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Journal of Southeast Asian
Language Teaching |
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In Memoriam |
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Dr. Clemencia C. Espiritu was a great mentor, an excellent scholar and an extraordinary teacher. We who knew her will remember her indefatigable struggle in the promotion and development of Filipino and Philippine Education and her generosity of spirit as a selfless educator who gave her expertise, time and money assisting students and colleagues. We will miss her sincere friendship and her personal love and care for us who were her fellow workers in the promotion and development of Filipino. |
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Dr. Clemencia C. Espiritu had a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Philippine Normal University. She was the Coordinator of the Research Unit of the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature of Philippine Normal University. She was also Chair of the Technical Committee for Filipino of the Technical Panel for the Humanities, Social Sciences and Communication of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and was Vice-Chair of the Committee on Language and Translation of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. She was Consultant for Filipino of the Department of Education (DepEd) and was actively involved in the development and implementation of the Restructured Basic Education Curriculum. She directed various language-related projects for the DepEd and CHED such as curriculum development, instructional materials development, continuing language education for teachers, and translation. She worked closely with the Commission on the Filipino Language in the area of language planning. |
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As a language and linguistics practitioner, she was involved in organizing and launching national and international language activities aimed at language development and language education. Her efforts towards the national and international propagation of Filipino could be gleaned from the various projects she initiated and from those in which she was involved. |
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Aside from having networked with local agencies and organizations, she also worked closely with institutions abroad, such as the University of Hawaii at Manoa, in administering the Advanced Filipino Abroad Program of the United States Department of Education for eight years. She was a Visiting Scholar of the Filipino Language at the University of Washington in Seattle for the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) in 1993, and for two years she was the Language Coordinator for Filipino for SEASSI at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (2002 and 2003). In addition, in the summer of 2004, she served as Filipino language teacher at the University of Wisconsin. |
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She also developed and administered a training program for the continuing education of American teachers of Filipino in 2002, a program initiated by the University of Hawaii at Manoa and funded by Fulbright. In August of 2003, she was invited to lecture to teachers of Filipino at the City College of San Francisco; in May of 2004 she coordinated a workshop on the development of instructional materials for advanced learners of Filipino, administered by the University of Hawaii at Manoa and held at De La Salle University. |
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She conducted research on language and wrote a number of scholarly articles published in refereed and other journals of leading universities in the Philippines and also in the Kabayan newspaper. Many of these papers were read at national and international conferences on language and language education. She authored, co-authored, edited and coordinated instructional materials for all levels, and she was involved in big government instructional materials development projects such as the EDPITAF textbook project and the Module Development for Communication Arts for the SEAMEO-INNOTECH, the Bureau of Non-formal Education, and the Bureau of Secondary Education. She directed and coordinated a DepEd module development project for secondary Filipino, and she also evaluated instructional materials for Filipino for the DepEd. |
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Dr. Espiritu received honors, citations and awards from various agencies in recognition of her expertise, leadership and valuable contributions to her discipline and to the field of education. She graduated with honors, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Philippine Normal College. As a scholar at the Regional Language Center in Singapore in 1981, she was awarded a Letter of Merit for her participation and the project she submitted for the course, “Development of Communication Skills.” She was the 2002 Natatanging Guro (Distinguished Professor) for Filipino Language. She was also recognized with a Distinguished Professor Award given by Philippine Normal University (PNU) in 2002, and in that same year she was given the Outstanding Alumna Award in the field of Filipino Linguistics by the PNU Alumni Association. Earlier on, the Commission on the Filipino Language had awarded her the Gawad Pagkilala in recognition of her valuable contribution to the development and propagation of the Filipino language. The Municipality of Pateros honored her, too, with an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2002. On February 14, 2004, she delivered a lecture on “Language Education in Filipino: Development and Trends,” at De La Salle University as the holder of the Bonifacio P. Sibayan Distinguished Professorial Chair in Linguistics. The Government of France gave her an award of distinction for her contributions in academe and for the promotion of French language and culture. |
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She received scholarships and travel grants to visit various countries such as the United States, France, China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Malyasia to observe the implementation of language programs and for further professional growth. |
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Dr. Espiritu was a member of honor societies such as Phi Lamda Theta and Alpha Upsilon. She was, similarly, very active in national language organizations such as the Pambansang Samahan sa Linggwistikang Filipino National (Organization for Filipino Linguistics), Samahan ng mga Tagasalin sa Pilipinas (National Organization of Translators), the Language Education Council of the Philippines, and the PNU Chapter of the Regional Language Center Alumni Association. She strongly supported the promotion of foreign languages and cultures as evidenced by her previous work as coordinator and administrator of the Spanish and French language programs at Philippine Normal University and her service as an officer of the Association for the Promotion of China Studies. |
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Dr. Espiritu’s untimely passing is a great loss to her student, her colleagues and especially to the field of Southeast Asian Language teaching as a whole. |
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“Pikit na,
Clemen, udyan ang alaala, |
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(Sleep tight,
Clemen; let memory be your cradle |
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Teresita Ramos, Ruth Mabanglo, and Sheila Zamar |
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Copyright © JSEALT 2005. All Rights Reserved. |
