PHL cited as 'world's budget English teacher'

Published November 14, 2012 5:20pm

Philippine residents do not have to search far and wide for the best country that can teach English at the lowest possible cost. They're living in it.

A report of BBC News on Tuesday described the Philippines as "the world's budget English teacher."

Citing Bureau of Immigration (BI) data, the report said over 24,000 foreigners applied for study permits this year, a radical increase from less than 8,000 applications in 2008.

Immigration records also show that three times as many foreigners applied for full student visas in 2011 compared to three years before. A separate research of the bureau showed that, as of February this year, more than 61,000 foreigners are studying in various schools in the Philippines. Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. attributed the numbers to English as the medium of instruction in Philippine schools. “We should be proud that our country is fast emerging as a new educational hub in the Asia-Pacific region. Foreigners come to our shores to study and that is a tribute to the good quality of our educational system,” David said in a report of the bureau.

The BBC report said the foreigners studying in the Philippines were from Iran, Libya, Brazil, Russia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea as well as "unidentified countries in Asia, North Africa, South America and the Middle East.

Aside from learning purely from English language classes, the report noted more foreigners applying for graduate and post-graduate courses various fields. The low cost was cited once more as a reason, as well as classes being taught in English.

Ranked among the world's best Meanwhile, three Philippine universities were ranked this year as among the best in the world in teaching English by London-based research and ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

QS' World University Rankings by Subject included Ateneo de Manila University, University of the Philippines (UP), and De La Salle University in the Top 50 on its English list.

All three showed marked improvement from their 2011 rankings, especially Ateneo which jumped from 35th to 24th with a score of 68.9.

Not a classic place for learning English Meanwhile, the BBC report said there are other countries considered as classic places to learn English, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, or Australia.

"But there is one key reason that they are switching to the Philippines. It's much cheaper," the report said.

A Filipino English teacher quoted in the story said a 60-hour language class here averages $500, only a third of what the United States or Canada charge.

Another advantage cited in the story as a reason to study English in the Philippines was that Filipinos can speak with a “clear American accent,” mentioning the country's call center sector and history of the Philippines as a former US colony. Not for the faint-hearted

The BBC report, however, noted that studying in the Philippines "isn't for the faint-hearted."

"Living here means coping with the bureaucracy and corruption, and if you're in Manila, the heavy pollution," it said.

The story also noted other obstacles in learning the English language in the country, such as the hybrid Taglish (Tagalog and English), something difficult for foreigners to understand.

Common spelling mistakes and wrong word usage were also mentioned as problems. However, for people who want to learn English at the best possible price, these obstacles are easily forgiven, the report noted.

"For a foreign student trying to learn English, this will undoubtedly present some challenges. But for an increasing number of people, these are small obstacles compared with the benefits of studying in the Philippines," it added. - Gian Geronimo, VVP, GMA News

Tags: english