SWS survey says Pinoy's English proficiency improved

MANILA, Philippines - Survey results presented on Thursday showed that English proficiency and competency has recovered and improved over the past two years especially in the field of written English. This findings were contained in the latest poll conducted by pollster firm Social Weather Station (SWS). SWS president Mahar Mangahas said the improvement in English proficiency shows a greater awareness among Filipinos to improve their skills in written and spoken English. "The most important finding is that there is an improvement in all the expected properties. This is all age groups, of different classes and sectors. These are the people actively thinking of improving themselves. They are drawing from their own foundation and improving themselves first," he told reporters. He added that the increasing dependence on the Internet is also pushing people to review their English skills. But he voiced concern that the survey results might induce complacency. The survey results, based on he poll dubbed “2008 SWS National Survey: Tracking English Proficiency," were presented to the media in Makati City during a press conference organized by the Makati Business Club (MBC), Philippine Business for Education (PBED) and the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AmCham). It was based on The survey conducted from March 30 to April 2 among 1,200 respondents nationwide with an error margin of +/-3 percent. It showed that the ability of Filipinos in written English jumped from 48% in March 2006 to 61% in April. This is also an improvement over the 1993 level of 59% and 61% in the year 2000. Filipinos' understanding of spoken and written English also improved in April and even surpassed previous levels set 15 years ago. Proficiency in spoken English also improved from 32% in March 2006 to 48% in April this year. The survey said Filipino adults' understanding of spoken English was at an all-time high of 75 percent in December 1993 but dipped to 65 percent in March 2006 and went back up to 76 percent in April 2008. Filipinos who read in English also started high at 73 percent in December 1993, dipped to 65 percent in March 2006 and improved to 75 percent in April 2008. Filipinos' ability to think in English also improved from 27 percent in March 2006 to 38 percent in April 2008. The survey said eight percent of the Filipino adults polled claimed they made full use of the English language; 39 percent said they made fair use of the English language; 29 percent said they made partial use of the English language, and 17 percent said they made almost no use of the English language. Former Education Secretary Edilberto De Jesus expressed surprise over the survey results. “I fervently hope results will reflect accurately the situation. The results were somewhat surprising, the sudden turn-around in just two years but I know there is a great awareness in the importance of English to the country," De Jesus said. He said that the usual areas where Filipinos’ proficiency tends to suffer are in “thinking, speaking and understanding" English. He added that much is left to be done to further improve the situation. But MBC and PBED chairman Ramon Del Rosario said the results can be traced back to current moves to upgrade English competency due to the increasing demand in the business sector particularly in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. DepEd assistant secretary Teresita Inciong lauded the survey results and said it only corroborated the results of the National Achievement Test (NAT) which showed a marked improvement in English among others. “I am quite happy with the result. It corroborates the NAT results since we started tracking results in 2003. The results are not an accident and we hope it will further go up as reforms and measures are being implemented," Inciong said. Results of this year's NAT significantly improved compared to those conducted in the past two years. The 2007 NAT results also revealed that a bigger percentage of schools are moving towards mastery from 22 per cent in 2006 to 35 per cent in 2007. The results also indicated that the students' learning skills in all subject areas covered by NAT -- Mathematics, English, Science and Filipino -- are improving. - GMANews.TV