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CEBU CITY, Philippines - After gaining international recognition as an emerging destination in the global outsourcing industry, Cebu is up for another title - that of being the “mecca” of English as a Second Language (ESL) in the world.
Australian Paul Robertson, owner of Time International Ltd., which produces English journals, said Cebu needs to raise the standards of its schools to become the world's ESL hub.
This can be done by continuous training among ESL instructors and the establishment of a body which regulates ESL schools.
“What we're seeing is an explosion of ESL schools in Cebu but they are unregulated, which means they pick up teachers just about anywhere and place them in a classroom. There has to be some kind of an accreditation authority here,” said Robertson, a retired lawyer who operates an ESL school in Korea.
At present, Koreans top the list of ESL students in Cebu.
On the average, around 17,200 Koreans visit Cebu monthly, according to data from the Department of Tourism-Central Visayas.
Most of them come to study English.
But while Koreans rank first among the number of ESL students, Robertsons said, this population has already decreased due to the slow performance of Korea's economy.
The decrease, however, will be compensated by Japanese, Chinese and other Asian students who visit the country to study English.
With these developments, ESL schools should equip instructors with more knowledge and skills on teaching the language through continuous trainings.
He said that Cebu should immediately work to establish the reputation of being the center of ESL training excellence because other Asian countries also want the title.
These countries include Thailand and Hong Kong, which is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
Robertson was in Cebu last week to speak before 10 trainees on how to teach ESL to Asians using western methodologies.
The seminar was organized by the Cebu Educational Development Foundation for Information Technology (Cedf-IT).
Cedf-IT executive director Bonifacio Belen said the foundation is also geared towards helping the English industry to ensure that the talents' proficiency levels can compete with international standards.
Belen said there is a misconception that the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority accredits the teaching of ESL. He said ESL falls under non-regulated trainings.
He noted that while the school is legal when it is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the teaching standards are another matter.
“You register the school and the course, but as to (regulating) the standards of teaching, there is none,” Belen said, adding that there are 20 “relatively good” ESL schools in Cebu.
Since Cebu is known as a tourist destination, Robertson said it will not be hard to encourage international students to come and learn English here.
“Students go out of their country to study (English) and gain international experience. They come to the Philippines because your costs are lower compared to Britain, Australia or the United States. If they come here, they can do so much in three months.”
