By Bryan R. Realgo, StratCom Correspondent 

An American Studies professor of the James Madison University in Virginia, USA has arrived in the Mariano Marcos State University to serve as English Language (EL) fellow for the academic year 2022-2023. 

Today, September 12, Dr. Kirsten Dyck was welcomed by university officials, faculty members, and students of the MMSU College of Arts and Sciences and Graduate School in a program held at the University Center for Flexible Learning. 

Dr. Dyck expressed gratitude to the university, especially to the CAS-Department of Languages and Literature, headed by Dr. Dexter Adriatico, for the warm welcome. She said she does not usually set expectations whenever she travels abroad, but she said she is sure that her stay with the university will be meaningful and purposeful. 

As EL fellow for 10 months, Dr. Dyck will teach Bachelor of Arts in English Language students on multimodal communication, language of literary text, and introduction to language, culture, and society; and the Master of Arts in English Language and Literature and the Master of Arts in Education-English students on the development of linguistics. In addition, Dr. Dyke will join various extension activities that promote literacy in English language and literature, and research.  

Before joining MMSU, Dr. Dyck served as an English as a Foreign Language teacher at Nanjing Xiaozhuang College in China, and has been a Peace Corps volunteer.

CAS Dean Marivic Alimbuyugen said through the fellowship, language students will be able to interact with native English speakers. 

MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis noted that Dr Dyck's stay in the University will provide excellent teaching for language students and enable them to engage in a multicultural setting. 

The EL Fellowship is a partnership program between the United States Embassy and MMSU through the internationalization, linkages and partnerships headed by director Mee Jay Domingo. Dy Dyck is the third EL Fellow of MMSU, following Ms. Carla Bailey of the Cuhayoga Community College in 2020, and Mr. Matthew Gleason of the University of Maryland in 2018. (HLY/JVBT/DPTJ, StratCom)