[EDLING:1403] US partners with gov't station for radio program in Mindanao

[Francis M. Hult]

Sun Star Zamboanga

US partners with gov't station for radio program in Mindanao

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/zam/2006/03/31/news/us.partners.with.gov.t.sta
tion.for.radio.program.in.mindanao.html

THOUSANDS of Mindanao residents will have the chance to learn English at home 
with their own weekly tutor: the radio. 

Through a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAid), the Radyo ng Bayan network launched Real World English-Language 
Instructional Radio Show, on its dxMR Zamboanga City station starting last 
March 25. 

Radyo ng Bayan, a subsidiary of the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS), 
will broadcast 52 episodes of Real World English every Saturday from 2:00 p.m. 
to 2:30 p.m. in several stations across Mindanao, reaching the provinces of 
Zamboanga City, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Marawi City. 

The 30-minute show will provide English language high school teachers useful 
information to improve English instruction in the classroom, and expose the 
general listening public to native English speakers. Prizes will be given each 
week to selected listeners who provide the right answers to the weekly English 
lesson questions. 

USAid's Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills 
(EQuALLS) project introduced the Real World English program through its 
Improving English Language Teaching and Learning in Mindanao (IELTLM) project. 

EQuALLS is a five-year initiative funded by the U.S. Government to promote 
improvements in elementary and secondary education in the Autonomous Region of 
Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and other conflict-affected areas. 

A launching ceremony marked the maiden broadcast of Real World English last 
March 25. 

Zamboanga City DXMR Radyo ng Bayan Station Manager Danilo Macansantos opened 
the inaugural broadcast with the remarks: "Through Real World English, we hope 
to contribute to the Department of Education's effort to improve the English-
language proficiency of our teachers and learners. This is also an opportunity 
for all of us in Zamboanga City, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Marawi City, and other areas 
reached by this broadcast to discuss our own Mindanaoan culture even as we 
speak about the American way of life." 

PBS Director Rafael Dante A. Cruz highlighted the power of radio to 
deliver "practical knowledge and useful information" to the Filipino, USAid 
chief, Office of Education, recalled his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 
the Philippines and spoke of traveling throughout the Sulu Archipelago more 
than 35 years ago, forming friendships with local residents through English 
language. Dr. Kral also stressed the added importance of English language 
skills in today's era of globalization. 

IELTLM is a multi-stakeholder education initiative of Real World Productions, 
Radyo ng Bayan, Ateneo de Zamboanga University-Cotabato City, and the Mindanao 
State University-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography. 

USAid provides technical and financial assistance to IELTM through the EQuALLS 
Project.