education” online.
Discussions and inquiries followed after each presentation..
Among those who participated during Pastera’s talk was the Director of Ugnayan ng Pahinungod of University of the Philippines–Visayas Dr. Aurelio Vilbar and Kyoto Prefectural University Vice President Prof. Michiyo Yamaguchi.
Pastera participated in various research discussions that are related to his field of interest and specialization, including the discussions of Dr. Kavitha Balakrishnan, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Applied Communication from Multimedia University, Malaysia titled “Exploring Intercultural Communication Skills for Enhanced Multicultural Competencies Among Educators” and Dr. Besse Darmawati, researcher of the National Research and Innovation Agency, Republic of Indonesia titled “Literature-Based English Instruction Through Short Stories: Students’ Voices in an Indonesian Contex.”
Pastera said these provided him with valuable insights on the current trends related to his field of specialization.
Jovellanos found the keynote speech of Dr. Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier on the “Foreign Language Learning in 2023 and Beyond” to have been engaging and relevant to the current status of teachers.
Jovellanos noted that the speaker highlighted the current realities of global business and how they relate to English teaching around the world. The speaker also emphasized the work and efforts they do today as English language teachers in preparation for Asia to become the international hub for global success, added Jovellanos.
According to its organizers, the purpose of the 21st AsiaTEFL International Conference is two-fold: (a) to suggest visions for and aspirations of ELT in Asian contexts; and (b) to foster closer friendships and tighter networks among scholars and practitioners whose work involves ELT policies or practices relevant to Asian contexts or students.
The conference was headed by Prof. Hee-Kyung Lee and Prof. Robert J. Dickey, Conference Chairs of AsiaTEFL.
The event featured hundreds of research topics related to the TEFL. Videos of the presentations can be viewed at the https://www.asiatefl.org.
