COMM and hear us COMM 10

Samantha Joseth Saragena, a VetMed Bisaya Student from Iligan City (Northern Mindanao), talks about her experience moving from her hometown to UPLB and the communication struggles she faced when she had just transferred. The discussion touches upon how communication affects boundaries and relationships, the alienatingf eeling of having a different language from the majority, the culture shocks that come with transferring, misconceptions from non-verbal communication, how language barriers impede the learning process, and the efforts needed to adjust to a new environment.

Imagine speaking a certain language your entire life and then finding yourself compelled to live in a community whose language is far apart from your native tongue and whose culture is significantly different from yours. Will you be thrilled? Anxious? Join Jyn and Precious as they listen to Noel's conversation with Jesse, a Bisaya speaker who moved to Los Baños, a Tagalog-speaking community, as a UPLB student for years. Reflect on the what, why, and how of overcoming the language barrier brought on by cultural disparities. Lord Jessie Huyo-a is a Bisaya speaker from the beautiful city of Cebu. He's an incredible artist and has been pursuing his passion for the past ten years. Despite the challenges that come with being from a different place, Jessie managed to overcome these challenges and has been an active member of various student organizations at UPLB.

In this episode, we discuss how cultural differences can affect how people with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs communicate with one another, as well as how these differences can result in disrespect, misinterpretation, and violations of various cultural groups. We talked about the significant difficulties faced by a particular religious group, the Filipino Muslims, in relation to hate speech, incitement to violence, and discrimination in our country. A Muslim friend of ours, Ms. Jalmaani, joined us as a special guest on this episode to discuss her opinions, experiences, and beliefs for us to gain a better understanding of the Muslim culture.Ayesha Jalmaani is a 20-year-old Muslim from Cavite and Batch 2021 taking up BSEconomics from the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She comes from a familyof Muslims. She grew up with Islam as her religion her whole life. Ayesha’s family allowsher and her siblings to have the freedom on what to believe in terms of their religion.They are encouraged to have their own views and opinions which helped her grow asan individual.

This episode focuses on ethnocentrism and stereotyping, aiming to debunk myths surrounding the unheard minority. The discussion sheds light on the diverse cultures present in the Philippines, emphasizing the importance of not establishing a cultural hierarchy. El shares his workplace challenges, particularly regarding language and communication barriers, as well as the hindrance caused by stereotypes based on physical characteristics, which often impede meaningful conversations. He highlights the frequency of such occurrences in new job environments, and emphasizes the significance of media representation and its impact.Drawing from his firsthand experience, he offers key insights on how to avoid these circumstances, learning from the experiences of others and remaining open to understanding. Enrico “El” Feria is a skilled multimedia professional from Pampanga. With a Bachelorof Arts in multimedia studies, he possesses a solid academic foundation in the field. Herecently completed an Associate in Arts program at the University of the Philippines, furtherexpanding his knowledge and skills. Elʼs expertise lies in voice-over work, where he hascontributed to numerous educational materials, and currently, he works as a video editor for areal estate company in Manila—a workplace of diverse culture and English as a firstlanguage—, applying his multimedia proficiency to create captivating visuals.

In today’s episode, we will delve into the challenges that a multilingual student encounters during her college journey. We explore its impact on her academic performance and personal life, while also recognizing the significance of other languages, such as Bisaya and Tagalog to promote intercultural communication, bridge communication gaps between different cultures and ethnicities, and positioning analysis to help identify and challenge the silencing of certain languages and perspectives. As we shed light on these challenges, we also emphasize the use of media representation in creating and serving as a medium for an inclusive environment in higher education. Yhonnie Angelle Camarote, a 20-year-old woman who was born and raised in Davao, gave her own narratives and views on how the language barrier affects her ability to communicate. Despite the fact that the phrase "language barrier" is a less well-known problem with local languages, it does exist. Her native tongue is Bisaya, and despite her proficiency in English, she acknowledged feeling intimidated when speaking to Filipinos whose first language is Tagalog.

This episode tackles the communication difficulties amidst cultural diversity in the Philippines, emphasizing the significance of understanding and respecting cultural differences to avoid unintentionally offending others. Kyle Nathaniel Vinuya expresses his views and experiences while dealing with intercultural communication barriers since returning to the Philippines, like being unfamiliar with various cultural norms and expectations, including nonverbal communication. The episode highlights the role of media representation and some advice for effective intercultural communication — to have openness, mindfulness, patience, and flexibility in learning about other cultures and preventing biases.Kyle Nathaniel Vinuya, from San Fernando, Pampanga, 19 years old, moved to Qatar when he was 7 years of age and went to Philippine International School-Qatar based in Doha, Qatar to continue his studies. He returned to his own country to pursue his interest in studying Bachelor of Computer Science at the University of the Philippines Los Banos. Kyle, who grew up in the Middle East culture, inevitably engaged in Intercultural Communication in order for him to adapt to his new environment, brought by college life.