GILDA CAÑETE–RIVERA is an Assistant Professor III and currently serves as the Chair of the Department of
International Languages at the College of Culture, Arts and Sports (CCAS), Cebu Normal University.
A Licensed Professional Teacher, Professor Rivera began her career as a Student Teaching Mentor, serving
for six years—first at the Integrated Laboratory School of Leyte Normal University, and later at Cebu Normal
University. She later transitioned to the College of Arts and Sciences (now CCAS), where she has been
teaching for the past 15 years, handling courses in English Language, Literature and Education. These roles
have given her a strong foundation in teacher training, curriculum delivery, and higher education instruction.
With over 20 years of dedicated service in education, she remains driven by her passion for teaching and her
expanding role in academic leadership.
Beyond teaching, she is actively involved as a research adviser, thesis panel member, moderator in
international conferences, and student organization adviser. She has also worked as a review instructor for
IELTS, TOEFL, and BLEPT, preparing students for high-stakes English proficiency and licensure examinations.
She is also a proud member of the extension project “One Bead at a Time,” a community-based livelihood
initiative that empowers unemployed women in Balamban, Cebu through skills development and economic
opportunities. This project gained international recognition, ranking 28th in the Top 100 under the
Entrepreneurial Spirit (A4) Category in the 2024 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI).
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, with a specialization in English, from Leyte Normal
University in Tacloban City. She completed her Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics at the University of San
Carlos in Cebu City, and she aspires to pursue a Doctorate in Linguistics to further contribute to academic
research and discourse.
Professor Rivera’s research interests include Child Language Acquisition, Discourse
Analysis/Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, and Language and Education—themes central to her thesis, “Language
Functions in Child Caregivers’ Speech” that is awaiting publication. She remains active in both local and
international academic communities, regularly engaging in conferences, trainings programs, and research
seminars related to her areas of specialization.