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Thursday, April 20, 2006
Focus not only in English but in Science, Math, too
By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan and Roberto L. Bacasong
TWO of the top officials in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City expressed their sadness on the recent report of the Social Weather Station (SWS) that the Filipinos' quality in speaking the English language is diminishing.
But this does not put the spirits of Governor Joseph Marañon down as he said the province is doing some remedial measures.
Marañon said the Provincial Government is now undertaking programs even for elementary pupils to improve their English proficiency.
At present, Marañon said 375 elementary and secondary public school teachers in the province went through training on Conversational English conducted by John Clements Consultancy Inc.
The program is initiated by the province in partnership with the Department of Education. Its objective is to strengthen the oral English proficiency of public school teachers and students for them to be more competitive, address the low English proficiency of students in public schools and prepare the graduates for business outsourcing companies and call center jobs.
Aside from this, Marañon said even the Provincial School of Nursing in Cadiz City in northern Negros has established an English Speech Laboratory in order to effectively train the Nursing students in speaking the English language correctly. This is in preparation for their stint abroad.
Marañon though said that Negrenses should also focus on Math and Science.
English, Math and Science are now the three important subjects that we Filipinos should learn more, Marañon said. "The provincial government is now undertaking programs even for the beginners just to improve the quality of Negrenses in speaking English."
For Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia most Bacoleños can speak the English language fluently. This he said is indicated by the good passing rate of English proficiency of Bacoleños.
He said: "We have the potential. This is a growing industry because Bacolod is a fresh market for the call center."
"English is a business language. Its an advantage if we can speak English well," said the mayor.
The mayor added that they are now receiving several proposals from the other call center companies that willing to expand its businesses in the city.
The call centers soon to open in the city are Teleperformance and I/O Asia.
Leonardia appealed to call center agents particularly to Bacolodnons to maintain loyalty to the companies, which they were connected.
The Social Weather Stations (SWS) report said the Filipino's self-assessed proficiency in the English language has declined over the past 12 years.
Survey results showed there was a decline in all aspects of English proficiency, most notably in the ability to speak English, as compared to results of similar surveys conducted in December 1993 and September 2000.
The survey showed that only 65 percent of Filipino adults said they understand English as compared to 74 percent in December 1993 and 77 percent in September 2000.
The survey further showed that the percentage of those who read English are also down to 65 percent from 73 percent in 1993 and 76 percent in 2000.
It also showed that only 48 percent now say they write in English as compared to the 59 percent who said they wrote in English in 1993 and 61 percent in 2000.
(April 20, 2006 issue)
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