WHILE TRADITIONAL teaching methods may still be in common use, according to the Ateneo Center for English Language Teaching (ACELT), the humanistic approach to teaching is the better option.

In the ACELT 44th bi-annual conference titled, “Integrating Heart: The Humanist Approach to Teaching English,” English teachers and professors from different levels and schools were brought together to discuss specific facets of English instruction.

Loyola Schools English Instructors Alexis Abola and Ma. Luz Elena Canilao, Fe de Jesus from the Ateneo High School and Rowena Andrada of the Ateneo Grade School facilitated four different workshops, each focused on specific fields of English teaching.

The keynote speaker was Dean of the School of Humanities Maria Luz Vilches. The conference was held last October 23 at the Leong Hall Auditorium.

Bridging gaps

The conference is one of ACELT’s programs specifically held to bring together English teachers and professors from different schools and universities.

According to Andrada, the conference was a way of updating themselves with what was happening with their colleagues.

“It’s like a check and balance–where we are now, compared to the other schools and how we are doing,” she said.

The conference was also a way of bridging the gap between students and teachers. “Every time we attend seminars like this, there are more new things introduced to us which we know very well our students know,” Andrada added.

“It is a way for teachers to keep from getting stale, to share what they know, [and to] apply new things that they learn,” said English Instructor Celeste Jugo.

Abola said that taking a student-centered approach to teaching was something teachers could improve on.

He said that this would be possible by putting the student at the heart of the curriculum, as opposed to teaching based purely on what the teacher wants.

“[The teacher must] see the student, see where the student is at, and begin from there,” he added.

Andrada also added that these conferences also become classrooms for teachers who “never cease the desire to learn.”

Jesuit principles-driven

Founded in 1981 by Fr. Joseph Galdon, SJ and Edna Manlapaz, Ph.D, ACELT is a center for education and development in the English language and in literature teaching.

It was founded in response to the need to upgrade the quality of English language instruction. Since then, ACELT has continued to hold seminars, workshops, and conferences—all to better the quality of English language language.

All its programs are driven by Ateneo’s continued commitment to professional development and the promotion of high quality language and literature instruction necessary for steadfast nation building.

It follows the Jesuits’ primary education objective, which according to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, is “to form men and women for others who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ.”

ACELT Co-founder Manlapaz, meanwhile, is a revered professor emeritus of the Ateneo.

Teaching learning, learning teaching

ACELT has since become an agent of instruction to teachers through its seminars, workshops and conferences. The learning also doesn’t stop once the activities end. “Hopefully, [the teachers] will have picked up some useful things that they can take back to their classrooms, share with their colleagues,” said Abola.

Clara Mortel, a participant from St. Scholastica’s College, Manila also added that even teachers do not stop learning.

“It’s [a] continuous process especially since you’re a teacher…it’s your responsibility to keep yourself growing,” she said.

On the other hand, the teachers such as Abola believe that students also “need to take responsibility for their own learning.”

Mortel agreed and said that “[the students] have to learn how to love—love in the sense that they have to know what they’re passionate about.”