Critique Paper

ARREZA, JAMESY E.
September 16,
2019 DVM-1
State of English in the Philippines: Should We Be Concerned?
In his 2015 article State of English in the Philippines: Should We Be Concerned?, Mike
Cabigon addressed his concern on the status of English language in the Philippines particularly
the need to upgrade of the government in improving the language as a means of teaching and
learning and incorporating it as a vital skill of the workforce. Philippines has been recognized
globally as one of the largest English-speaking nations with majority of its population having
at least some degree of fluency in the language. Today, it is the language of commerce and law
as well as the primary medium of instruction in education. According to Cabigon, English
proficiency has been regarded as one of the cores in improving the country’s economy that
even made the Philippines as the top voice outsourcing destination in the world outplacing
India in 2012. This has been made possible due to the affordability of ‘quality’ English as a
Second Language (ESL) programs that were being offered locally. However, in a 2015
discussion made by the British Council, key stakeholders from the government, academe,
private and non-government sectors, suggested their concerns in upgrading the country’s
quality education in English as a medium of instruction. They agreed that the country needs to
step up its efforts in improving the teaching and learning of English developing it as a vital
skill of the workforce. Why is this so? Studies done by reputable international organizations
such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) shows that English skills
of Filipinos are deteriorating. In a 2008 article written by Karl Wilson published online in The
National, Filipinos scored an overall mean of 6.69 for listening, writing, reading and speaking
which is relatively low based on international standards. It has been regarded that deterioration
of the quality education due mainly to the equally underachieving economy was a factor. A
study conducted by the Department of Education in 2004 showed that only 1 in 5 public high
school teachers is proficient in the English language. Furthermore, 13,200 public school
teachers in the elementary level or 13% in total were found lacking in English proficiency while
around 1300 or 1 % of the total high school teachers were not proficient in English. How will
the students learn that even if the teachers who are supposed to teach them are not proficient
enough in English? I agree that there is a need to raise and upgrade the educational system in
the country that will address more in training teachers’ proficiency in English. We cannot
recognize the country as a competent English speaker where even the teachers are not proficient
in English. This inadequacy will have a direct effect on a student’s learning. There is also a
statement mentioned on the article where English language should be taught by the teachers as
a means of communication rather than facts to be learned. This means that even if English has
been used as medium of instruction, teachers need to stick with the rules and students must
grasp the idea of learning and applying it at the same time, not just in the school but whenever
it is possible. That is why there is a need that the government should focus on teacher training
and professional development that would emphasize for skills in differentiated instruction,
materials development and knowledge sharing.
Cabigon also emphasize a greater need to further build on the English skills such as in
the labour force particularly those in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. From the
past decades, Philippines has been the country of choice for giant investors hailing from United
States of America. However, the article stated that the increasing demand of BPO industry in
the country has difficulty in filling up positions due to low recruitment yield and lack of
applicant’s fluency in English (BPO industry includes call center industry). In 2017, some
studies have shown that even if there is a decreasing trend on the number of employees
qualified due to low recruitment yield and English fluency from previous years, American
companies still preferred Filipino workers. Why? According to them, investors strongly believe
that Filipinos are fluent in English language, easily trainable, and culturally closer to the
American. I believe Cabigon’s article about the status of English in the country might be
relevant during those period but since the implementation of K to 12 education system, as well
as the continuous efforts of the government to hire teachers, implementation of free education
to state universities and other activities that is aimed in raising the standards on Philippine
education system have all contributed to the increasing demands on the BPO industry. Some
factors need to be considered in assessing the country’s status in English usage and not just by
the education system alone. Cabigon recommended a collaboration between the government
and the private sector to address teacher and student language proficiency in the outlying
communities. This is indeed a good step in upgrading the country’s current status in teaching
and learning the English language. The government needs to widen their set of choices and not
just relying in the sudden change of the curriculum and constantly wait for its effects. English
has a distinctive place in the Philippine education system and the need to retain the high
standards to compete globally is important for the country’s economy and future development.

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ARREZA, JAMESY E.

State of English in the Philippines: Should We Be Concerned?

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