Day 3 At the Centre For English Language Communication, National University of Singapore and Sentosa

28 October 2009

I woke up very early today. I needed to prepare for the visit at the National University of Singapore. I personally ironed my business suit (called Americana in the Philippines). I looked so elegant on it that Madam Sotto noticed and praised my presence.

Before we left, we had a hearty breakfast at the hotel. I always look forward to the buffet breakfasts at this luxurious hotel. It made me realize how cosmopolitan we Filipinos are. I mixed American, European and Asian breakfast elements to create a sumptuous combo which I call the Filipino breakfast. My plate contains bacon slices, cheese, fried rice, boiled eggs, bread, and margarine. I also took two glasses of pulpy orange juice and a cup of coffee. This serving is hardly Asian, neither purely American nor European. It is a Filipino breakfast, a hearty one.                 

  After breakfast, the group broke into two. I have no idea where the other group went. But according to our itinerary, the morning schedule is ‘free and easy’ and we won’t go anywhere as a group until 3:30 p.m. when we leave for some evening adventures at Sentosa Island. My group will go to the famed National University of Singapore.

Representing Mabalacat College at the NUS CELC are: Dr. Leonardo C. Canlas, President; Dr. Eriberta T. Maglaqui, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Prof. Carmelita P. Sotto, Vice President for Administration and Finance and myself. Joining us are the officials of the Municipality of Mabalacat, Pampanga: Dr. Prospero T. Lagman, Vice Mayor and Hon. Tomas Manalo, Councilor.      

On our way to the NUS, Dr. Canlas dictated the things that we shouldn’t miss when facing the NUS CELC officials. Dr. Canlas is good at dictating things. He seemed to have memorized it beforehand. I scribbled:

1. Benchmarking

2. Twinning Programs

3. Problems with English

4. Research Outputs of the CELC

5. Finalization of Institutional Relations

Big words. I wonder if all these things can be discussed in a two-hour visit.

After a few heavy breathes, the van entered a big university via a rear entrance somewhere. Along Architecture Drive, we glide from one building to another until we arrived at the Centre for English Language Communication. Dr. Chitra Varaprasad, the focal person for academic visits, met us at the main road and led to us to the Centre where Lee Kooi Cheng (K C Lee), the Deputy Director of the Centre and Dr. Patrick Bernard Gallo, a member of the faculty, are waiting.

An exchange of pleasantries followed. K C Lee opened the program. She said she went to the Philippines last July. Ms. Lee is optimistic that we can explore possible areas for collaboration. Lee is interested to know the meaning of ‘English Proficiency’ in the Philippines so that both parties may settle with ‘predictors.’

“In a country,” Lee stated, “there may be many predictors.”

We were informed that the University assesses the English proficiency levels of the students. Based on the said assessment, the students are either allowed to enroll in a regular University course or required to take remedial English language modules at the Centre. The Centre delivers its English Language lessons by module. The students are free to take the modules at anytime during their stint at the University.

CELC also offers writing programs manned by course coordinators and tutors. These coordinators and tutors assess the written language proficiencies of the students. Besides the writing programs, Dr. Gallo said that the Centre also offers bridging courses for scholars ‘poached’ from all over Asia. He used the word poach to mean ‘the recruitment of students with exceptional talents or skills but with zero English communication to enroll in the University.’ For example, bridging courses were offered for the students of the Conservatory of Music. Brilliant musicians and musical scholars but who cannot communicate in English were ‘poached’ from as far as China. As a rule, every NUS graduate must possess a certain level of competence in the International language.

Dr. Gallo started his powerpoint presentation about the process of learning the English language but since Dr. Canlas snatched the floor, he turned off the LCD. Dr. Canlas gave a short history of Mabalacat College. He explained the objective of the College – that of producing graduates who are globally competitive. The College accommodates out-of-school youth and those who stopped schooling. K C Lee was surprised that a school like Mabalacat College thrives. 

During the open forum, Dr. Eriberta T. Maglaqui asked the questions she scribbled in a piece of paper. Among others, she asked how the Centre measures the success of its programs. Dr. Gallo acknowledged that they still have to sharpen their system of assessment.

We then proceeded to view their facilities. They have complete facilities for the students to learn by themselves. Everything is provided for. Students can learn the English language through print and non-print materials. There is a wide array of books and journals to learn from. The Centre has a superb resource centre. The Centre also maintains an internationally refereed research journal. International researches were conducted and published in the Reflections on English Language Teaching.

The meeting ended up in exchange of tokens. It was a very fruitful meeting. The Centre treated us with a snack of colorful Singaporean delicacies. And like the Iwakura Mission, we went home envisioned.

        

For lunch, we went back to the Chinatown. We ate Peking duck at the Wan Tang Eating House Tai Pei Sea Food along Trengganu Street and then we rummaged the whole place for souvenirs. In between the souvenir shops, I noticed historical memorials and statues commemorating the hardships of the early Chinese migrants in Singapore. Their dark and crammed quarters became the core of what is now Singapore’s Chinatown.

The tour guide left us to fend for ourselves. The tourists’ historical sensibilities should be at its peak here. Or it will be lost in the midst of the sights and sounds of the district, being a commercial and heritage centre at the same time. I spent much of my money buying key chains, t-shirts and other items. From here, we went to Sentosa for some sunset adventure.

Sunset Adventures at Sentosa

Any trip to Singapore will never be complete without spending a day or two at Sentosa Island. The island is one of the world’s most fabulous playgrounds. It is connected to Singapore Island via a bridge and a railway. We took the rail, the Sentosa Express, and alight at Imbiah Station. Either on wheels or on foot, Sentosa is a place where every turn’s a surprise. Like wide-eyed wanderers, we just followed our tour guide almost absent-mindedly. Thanks to Platinum Holidays, we never have to worry where to go next.

It was beginning to drizzle when we took our pose at the Merlion at Imbiah. Our talkative but prudent tour guide, Garry, distributed long identical umbrellas. The resultant photos were funny – all looked old fashioned with umbrellas as walking sticks. Later, these umbrellas became bothersome – camera on one hand, brochure on the other, bag hanging on one forearm and the omnipresent umbrella on the other. Most of the attractions in our itinerary are indoors!       

We visited the Images of Singapore. This attraction showcases the history of Singapore in a glance. It has three major sections: the Four Winds of Singapore, Singapore Adventure and Singapore Celebrates.     

At the Four Winds, we were hauled and seated in a warehouse of a trader. The warehouse turned out to be a theater where everyone is a captive audience to Singapore History 101. The show features the races that came to trade and eventually forged a nation – the Chinese, Indians, Malays and Europeans. Like the winds, they came from all four directions.

We then walked through history with Singapore Adventure. This is a series of diorama exhibits of important milestones in Singaporean history. The exhibit emphasized the multi-ethnic background of the island. It is enlightening how exhibitors made big stories from the ordinary lifestyles of the early Singaporeans. The special features include: the warehouse, the jungle, the harbor and the streets.

Another highlight is Singapore Celebrates. This showcases a series of tableaux showing how the locals celebrate cultural and religious festivals as well as family milestones.

The Images of Singapore experience is highly academic. Like a passionate learner on a school fieldtrip, I tried to learn as many as I could. But trying to clump the history of Singapore in one setting almost caused me indigestion. Unless one reads the brochure well, the exhibits would seem like a hodgepodge of dioramas, photos and thingamabobs.                    

We then went to the Underwater World Singapore. This experience is an abrupt departure from the earlier socio-historical attraction. We found ourselves in a huge oceanarium where we flirted with some 250 species of sea creatures. This place should be a paradise for people who love marine biology. The oceanarium has an 83-meter long acrylic tunnel, where we viewed marine creatures from beneath the waters.  

Via a travelator, we moved through the tunnel as a hundreds of sea creatures swim around undisturbed in their underwater world. They come in diverse sizes and shapes. From huge sharks to small clownfishes, name it, they have it.

I am so fascinated that I do not know what to feel. I know I’m happy and satisfied. There seemed to be too much and yet I want more, ahh, life is but a dream. “And dreams are only dreams,” Pedro Calderón de la Barca once said.

And then we proceeded to the Tiger Sky Tower, the newest addition to Sentosa’s attractions. It is the Singapore’s tallest observation tower at 131 meters above the sea level. As such, it offers spectacular bird’s eye view of the whole country. Everything’s too small from above. It is our talkative Garry’s first time to be up on Tiger Sky Tower. Silenced by amazement, his unattractive face broadcasted his pride for his country’s achievements.

By 7:40 p.m., we lined up to watch the Songs of the Sea. I thought we were to watch something familiar as the background looked like some houses built on stilt at Manila bay. But we’re on for a spectacular display of pyrotechnics, water jets, flame bursts, lasers and music. And though the plot is shallow, the visual effects were fantastic and full of surprises.

The group was so pleased with the show. Dr. Canlas and Dr. Maglaqui and everyone else were smiling. Dr. Canlas wished the MC cultural troupe could stage those spectacular acts. I told him, it is possible.

Tired, we went back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we will be at the SEAMEO Regional English Language Center. I wished myself good luck.