Outsourcing companies may have improved Filipinos' English language skills

MANILA, Philippines - Besides giving employment to thousands of young graduates, the Philippines’ thriving business process outsourcing industry may have also improved the English language proficiency of Filipinos. A lawmaker from Cebu, Eduardo Gullas, pointed this out as he cited a recent survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), which showed a marked improvement in the self-assessed English competence of Filipinos over the last two years. Gullas, whose family owns the University of Visayas, said in a statement that “ample" government interventions also helped in building up the English language skills of many Filipinos. “The survey results indicate that, at the very least, we have averted a further deterioration in our English proficiency," he said. “The results imply that in terms of English mastery, we are basically back to same levels as 1993 and 2000, which are much better compared to 2006 levels." Gullas is the author of House Bill 305, which seeks to reinstate English as the language as medium of instruction in all school levels. The bill has already been endorsed by 207 of the 240 members of the House of the Representatives. In the March 2008 SWS survey, about of 76 percent of 1,200 voting-age Filipinos polled said they could understand spoken English. This is 11 percentage points higher the 65 percent who said they could understand spoken English, in a similar SWS survey in March 2006. About 75 percent of those polled said they could read English, up from 65 percent in 2006; 61 percent said they could write English, up from 48 percent; 46 percent said they could speak English, up from 32 percent; and 38 percent said they could think in English, up from 27 percent. Gullas noted that over the last three years, the government has invested on in-service English retooling of public school teachers. This year alone, he said, the education department is spending P500 million for this purpose. He also said that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority is investing the bulk of its P2-billion training fund this year for short courses that would advance the English skills of the country’s labor force. The Cebu representative said the BPO industry also deserves “much credit" for devoting considerable resources to hone the English skills of undergraduates, college graduates, and young professionals. “The offices of BPO providers here, led by call centers, have been bustling with English augmentation seminars. The sponsors employ some of the trainees. Some of the trainees move on to other firms or industries. Still, the trainees gain from the crash courses," he said. - GMANews.TV