It comes as no surprise that the English charm has spread over our native soil. Creating chances for business and growth, and molding opportunities to form a relationship with everyone may be the reasons the Philippines excels in the ESL (English as a Second Language) industry. Today, we are given the opportunity to teach foreign nationals and gain the trust of big countries such as Japan and Korea. This can be taken as either the reason or the result behind the rapid growth of students studying English in the Philippines.

With the rise of the ESL-learning and ESL-teaching across the globe, Elizabeth Koprowski reports that the Philippines is rising steadily in competition with the more obvious choices such as US and UK for English-language learning. Let me enumerate some possibilities as to why this is so.

We consider English as our own.

Based on the history of the language in the country, it did not take long for English to propagate because it became the language used in the government and in schools. Filipinos needed to take initiative to learn the English language out of necessity. Despite the history of American occupation in the Philippines, Filipinos have moved past that and are now reaping profits out of it.

English is a language anyone can learn.

Next, English is a language anyone can learn, how so? Well, I think that it’s because most media platforms are in this language, and having continuous exposure can help practice the use of it. I also think that learning it with someone can boost motivation and fuel mastery. According to Amy Chavez, language success in the Philippines is not solely because of the English class time but also, reinforced language exposure outside classrooms. Furthermore, the government of the Philippines designed student travel programs aimed at short-term study. These programs offer to its foreign students an opportunity to be immersed in the English language community.

Filipinos find themselves thriving in this industry because instead of just learning English to pass school, Filipinos learn it in order to help others acquire it too. I feel like this is one factor that attracts foreigners to study here. In my opinion, Filipinos see everyone as a potential connection, personal or business. English paves way for people to communicate and Filipinos are contributing to achieve that.

Philippines has enough credibility to not only use English for services but also to teach it.

It comes naturally when talking about how easy it is for Filipinos to copy an American accent. The American influence still lives on in our roots and seen in our everyday lives, so it is hard not to pick it up. The Philippines has also made a name in the BPO industry in the recent years, garnering the title “call-center capital of the world.” Considering the fact that as early as 1992 international, multi-million companies have invested in our services, just with that information I see that the Philippines has generated enough credibility to not only use English but also to teach it.

Filipino teachers are able to offer quality service at a student budget.

Lastly, the Philippines attracts a wide range of language-learning students because Filipino teachers are able to offer quality service at a good consumer price. No wonder we are gaining students not only from neighboring countries, but also from places as far as Russia and Brazil. If this doesn’t seal the deal, then I don’t know what will.

References:

McArthur, T. (1998).Philippine English. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Retrieved August 08, 2016, from http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-PHILIPPINEENGLISH.html

Natividad, N. (2015, July 02). A history of the BPO industry in numbers. Retrieved August 17, 2016, from http://www.rappler.com/brandrap/stories/98207-bpo-philippines-timeline

Koprowski, E. (2016, April 18). Why study English in the Philippines?. Retrieved August 17, 2016, from http://www.academiccourses.com/news/Why-Study-English-in-the-Philippines-837/

Chavez, A. (2014, March 12). What Asia can learn from Philippines about English education. Retrieved August 08, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-chavez/what-asia-can-learn-from-_b_4572991.html