Koreans Increasingly Turning Towards the Philippines to Learn English
The Philippines would definitely be a much cheaper option than sending kids off to an English speaking country to attend school:
Over the past three years alone, roughly fourteen thousand Koreans have traveled to the Philippines to study the language at private academies for a fraction of the price of classes in many other English-speaking nations.
Kang Tae-won is among a group of 11 students from the city of Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, who are spending their winter vacation at the Widest Asian Learners English School, or WALES, in Baguio, 250-kilometers north of Manila.
On a recent morning, the 17-year old came down from his dorm room into the “English Speaking Zone” where for the rest of the day he practiced conversational English with several Filipino ESL teachers.
Mr. Kang said that after a few weeks of studying here his English has improved. Baguio, he says, “has a good atmosphere for learning English” so that Koreans can get higher test scores.
South Korean families spend billions of dollars a year on private education to prepare their children for standardized tests that are required for entrance into university, study overseas and many white collar jobs. Those include English competency exams like the TOEIC. Some parents believe that total emersion into English speaking countries will give their kids an advantage in taking those tests.
Yoo Moon-young, the owner of the EZ Foreign Language School in Pyeongtaek, brings some of her pupils to Baguio every winter. On average, a high school student’s family pays $5,200 for an all-inclusive, two-month sojourn in a learning environment she describes as “Spartan. Students study, eat and sleep in the school, with supervised excursions out of the academy only on weekends. [Wall Street Journal-Korea Real Time]
You can read more at the link.
Filipinos teaching Engrish…ROTFL! I have previously lived in that wretched country for over a decade & believe me, they CANNOT speak passable Engrish…LMAO
I have to wonder why they seriously go over there. Philippines has become a crime central against South Koreans, representing the most number of murders and robberies against South Korean visitors than any country in the world. It is very dangerous for Koreans over there. And then there was that Korean student few months ago, when she needed medical attention, she was neglected treatment because the healthcare in Philippines is a total nightmare. Whoever allows their kids to go there to study is out of their minds.
I see a lot of Korean fathers suddenly becoming very interested in their children’s education. Multiple trips to the PI to make sure all materials are of the latest edition and highest quality. Trips to verify the teacher’s qualifications. Trips to make sure the food is of highest quality, and that Junior has every thing he needs at the dorms.
“No, yobo, you don’t need to come with me. I’ll check it out myself, and let you know.”
No side trips at all. None. 😉
Why is it typical for an educated person in a poor country like the Philippines (whose native language Tagalog is in no way related to English) to speak English well, but Koreans, who spend thousands for private English lessons, can barely make it past saying hello?
I think it may be because Spanish is close to English, and Tagalog has a lot of Spanish and English loan words. Over 5000 Spanish words, and another 1500 English. I had several Spanish speaking friends when I was in the Navy, and they said they could understand quite a bit of Tagalog, but the Filipinos really couldn’t understand Spanish. Could be a result of a Pidgen shift.
Korean only has a few hundred loan words, and not much of a Pidgen usage that can be corrected through practice. I’m not sure what the lingistic root ot Korean is, but it’s safe to say it is not of any European root.
The people of the Philippines don’t just study English… they live it.
Legal documents, technical writing, and advanced education are all in English.
English movies are seldom dubbed. Much of radio and TV is in English. English signs are everywhere.
Further, the ability to speak English well is a way out of poverty… either through a better job, an overseas job, or interactions with tourists.
Korea does not “live” English and has no desire, or need, to. English education in Korea might also be more for creating another area of school/job competition rather than actually learning the language.
However, with a youger generation of Koreans increasingly exposed to English, both locally and through foreign experience, there will be a time very soon when Koreans speak English well.
Serious English education in Korea has been going on for perhaps 30 years… with quality only coming about in the last ten. The Philippines was under American control for 50 years. Korea will likely do very well in 20 more years.
“I’m not sure what the lingistic root ot Korean is,”
Korean is an isolate language from north central Asia, related to no other language because many of the languages that were related to it, all died off. The only surviving member of this type of language, is Korean.
There are a lot of reasons to pick a country whose first language is Tagalog to provide English teachers. I’m guessing cost is one of ’em.
I knew contractors in 2ID whose company sent them to the Philippines for computer training conducted in English because the airfare, tuition, and per diem (lodging & meals) combined was cheaper than just paying tuition in Seoul. Of course, the added benny of being able to screw your brains out and still have enough per diem money left over to buy food and beer made the deal all the more sweeter.
If you call customer support in many large companies it is very like you will be speaking to someone with an Indian or Filipino accent. They are a desirable source for outsourcing to English speaking countries. Beyond being cheaper labor, they are not just passable English speakers, they do high level thinking in English.
Many Filipinos speak at least 3 languages; their provincial dialect, tagalog (filipino) for intra-Philippines communication and English if they have any aspiration to advance beyond menial labor. A big part of the Philippines economy is from their Overseas Foreign Worker’s (OFW) remittances back to the country. Many of those are menial laborers but a good number of them are college educated professionals. The Philippines is unable to employ many of the graduates. While Koreans aspire for a job at a Chaebol, Filipinos aspire for a professional position overseas. College courses in the Philippines are taught in English with English textbooks.
I would expect the English competency and training at many professional English academies in the Philippines to be better than the average hakwon in Korea.
correction: OFW -> Overseas Filipino Worker
JoeC,
“College courses in the Philippines are taught in English with English textbooks.”
College courses in S. Korea are supposed to be taught in mostly English but instead they’re taught mostly in Korean ~ There, I fixed it for you.
chicken/EGGHEAD… “there will be a time very soon when Koreans speak English well.”
Hehehehehe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_psRb5AtpI
chicken/EGGHEAD… “Serious English education in Korea has been going on for perhaps 30 years… with quality only coming about in the last ten.”
Hehehehehe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_psRb5AtpI
“Hehehehehe”
Tbone is either the Wicked Witch of the Solvent Bottle or queer as a three thousand won note.
Anyhoo…
Ten years ago, children’s hogwon education was pretty shoddy. These days, at least at the famous franchises where my friends’ kids go, the textbooks are structured and are not full of mistakes.
Instead of making it up as they go along, the foreign teachers follow a centrally planned lesson. The kids are comfortable with English.
Tbone, being an English “teacher” and complaining that your students didn’t learn reflects upon you, not them.
LIMERICK
Philippine English’s goal
has a quite limited roll.
“When did you marry?”
“How much cash you carry?”
“You want BJ, boom-boom, or three hole?”
I started a company in the Philippines and also had previous military assignments there. So I know the lay of the land a little better than the average bear. It doesn’t take long from the time you enter the worst rated international airport in the world, while riding in your taxi ride to the hotel to realize “you ain’t in Kansas” anymore. No argument, the Philippines is “third world.” If there were such a thing as “fourth world,” they would be at the top (or bottom) of that list too. Study the recent history and you’ll see that about 10 Filipino families pretty much control all the wealth. The remaining 99.9% are definitely in the “have-not” category, and I mean nothing. I would disagree with the comment “they CANNOT speak passable Engrish.” I have dealt with many senior Fil military and business people who speak and write very good English. I guess it depends where you encounter Filipinos. If you’re sitting in a bar and your talking to one of the “have-not ladies,” who’s family couldn’t afford to pay for her high school, then chances are she is speaking at about a sixth grade level. FYI – she wasn’t recruited for her English speaking abilities. Only a small percentage in the higher circles have any formal education above high school level. As far as the Korean-owned English schools and the Fil instructors, there isn’t any required accreditation, and the primary driver is making money, not quality. You get what you pay for.” It’s the same model they use here. But some of the international schools do produce quality English speaking students. Yes, the Philippines can be a dangerous place, and moreso if you’re rude, stupid, and greedy. Many of the recent Korean deaths are “Korean on Korean” and are Korean mafia related. The mafia is established there now, and use the same TTPs as they do here, extortion, etc, except in the Philippines they have guns. The majority of Koreans are generally not liked in the Philippines and for good reason. They exude an air of superiority attitude, strut around like royalty (more like a royal pain), and if they own a business, are prone to abuse their workers, ripping them off with unpaid wages, or entering into shady business deals. Once you cross a Fil, you just made yourself a target, and for about 5,000 PHP (@ 100 USD), they can make you disappear. Other foreigners that get hurt there bring it on themselves. They do stupid things and yes alcohol is normally involved and happen late at night, not practicing the same rules you would in US towns and cities. Stumbling along down a back alley street alone under the cover of darkness in a land of the hungry and desperate will not end well. Hungry people and babies need to eat, and your fat wallet will buy a lot of rice.
JoeC wrote: “Beyond being cheaper labor, they are not just passable English speakers, they do high level thinking in English.”
Like most off-shore outsourcing affirmations, this is not strictly true. Many of the folks I work with are super. Many more are culturally bound and can’t (yet?) do this.
The cheaper labor bit is about taxes more than salaries. Good employees cost about the same everywhere. The slice the gummint takes makes up the diff.
I second evwrything Long Range 06 said.
I will also emphasize the vast majority of violence against Koreans is because another Korean paid to have it happen… be it a business rival, a greedy heir, or some self-entitled ajushi who felt insulted.
Despite all the fun i make of the Philippines, i really enjoy the place… though probably in the same way one enjoys crazy puzzy.
Simply treat the people with respect. Don’t “put on airs”. Be generous… take everyone out for a good time and buy all meals and drinks for those around you… as it will be a fraction of what a you would spend for juat yourself in a developed country. But be sure to be humble and generous rather than playing bigshot or looking like a sucker. Bring gifts. Used clothes, used shoes, used power tools build powerful relationships.
I could go on and on.
I can certainly tell which class of Filipino the commenters here have associated with. I suspect it is more a reflection on the commenters themselves than Filipinos as a whole.
That sounds suspiciously like Common Core!
As far as the intelligibility of their English from an American English point of view, after a few hours of drinking with Filipinos and Australians i will have a harder time understanding the Australians than the Filipinos.
JoeC you have a valid point. 😉
“That sounds suspiciously like Common Core!”
Except Korean Common Core doesn’t say Koreans must learn English due to white people oppressing black people.
Good grief! I am in agreement with JoeC and Leon in the same thread! Must be getting close to the Apocalypse…