Welcome to the second issue of Silliman Journal 2019. The five articles featured in this issue illustrate how research is always purposive. In the first article, Karlo Antonio G. David attempts to tell what happened to Kidapawan and its people during the War. To tell the story, he collects oral accounts from old residents and families, allowing him to record and preserve rich historical data. Cognizant of the importance of vocabulary learning in language learning, Jennifer Eve A. Solitana, and Joan C. Generoso examine an aspect of the area. Their paper investigates whether the students’ reported vocabulary strategy use could have a link to a favorable performance in a vocabulary examination. In their article, Ronald B. Kinilitan, Jean Cristine V. Ontal, and Ginalyn A. Orillana evaluate an outreach program of the Department of Filipino and Foreign Languages. Aimed to revive and popularize a traditional art form, the program is in its initial stages; thus, the researchers find the need to gauge its effectiveness. Many factors affect language learning. Among these is language learning anxiety; hence, John Edgar C. Rubio, Joan C. Generoso, and I investigate the levels of anxiety among international students who are learning English in a context where English is considered a second language. Mary Ann M. Temprosa makes a descriptive survey of private elementary school teachers’ perceptions of human well-being. By doing so, she attempts to bridge the knowledge gap on teacher well-being and to examine how this knowledge flows into the teaching and learning process. In her article, Roann P. Alberto gauges the effectiveness of materials and strategies in conserving a forest ecosystem in Nueva Ecija. To do this, she uses questionnaires and analyzes the results descriptively and statistically. Finally, Jose Edwin C. Cubelo examines the use of pesticides in agriculture. In his article, he seeks to determine the factors that lead vegetable farmers to choose pesticides as their primary pest control strategy in spite of many alternative strategies. Aside from the five full-length articles, there is one entry to the Notes Section. In her essay, Myla June T. Patron reflects on a test revision process, a part of testing and assessment that she admittedly feels uncomfortable. The cover art is courtesy of Negrense artist and fashion designer Dan Ryan E. Duran. The photo, which he took early in the morning, shows dew forming on a cobweb on a bed of leaves. He said that it seemed to represent hope that even with the absence of rain, water can still be collected in unexpected places; thus, he calls this “Morning’s Blessings.” Happy reading!

Warlito S. Caturay Jr., PhD
Editor