Kopi Talk - Speaking English ?

The situation is not only unique in Singapore but also happen in Philippine ironically they The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world proclaimed by most of the government . Pick anyone you randomly happen to meet at the shopping mall, petrol station, mini mart, or even school. Then ask them this simple question, “Do you speak English?” Most of the time, their answer would be, “No, sorry.”Sometimes the answer would even be the longer version, “No, sorry, I don’t speak English.” Sometimes we also have to consider that most of them are just naturally shy when it comes to encountering foreigners, so they may also give that kind of response just to avoid further confrontation, conversation. But the one question that I cannot help but ask is this:“Must they speak in English?” Shouldn’t we be the ones who should be learning their language because we are in their country ? Overall they had their deep-rooted history of US influenced and learned English starting from preschool, and skill in English is mandatory if we ever hope to enter college I guess the situation here is more like learning it.and after forget it What is a bit puzzling, though,  I had met a few Korean, Japanese, China foreigner in Baguio, who came to Philippines specifically just to take up courses in English. Many of my China, Japanese, Korea friends I met in Philippines did not choose Singapore as the first priority the means reason given was the high cost of currency exchange conversion rate, result of having pitfall with strong currency, no wonder China is still putting off to;devalue their RMB ! In Philippine what better way for English-adept Filipinos to land jobs in this or other country? They 're probably the nearest country like China, Japan or Korea , where they can probably demand and recruit;teachers from Philippine. Furthermore, when I was in China, having a Filipino domestic helper is an advantages over local nanny, one of my relative who use a Filipino helper was glad that he made a right decision, practical as it sound, by employing a Filipino helper not only having a domestic helper in the house, a nanny and also an English teacher in the house to impart and converse in English to their children. I’m sure that there are social and cultural hurdles that we will overcome when learning English – and I’m not a linguist nor an expert of languages , But based on experienced as a Singaporean; what I do know, one glaring reason is the lack of practice using English in Philippine. To put it out front to learn a language, you have to use it. My own niece, for instance,did not have any problems learning English. She learned fast, and has picked up a considerable amount of phrases in such a very short span of time – at four years of age, she speaks English far better than some of the college grads or even university. grads , the environment like Singapore a multi-racial country. Having all kind of ethical race like the Malay, Indian, other races, speaking English solve most of the hurdles of communication differences and gap.This was the kind of opportunity to practice our English naturally. Any strategy or curriculum would not be sufficient.or it is simply not enough for parents to just haul their kids to English classes and let them “immerse” for one hour,only to have them revert back to speaking Tagalog when they go back to their homes. In Singapore we are exposed to English on a daily basis, may it be through conversations interaction,radio,television, movies, or the internet. And in fact, there are already so many tools at one’s disposal, without having to pay for them!Judging from the rate the Chinese, Korean, Japanese passion of pursing of learning English. Maybe another 10 or 15 years the landscape and trend will change, they would have their own English teacher who speak and write proficiency English and also communicate with their own mother tongue. Still remembered during my school day our English teacher Mrs Yap, can really so call "whip" or lecture us in bombastic English and at the same time dish out mother tongue like Chinese, Malay and Indian, which I guess was an advantages for us to pick up all those languages along the way which offer me a life long tools to speak many languages at a young early age. For the Chinese in China don’t judge them too hastily now,they may have the last laugh if let say 5% of population passion to become English teacher over 1.3 billion people (1,330,044,605 as of mid-2008), As the world's population is about 6.7 billion, China represents a full 20% of the world's population so one in every five people on the planet is reside China. That definitely would upset future trend , as the current demand for Filipino English teacher in china, they’re the observing the needs of those who result hopelessly inept in the language but who have the clear economic advantage now. They’re the ones responding to their English job vacancy posts and applying for the jobs they offer.I f they are not going to create a proficient English environment in 10 to 15 years down the road, they might could never hope to find employment that would sufficiently give the means to live comfortably by working as and lose the status at being better English speakers than our Asian neighbors. Article Koreans come in droves for English classes Philippines--A total of 111,000 students from South Korea came to the Philippines last year for English classes and other study tours, accounting for 17 percent of the 653,320 Korean arrivals, the Department of Tourism said. Tourism Secretary Ace Durano said the number was expected to grow significantly this year, judging from “the quality and quantity” of inquiries the department received at the recent 26th Korea Student and Emigration Fair in Seoul.
Koreans have become the biggest group of visitors to the Philippines, surpassing Americans. The tourism department expects them to number a million by 2010 and account for one-fifth of its target of five million visitors a year.
“The Korean overseas learning sector accounts for around five million people, including those who want to acquire skills that will help them participate in the global economy,” Durano said. He said the Department of Tourism joined in the Korea Student and Emigration Fair to get a bigger share of that sector, partly by partnering with schools with English as Second Language, or ESL, programs. He said most Korean students of English preferred schools in the cities of Baguio, Manila, Iloilo and Cebu and in the northern region of Cagayan Valley Some enroll in two-month ESL programs that coincide with their summer or winter breaks; others enter the regular course offerings of international schools and universities in the Philippines; and some want to learn English for use in particular fields, such as medicine and nursing. There are also packages in which ESL is applied in golf Durano said the tourism and education sectors needed to further improve their facilities and services, such as discouraging fly-by-night operations and ensuring the safety of visitors. From January to February, Korean visitors in the Philippines numbered 126,354, accounting for 22.1 percent of total arrivals and increasing by five percent year-on-year Ronnel W. Domingo; edited by INQUIRER.net