Thirty students from Kobe University (KU) finished the three-week English Plus Course (EPC) of the Language Instruction Towards Excellence (LITE) Program of the UPLB College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). This milestone marked the 12-year-old partnership between UPLB and KU.

The first- and second-year undergraduate students from the Faculty of Agriculture and Faculty of Science arrived on February 22, 2025, with faculty guardians Dr. Kengo Kanamaru, Dr. Daiki Hayasi, and Dr. Eri Chatani.

The EPC builds English proficiency in four key areas—conversational fluency, vocabulary building, pronunciation improvement, and oral presentation. 

It employs interactive lectures, exercises, and personalized feedback to enhance student engagement. 

Out-of-classroom activities such as daily guided interactions and nightly tutorial sessions (NS) were also used to allow students to apply what they learned and boost confidence in language use. 

The student-participants were divided into two groups: Kobe Batch 17 had 12 students, while Kobe Batch 18 had 18 students. 

LITE Program language tutors hail from the Department of Humanities (DHum) Communication and Language Divisions. The tutors, all equipped with a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certification, were assigned to each batch. 

The Kobe Batch 17 tutors were faculty members Edgilyn Alcasid, Ariel Bosque, Maybelle Holanda, and Patricia Mariz Valencia. For Kobe Batch 18, the tutors were Ana Katrina De Jesus, Elizabeth Segura-Krueger, Rudell Ramirez, and Jacqueline Recaña. 

The EPC classes officially began with the pre-course English Proficiency Exam on February 24, 2025.

A highlight of the EPC classes was the dynamic and tailored approach to students’ needs. In addition to traditional pen-and-paper exercises, students engaged in interactive tasks such as role-playing real-life scenarios, creating vlogs, and participating in group challenges. These activities played an integral role in developing their practical language skills. 

Immersion in Filipino culture complemented their classroom learning and was part of the course design. After their classes, selected UPLB student-facilitators took charge of structured, daily, two-hour guided interactions with the KU students. 

These sessions, held within the campus grounds and in nearby establishments, covered topics related to the Filipino lifestyle and culture in Los Baños as a university town. Exploring the campus with their foreign peers allowed them to test their classroom learnings in the field and build rapport with their UPLB counterparts. 

Several cultural trips to places in Laguna, Quezon, and Manila allowed them to immerse themselves and gave them more opportunities to hone their language skills and strengthen their understanding of the Philippines. 

This year’s program was graced by the presence of KU Executive Vice President Hisashi Tamaki, Dean Yasuhito Shirai, Prof. Naruo Kawai, Prof. Jong Woo Park, Prof. Naoe Kawakami, and Office Yoko Tada. 

An exchange student from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, MJ Jabbar, also participated during the third week of the course.

Kobe Batches 17 and 18 concluded EPC on March 14, 2025. At a program to celebrate their completion of the course, the students showcased their learnings and experiences during their stay in the Philippines through performances and presentations. 

Special and academic awards were handed out during the program, including the Tutors’ Choice Vlog Award. Akihiro Yamamoto and Hinata Umehara were recognized as Batch 17 and 18 valedictorians, while Kosuke Kamioka and Sono Numata were awarded as the Most Improved Students for Batches 17 and 18, respectively. 

It was not just awards that they took home. To quote Batch 17 valedictorian Akihiro, “The most valuable thing I gained from this program was the warmth from the people I met [here], in addition to the new things I was exposed to,” demonstrating the holistic learning the program achieved.

The now 12-year partnership between UPLB and KU has been a testament to both institutions’ contributions to intercultural exchange, understanding, and student development. Continuing this commitment, preparations for the next set of students are already underway and slated for February 2026. 

The UPLB CAS LITE Program is an extension arm of the College of Arts and Sciences and has been offering the English Plus Course since 2012, with its partnership with Kobe University starting in 2013. 

Currently under the management of CAS Dean Chrysline Margus Piñol, the CAS LITE Program is supervised by DHum faculty members Jerard Ancel Eusebio as coordinator and Maybelle Holanda as co-coordinator (Johannes Nikolai W. Z. Tamayo)