Language diversity in the Philippines attracts BPO firms
By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat, Manila Bulletin

It’s not just mastery of the English language, but language diversity among Filipinos to speak Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, French, and German has prompted Bosch Group, a German-owned global industrial firm, to set up its 500,000-Euro Asia-Pacific communications hub here.

The choice of location for its high-end IT help desk in Bonifacio Global City was narrowed down to three—Manila, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur—from 16 locations, but Manila won hands down because of the linguistic diversity, strong BPO infrastructure and cost friendliness, said Kaycee Crisostomo, communications manager of Robert Bosch Inc. (Philippines), told reporters during a press conference for the newly established Robert Bosch Communications Center Inc. (RBCCI).

The Philippines would be its 16th location worldwide and its fourth IT help desk project globally. RBCCI would serve as the technical support center initially catering for the internal Bosch Group’s needs. Eventually, RBCCI will cater to external clients in the Asia Pacific region.

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Korean investors give big boost to language teaching jobs in the Philippines

MANILA (PNA)—The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Friday that the proficiency of Filipinos in English has enticed many Korean businessmen to put up various language teaching centers in the country and to avail of the special visa for employment generation (SVEG) being issued by the government.

Statistics submitted to BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan under the bureau’s SVEG one-stop shop center showed that majority of the 128 Koreans who availed of the job visa are investors in English language schools. Most of the schools are located in major cities such as in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City, and Davao City.

The BI started issuing the SVEG qualified applicants in April last year pursuant to an executive order that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed on Nov. 17, 2008. The said visa grants indefinite stay to foreigners including their dependents who have invested in business enterprises employing 10 or more regular and full-time Filipino workers.

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Education in Mindanao gets top priority from gov’t, foreign, and local groups

MANILA (PNA)—The government and a number of prestigious domestic and international organizations are marshaling their resources for the construction and repair of 600 classrooms as well as the acquisition of 1,848 million books, including dictionaries, to promote basic quality education in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

The key players of these projects are the Department of Education (DepEd), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Petron Foundation, National Book Store Foundation, the US-based Brother’s Brother Foundation, and the giant American computer company Microsoft. The program will also boost the literacy rate in the region.

USAID and Petron will shoulder the building and repair of 600 classrooms under the USAID’s Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS2) project in Southwestern Mindanao (Region IX) and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where marginalized people are affected by the armed conflict. The classrooms are complete with chairs, tables, blackboards, cabinets, electric fans, a toilet in each classroom, and electrical and water facilities.

On the other hand, the Brother’s Brother Foundation will provide 1.8 million books and the National Book Store Foundation in partnership with USAID will split the cost for the purchase of 48,000 Merriam-Webster English dictionaries for public element schools in southern Philippines.

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Misamis student tops speaking, writing contests

MANILA (Philippine Star)—A sophomore from a tiny agricultural college in a quiet corner of northern Mindanao recently bested 60 other contestants from across the country—including students from prestigious Manila universities—at a highly competitive speaking contest held in Baguio City.

Gomer Zambrano, a student at Misamis Oriental State College of Agricultural Technology (MOSCAT), is the first Mindanaoan to win the Extemporaneous Speaking Contest at the National Rizal Youth Leadership Institute, an annual conference of student leaders sponsored by the Knights of Rizal.

Gomer admitted he “felt butterflies in my stomach,” but adds that he just imagined the audience were his classmates at JEEP, the Job Enabling English Proficiency project of USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program. The project is aimed at improving the English language proficiency of selected students at Mindanao colleges, enabling them to compete successfully for jobs that require English skills in sectors such as nursing and allied health care, travel and tourism, maritime services, business process outsourcing operations and international business.

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10 model Filipino teachers in English to attend US conference

MANILA—After their successful English teaching strategy was adjudged as a model for other countries, 10 public school English teachers are going to the United States this April to attend a prestigious international reading conference. They gained the all-expense paid presenter slot to the 55th International Reading Association (IRA) convention in Chicago, Illinois this April 25 to 28 in recognition of their “Mentoring the Mentors” program.

The delegation, to be headed by Education Undersecretary Vilma Labrador, will be composed of five elementary and five secondary school teachers as well as four consultants from the National English Proficiency Program (NEPP). 

“This is another source of pride for us—that our best practices have gained notice in other parts the world,” said Education Secretary Mona Valisno.

Aa presented by the teachers, the “Mentoring the Mentors: The Philippine DepEd Model to Enhance Teaching and Learning” showcased the program’s effectiveness through increased English literacy in pilot areas.

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In UK schools, students are increasingly taking neuro-enhancing drugs

Students are increasingly taking neuro-enhancing drugs to fight fatigue and help them concentrate. But how safe are they – and is it cheating?

It is an all too common story: a diligent student works hard and finally achieves a coveted place at Cambridge University. Once there, the pressure becomes too great and they turn to drugs. These days, however, the old narrative has changed. Instead of the spliffs that apparently so delighted generations of our politicians, the latest fad is for educational, not recreational, drugs.

“It was the summer term of my second year,” explains Raj Perera, in his final year of a natural sciences degree at Cambridge University. “I’m an international student, which means my parents are paying £20,000 for every year I am here. That sort of money puts a huge pressure on you. But last summer, I had two weeks to go before my exams, and I had done pretty much no revision. It was a make-or-break moment. So I bought modafinil.”

Modafinil is one of the new neuroenhancing "smart drugs" now being taken by growing numbers of students. It was originally developed for the treatment of narcolepsy, but is now used by students to combat fatigue.

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Translations of Emirati books bring English language to life
By Anna Seaman, TheNational.ae

ABU DHABI—Omar al Zaabi’s eyes light up as he talks about the short story he read for a recent class—One Day a Week by the Emirati author Mohammed al Murr.

“It is about a man living and working in Abu Dhabi who only sees his wife on Fridays when he drives to Dubai,” said Mr. al Zaabi, 24, from Sharjah, waving a copy in the air. “It was my favourite story because life for all men in Abu Dhabi is like this.” But Mr. al Zaabi is no regular student.

He is a federal police officer based at Al Baniyas Police Station – and just one of some 650 working Emiratis and mature students taking part in a pilot project at Abu Dhabi Men’s College that aims to help nationals master English and teach them more about their history and culture.

What is unique about the project is that it is using Emirati literature and books that have been translated into English.

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More hours in English to bring positive results

The Malaysian Education Ministry is of the view that the extended time for the teaching of English will benefit pupils as its objectives are to strengthen and enhance pupils’ learning experience in the subject.

The move to increase the number of hours for the teaching of English in national and vernacular schools by 2011 is a strategy to encourage the mastery of the English language through the transformation of the curriculum.

The new curriculum that begins with Year One, is a modular structure and focuses on the learner acquiring basic literacy and communicative skills.

With curriculum structure, schools will be notified of the adjustments to be made within the existing timetable.

The ministry is also aware of the need to bring the standard of teaching English to be on par with Bahasa Malaysia. Therefore, the increase in the number of hours for the subject will allow pupils to use language in a meaningful manner.

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Rural students to get free spoken English training

DINDIGUL—A 40-hour free spoken English course meant for rural students was launched by the district administration in association with the English Language Teachers' Association of India at PSNA College of Engineering and Technology here on Wednesday.

Collector M. Vallalar said that the course, the first of its kind, would impart nuances of English to rural students to make them employable. All classes would be held in the forenoon of Saturdays and Sundays and participants would attend at least 13 classes.

Experts in communicative English and professors from various universities and MIT, Chennai, would train them. Trainees would have access to sophisticated language lab of PSNA College. Regular classes would be held at the college training centre on Tiruchi Road junction.

The Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency, K. Arunmani, said that rural students were highly talented, efficient and hard working. But these qualities did not come to light owing to lack of communication skills.

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Madonna lays first brick for her Malawi school

CHINKHOTA (AFP)—US pop star Madonna Tuesday laid the first brick at the 15 million dollar (11 million euro) girls’ academy that she is building in Malawi, promising to bring quality education to young girls.

The singer and actress laid a stone with an inscription “Raising Malawi Academy for Girls” and the motto, Dare to Dream.

“It has always been my dream to train women leaders who can help develop the country,” Madonna said during the event. “I grew up as a poor girl with my mother, I had no chance for good education. It is my aim to see Malawian girls get the right education.”

The colorful ceremony at the site of the school in Chinkhota village, some 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the capital Lilongwe, was attended by education officials and curious villagers.

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US diplomat advises Angola to invest in the English language

CABINDA—The US ambassador to Angola, Dan Mozena, on Tuesday suggested that the Angolan government should invest in the diffusion of the English language, which can help the country to play its legitimate role as leader of central and southern Africa, as well as in the international arena.

Mozena said so at a ceremony that served to symbolically hand over a donation of English books to the Education Sciences Higher Institute (ISCED), linked to the public 11 de Novembro University (UON), an incentive for the creation of an English Language Department in this institution.

The North American diplomat said that Angola is an emerging power in Africa, a fact that has been recognised by the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, when she visited this country.

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