UPOU Director for IOP Research Program Serves as Discussant for Japanese Language Education Forum

The University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Associate Professor and Program Director for the Immersive Open Pedagodies (IOP) Research Program, Dr. Roberto B. Figueroa Jr. フィゲロワロベルト, served as a discussant at a forum hosted by the Japan Foundation, Manila (JFM). Entitled “Leading the Way to the Future of Japanese Language Education,” the forum aimed to address current challenges, explore opportunities, and shape the future of Japanese language education in the Philippines. UPOU Chancellor, Dr. Melinda dela Peña Bandalaria, and UPOU Program Development Associate for Institutional Linkages, Ms. Margaret Jarmin-Suarez, were also present at this forum held on 12 March 2024 at the New World Makati Hotel.

Dr. Figueroa’s presentation, ”Flexible Pathways for Language Teacher Development,” focused on the environment that promotes teacher development among Japanese practitioners in the Philippines as the education landscape is gradually changing due to technological progress. He tackled the barriers to developing these pathways: the temporal and spatial constraints and lack of institutional support. He then proposed sets of programs to address these challenges, highlighting the Open and Distance e-Learning (ODeL) method implemented by the UPOU, which includes the following: Online Degree Programs, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Continuing Education Programs (CEP), Microcredentials, and the Virtual Exchange Programs. These programs are ways that the UPOU contributes to teacher development in the country that may apply to Japanese educators.

He concluded the presentation by elaborating on proposed forthcoming collaborations between UPOU and other partnered institutions, including Certificate Courses through UPOU’s CEP, hoping that teachers can use it for further recognition in this country.

This initiative contributed to UPOU’s mandate under RA 10650, also known as the Open Distance Learning Law, to contribute towards upgrading the quality of the educational system of the country by promoting and developing innovative instructional methods and technologies, which will be disseminated to other institutions through collaborative initiatives.

Written by Dianne Cosinas ♦ Edited by Anna Cañas-Llamas and Donna Rodriguez ♦ Contributed by OVCAA IOP

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