UPLB professor develops board game to help preserve Philippine languages

UPLB Communication Arts Assistant Professor and Learning Resource Center Director Mariyel Hiyas C. Liwanag, PhD. Photo from Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino/Facebook

MANILA — Filipino teachers embody resourcefulness and creativity, skillfully integrating diverse techniques into their lessons to enhance student learning.

Inspired by this spirit, a dedicated professor from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has created a free and inclusive educational board game aiming to preserve the rich life of languages in the Philippines.

UPLB Communication Arts Assistant Professor and Learning Resource Center Director Mariyel Hiyas Liwanag, PhD invented the ‘Isabuhay: Isang larong disenyo para sa mga diskurso ng mga wikang katutubo’ as her Ph.D. dissertation topic, an endeavor that has already been recognized with the prestigious Gawad Julian Cruz Balmaceda from the Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF).

She passionately advocates the development of an inclusive educational game that is accessible to all and requires no gadgets or internet connection.

According to Liwanag, Isabuhay is cooperative because players work together; role-playing because it has specific roles and skills; turn-based because the players and game master play alternately.

“May apat na roles: ang guro, ang manananaliksik, tagapagtaguyod ng wika, mga ahensya na tumutugon na kailangan protektahan, pangalagaan at paunlarin ‘yung mga wika sa Pilipinas,” professor said.

(There are four roles: the teacher, the researcher, the language advocate, and the agencies that respond to the need to protect, preserve, and develop the languages in the Philippines.)

One of her objectives while making the board game was to educate students about the looming extinction of the majority of languages in the Philippines.

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The educator also asserted the misconception that the game does not teach one how to speak particular languages. Nevertheless, Isabuhay addresses linguistic human rights and language vitality.

“The game is about language vitality, buhay ng mga wika, [kung] paano nakakaapekto ‘yung ilang mga socio-political policies and events sa Pilipinas sa pagkabuhay, pagkamatay at pagkaunlad ng isang wika,” Liwanag explained.

(The game is about language vitality, the life of languages, [how] certain socio-political policies and events in the Philippines affect the survival, death and development of a language.)

For the woman educator, it began as a passion project before the pandemic when she thought of creating her own game rather than purchasing tabletop games for her class.

“Hindi fit yung mga commercialized tabletop games na ginagamit ko. As much as I want to endeavor in digital format, the problem is hindi naman lahat ng mga estudyante ko [ay] may gadget. Hindi rin gan’un kaganda ang internet. So, I want it to be inclusive na hindi nila mararamdaman na ‘ay kasi wala akong gadget, so I can't play the game,’ I don't want that feeling so, kaya naisip ko talaga na tabletop format siya,” professor said.

(The commercialized tabletop games that I use are not suitable. As much as I want to endeavor in digital format, the problem is that not all my students have gadgets. The internet is also not that great. So, I want it to be inclusive so that they don't feel like, 'I don't have a gadget, so I can't play the game,' I don't want that feeling, so I really thought it to become a tabletop format.)

Currently, she has the game’s copyright, which belongs to UPLB. Now, Liwanag aims to enhance its dissemination further so she can freely share the materials with other teachers.

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“I really have a great support system na mga kababaihan din [which is] very strong, very independent, and very critical na mga kababaihan. Nagkaroon kami ng initiatives noon, it’s a very good thing na it’s driven by passion and driven by asserting ‘yung mga karapatan… kaya ganu’n din ‘yung take ko sa game [na] it’s more of asserting ‘yung pag-gigiit sa mga karapatang pantao sa wika,” Liwanag said in relation to Women’s Month.

(I really have a great support system that is also women [which is] very strong, very independent, and very critical of women. We had initiatives before, and it’s a very good thing that it’s driven by passion and by asserting some rights… that's why my take on the game is like it's more of asserting human rights in language.)

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