The changing nature of Purposive Communication

Columnist's note: Prof. Alejandro S. Bernardo is one of the Filipino linguists I truly admire and have joy working with. His impressive scholarship includes his work on English in the Philippines and Philippine English — most especially its teaching — which has pushed the boundaries of English language teaching in multilingual settings. His commentary on the General Education course "Purposive Communication," which I am publishing here, presents an important idea on how language education can be improved in the country.

UNIVERSITY students must demonstrate the ability to engage in purpose-driven and meaningful communication. This is why Purposive Communication (PurpCom) is offered as a General Education (GenEd) course across the different degree programs in Philippine higher education institutions. With the start of the new academic calendar, first-year college students will have PurpCom as a required course.