THE SIZE of the Philippines on the map pales in comparison to the United States and the United Kingdom. But the world recognizes our country as the third-largest English-speaking country – after the United States and the United Kingdom. About 72 percent of our country’s population are said to be “fluent” in English.
Well, why not? We Filipinos learned to speak English under American colonial rule between 1898 and 1946. It is the language of official transactions, higher education and the print media. Thanks to American movies and popular music, urban Filipinos are attuned to American culture, fashion and mores in a way that smacks of slavish imitation.
Well, don’t we like to feel what it’s like out there? After all, the United States today is home to more than a million Filipino immigrants.
The rise in the number of global companies establishing back-office operations through call centers in the Philippines augurs well for English-speaking young Filipinos. Call center employees earn from P20,000 to P50,000 a month. Their clients are mainly American multinational corporations engaged in manufacturing, information technology and financial services. These agents, preferably college graduates, take telephone calls from English-speaking people all over the world, and address inquiries and complaints about their clients’ products. These call center operators only have to sound as if they were Americans.
Surprisingly, however, the dearth of successful call center applicants seems to indicate “poor oral English.”
A survey commissioned by the Makati Business Club, the Information Technology Association of the Philippines and the American Chamber of Commerce, showed a declining aptitude in English among college graduates and working professionals despite the fact that English is the primary medium of instruction in schools. While the industry demands an average of 3,000 call center agents a month, only five percent of the applicants pass, but not necessarily because they are poor in English. Their fault is in failure to sound American!
During her time as President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had studied in the United States, joked that she might have flunked an oral interview for call center agents because of her Filipino accent. She then advised schoolteachers to “ape” the English of “Sesame Street” characters on TV.
Whether we like it or not, the Philippines’ growing share of the multibillion-dollar call center market is creating a subculture of Filipinos with American accents. There are now more than 150 call centers in the Philippines employing more than 60,000 agents.
If it’s any consolation, American English is no prerequisite for most Filipinos applying for work abroad. Our Filipino English – whether in Tagalog or Visayan accents – are good enough for our overseas seamen, nurses, engineers, caregivers, and domestic helpers. (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
