21 November 2005
Bilingualism behind poor English skills of Pinoys
BILINGUALISM has had a grave adverse effect on the Filipino mastery and usage of the English language, thus endangering the Philippines once premier standing among English-speaking countries of the world.
This was disclosed by Sr. Remy Angela Junio, president of the St. Paul University in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, who tagged the adoption of “Tag-lish” as the main reason Filipino students now have a lot of things to catch up on with their counterparts in other countries.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the inauguration of the first-ever call center in the Ilocos region owned by FarmOut Central, Sr. Junio noted that the call centers are the ones bringing so much money to the Philippines recently.
Also chancellor of the St. Paul University System, Sr. Junio said that the British Council itself found out that the Filipinos were the last among students of various nationalities based on the result of English proficiency examination it had given.
She admitted that in some high schools, students are being allowed to speak both English and Tagalog or the vernaculars in their classrooms or inside campuses, possibly spawning a language called “Tag-lish”.
The call center needs agents who can meet the rigid standard set by a company, especially in the command of the English language since they (agents) talk and deal with overseas callers.
Statistics from the Pangasinan Employment Service Office (PESO) however showed only three or five of 100 applicants for call center agents are being hired because of the high standard imposed by companies, among them their mastery of the English language.
Junio stressed that while there should be more call centers in the country, the problem is that only few graduates can qualify to become call center agents because they fare poorly in spoken and written English.
She lauded a policy given two years ago by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to make English as a medium of instruction in schools in order to make the country’s workers competitive with their counterparts abroad.
This was disclosed by Sr. Remy Angela Junio, president of the St. Paul University in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, who tagged the adoption of “Tag-lish” as the main reason Filipino students now have a lot of things to catch up on with their counterparts in other countries.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the inauguration of the first-ever call center in the Ilocos region owned by FarmOut Central, Sr. Junio noted that the call centers are the ones bringing so much money to the Philippines recently.
Also chancellor of the St. Paul University System, Sr. Junio said that the British Council itself found out that the Filipinos were the last among students of various nationalities based on the result of English proficiency examination it had given.
She admitted that in some high schools, students are being allowed to speak both English and Tagalog or the vernaculars in their classrooms or inside campuses, possibly spawning a language called “Tag-lish”.
The call center needs agents who can meet the rigid standard set by a company, especially in the command of the English language since they (agents) talk and deal with overseas callers.
Statistics from the Pangasinan Employment Service Office (PESO) however showed only three or five of 100 applicants for call center agents are being hired because of the high standard imposed by companies, among them their mastery of the English language.
Junio stressed that while there should be more call centers in the country, the problem is that only few graduates can qualify to become call center agents because they fare poorly in spoken and written English.
She lauded a policy given two years ago by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to make English as a medium of instruction in schools in order to make the country’s workers competitive with their counterparts abroad.
