English for Export

[Ray]

I saw this article and thought that the author made some very interesting points about the value of the English language to Filipinos and the Philippines, as it relates to the overseas labor force and the economy.

*****
The Manila Times
Thursday, October 24, 2002
ENGLISH PLAIN AND SIMPLE
By Jose A. Carillo

English for export
(75th of a series)

Sometime last June, my teenage son casually mentioned to me that several of his grade school teachers in the large exclusive university he had attended no longer took teaching loads for the current semester. The reason? They had been recruited to teach English beginning last September to non-native schoolchildren in the United States who are learning English as a second language. The way I understood it, the Americans could no longer produce enough English teachers for their own needs, and many of their teachers were finding it either so inconvenient or beneath their dignity to teach English to children of non-native Americans, particularly Hispanics and Asians. The teaching resources of the United States, it turns out, have become inadequate for the huge number of children of the waves of immigrants that landed in its shores in the final decades of the 20th century. Now it is enticing the best English-speaking teachers of the Philippines, its former colony of almost 50 years, to help fill in the gaps in its English instruction.

This is great news to promoters of overseas foreign employment for Filipinos, but it is distressing to a nation that has been fast losing its intellectual and manual labor reserves to other countries for two or three decades now. It is also a tragedy of major proportions to the Philippine educational system, which has already been suffering from the bad quality of its instruction in English and in the basic learning disciplines as well. What this all means is that sometime soon, the country will be losing its best teachers — I expect not only of English but also of science and mathematics — to English-speaking countries and to non-English-speaking ones that are doing their best to be more proficient in it. Sadly, the best of our teaching crop is now joining the estimated 7.5 million Filipinos who are already abroad for better employment opportunities than the ones they can find in their homeland. In time, unless Philippine government leaders and education authorities do something quickly about this, I am afraid that most of our schools will be left with nothing but English teachers who do not know their English and science and math teachers who do not know their science and their arithmetic.

The grim statistics of the Philippine labor diaspora, in fact, should give pause to our countrymen who are hell-bent in de-emphasizing the use of English as our language of instruction in favor of Pilipino. According to the latest stock estimates (Year 2000) of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration or POEA, a total of 7,336,667 Filipinos have gone overseas to work, 7,138,343 of them for land-based jobs and 198,324 for seafaring ones. The biggest employer of Filipinos is still the United States, with a total of 2,141,930, with the European Community following second at 845,388, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates combined a close third at 701,751. And based on 2001 statistics, this labor exodus is growing at the rate of 866,590 Filipinos annually. There is no doubt whatsoever that we have become one of the world’s biggest labor-exporting countries, and the earlier we reconcile and realign our national priorities with this fact, the better for the country and the national economy.

Looking at the country-by-country deployment of Filipino workers, it becomes painfully obvious that there is hardly any place in the planet where they have not gone to escape unemployment or underemployment in their home country. We have become a country of international labor nomads. The only upbeat thing about this situation is that our labor exports have wonderfully propped up our sagging national economy for many years now, compensating for our disastrous export reverses in sugar, mining, shrimps, fruits, and other traditional exports. Remittances of OFWs to the country through the formal banking system in 2001, in fact, reached a remarkable $6,031,271,000 or over 300 billion Philippine pesos. The actual total, including funds informally remitted to the country, is no doubt a substantial multiple of this figure. This makes labor exporting the country’s runaway biggest foreign exchange earner, and the prospects are that it will remain so in the next several years.

When we look at the profile of our overseas foreign workers, it is not difficult to see that their proficiency in English is what makes them not only our biggest exports but also our economic saviors as well. Filipinos are prized overseas not for their size, brawn, color, or physical attributes; people of other nationalities and races will likely beat them in these aspects. They are valued for their English, which fortunately for us is the current international language and intercultural interface, as much for their tolerance for working under the most adverse conditions. It is clear that without this much-vaunted English proficiency, they will be hard put competing with their more disciplined, more hardworking, and more technologically-savvy counterparts from Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and China, who just happen to be much less English-proficient than they are. Thus, so long as our own country cannot provide gainful employment to all, Filipinos will be as dependent on their English as the air they breathe and the ground they stand on.
The implications of this on Philippine education should be very clear by now. It is strategically wrong at this time to be de-emphasizing the teaching of English in favor of Pilipino in the name of nationalism. If it is our national destiny to be a primary supplier of professionals, health workers, housemaids, and laborers — even English teachers — to the world market, then we better be the best there is. It is high time we stopped bewailing our so-called brain drain. Instead, we should provide for an efficient, stable mechanism for replenishing the English-proficient stock that we are exporting. An obvious first step is to intensify our English-language instruction to make our labor exports even more competitive. We can advance our national interest better by devoting more quality time to improving our English, rather than wasting it on some language that contributes little to our gross national income at a time that we most desperately need it.
*****

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/oct/24/top_stories/20021024top12.html

Ray

[Dave H]

... in response to English for Export, posted by Ray on Oct 24, 2002

Hi Ray,

Interesting article...Filipinos have to survive! I was amazed to find that many workers at the Jollibee's in my wife's hometown were nurses, including her clinical instructor. Years later, many of my wife's classmates still haven't found employment in the medical field and are on waiting lists to work as volunteer nurses. Most that are working as nurses are overseas, including many of her former teachers...there are plenty waiting in line for their positons. The hotel manager where I stayed was a medical doctor. Accountants are doing the same job as 16 year-old high school kids in the US. I'd beter not get started... )

Dave H.

[Ray]

... in response to The Brain Drain..., posted by Dave H on Oct 24, 2002

Hi Dave,

I was reading where nurses in the Phils only make P192 ($3.62) per day. No wonder they are going overseas in droves! At least in Jollibee they have a chance at making tips.

Check out this article. I especially liked the phrase "personal touch that cannot be defined". I think that line pretty much sums up why Filipina nurses are so popular everywhere. As one who is intimately familiar with Filipina nurses, maybe you can come up with a definition for that one Dave. If so, please let us know :-)

-----
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro
10-24-2002

Nurses to go abroad sans law: PNA-Misor

DESPITE the passage of the Nursing Act last Monday the Philippine Nurses Association (PNA)--Misamis Oriental Chapter seriously doubts whether it would stop nurses in Cagayan de Oro and the province from seeking work abroad.

PNA-Misor chapter Member Corazon Bual said while they are welcoming the promised increase in the law they don't know if the law would work especially in light of the P53 hike in the peso-dollar exchange rate.

Bual said this pales in comparison with the P192 minimum wage received by nurses here. She said the nurses are asking how much the increase would be because it had been promised by President Arroyo.

"(She) told us during our PNA convention that she will bring this matter to the House...but as to whether it will work this will depend on whether the increase will be enough to satisfy nurses that they won't think of going abroad," she said.

The new law establishes a minimum base pay for nurses working in the government and abroad and expands the Board of Nursing membership to facilitate the "professionalization" of the nursing profession.

Philippine Hospitals Association Misamis Oriental Chapter director Dr. Jesus Jardin told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro that there will be no problem implementing the law for hospitals.

"It is essential to increase the salaries of our nurses and whatever the law dictates we will follow," he said.

He added that whatever the additional cost mandated by the new law in increasing the nurses' salaries hospitals will be handing it over to patients for them to pay.

Bual who worked as a nurse with the Cagayan Capitol College (CCC) General Hospital at Gusa for more than ten years said several local hospitals are losing their top and even their middle-level nurses.

In demand

The exodus of nurses, she said, will continue even with the thousands of dollars spent by the nurses in order to secure a job abroad.

This includes the Commission on Graduates for Foreign Nurses School (CGFNS), which costs $300 per exam, Test of Spoken English at $125, Test of English as a Foreign Language at $125 and Test of Written English at P125.

Foreign employers will also require at most six months experience before they are recruited.

But Bual said Filipino nurses are "really really in demand" abroad that some are recruited even without going through these exams and experience.

"Our nurses are so in demand that according to our nurses in Saudi Arabia some of those in London are recruiting our fellow nurses there," she said.

Bual said this is because Filipino nurses are not only hardworking, intelligent and pretty but that they have a "personal touch that cannot be defined."

"It as if we feel guilty if we cannot give the best care we can to our patients," she said.

She disclosed that there are now a lot of recruitment agencies and nurses abroad who are organizing some fellow nurses here to work abroad.

In contrast, Bual said nurses only receive the minimum wage of P192 per day here.

This excludes income tax deductions, Social Security System (SSS) contributions, PhilHealth, cost of their uniform and even their standard white shoes to mention a few.

"Pila nalang ang mabilin niini? (How much of this will be left?) We pay for all of these and this minimum wage cannot compensate for it all," the CCC nurse said.

Most of all, Bual said this salary rate cannot compensate to the graveyard hours they render and the work hazards they are exposed to whenever they deal with patients who are contagiously ill.
-----

Ray

[Dave H]

... in response to Filipino Nurses, posted by Ray on Oct 25, 2002

Hi Ray,

A "personal touch that cannot be defined." Interesting...it sounds like a "freebe." I guess it applies to male nurses too...frightening! All I know is that my wife saves her "personal touch" for me. ;o))) I think you can get a "personal touch that CAN be defined in Angeles."

Dave H.

[outwest77]

... in response to Filipino Nurses, posted by Ray on Oct 25, 2002

Actually Ray, there is a critical demand for the filipina nurses not only in the u.s.a but all over the world, so comptition is stiff, but the u.s.a licensing exams are so stiff that only half pass on the first try,
The exodus of nurses is so high, that it has now created a critical shortage of nurses in the philippines, something that i had not thought of, but it only stands to reason.

[shadow]

... in response to Re: Filipino Nurses, posted by outwest77 on Oct 25, 2002

Half of them fail the exams because they have inferior training and english.

Some of the 'colleges' there are not quite up to snuff. A good sharp student wanting to learn can come out of them with an education, but someone just wanting to 'pass the school's program' has no problem doing so.

However, they come out of school with inadequate education to pass the rigorous CGFNS.

Larry.

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: Re: Filipino Nurses, posted by shadow on Oct 26, 2002

[This message has been edited by Dave H]

Hi Larry,

I think that part of the plan behind the CGFNS exam was to limit the number of foreign nurses that compete with American nurses for jobs. While difficult, the CGFNS exam is also very expensive. The CGFNS exam serves little purpose since it has been ruled out as a predictor for NCLEX success and the foreign nurse must still pass the NCLEX. I believe that many American nurses would be unable to pass the CGFNS exam. CGFNS does not publish the pass /fail rate for various countries, so there is no way of knowing the failure rate for the Philippines. Perhaps some of the nursing schools in the Philippines are not "quite up to snuff," but that is probably more in the area of lacking high-tech equipment to train on. Their training is much more disciplined than that in US schools. Having trained and worked with foreign and American nurses for over 20 years, I have seen no indication that skill levels or knowledge was lacking in Filipino nurses. Their work ethic and dedication is admirable. Their English language skills are far superior to most foreign (including some other English speaking countries) and even many American nurses.

Dave H.

[Mita]

... in response to I disagree..., posted by Dave H on Oct 26, 2002

Thank you for that comment, Dave.  My sister has been a critical care nurse here in the US for over 10 years now.  She trained with the Philippine Heart Center and on getting to the US, found that Filipinos were not technologically behind their US counterparts.
She has also saved many a patient's life and put herself in harm's way by going directly against doctors' prescriptions (sometimes deadly she said)  or even arguing their diagnosis.  Yes, she has been investigated several times by hospitals because of this.  But she always, ALWAYS, was cleared of any misconduct because she was on the right side.  
I'm not saying this because she is my sister.  Nurses can spot changes in a paitent not only daily but on an hourly basis.  They are a hospital's first line of defense in saving lives and this has been proven in countless studies. I know for a fact that Filipina nurses cry when their patients take a turn for the worse and they grieve when their patients die.

[shadow]

... in response to I disagree..., posted by Dave H on Oct 26, 2002

with many more than I have.

[Dave H]

... in response to You've worked..., posted by shadow on Oct 27, 2002

Hey Larry,

There were a couple that I didn't care for over the years. But I suspect that they were burned out from working too many hours over the years. Filipinas rarely turn down overtime. Most roomed together with several others in small apartments and didn't have much of a life outside the hospital. Overall, they are hardworking and very dedicated to their patients. After my divorce, I knew that I'd have it made if I married a nice Filipina someday. I hope your time will come soon.  

Dave H.

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: Filipino Nurses, posted by outwest77 on Oct 25, 2002

Hey Outwest,

There is a surplus of nurses in the Philippines. Perhaps a shortage of experienced nurses. I know more unemployed nurses than I can count. There are long waiting lists even for volunteer positions.

Dave H.

[outwest77]

... in response to Don't believe it..., posted by Dave H on Oct 25, 2002

Hi Dave

Dont know what newspaper i read that in, While in manila,
manila times or phils enquirer, seems that it would be true, then again if wat you say about nurses on waiting lists, that doesnt make sense,

Oh Well not many things in the phils make sense, A wonderful country full of friendly english speaking , and from what i observed, very hard working sincere people, people ,yet it has a crappy economy and other asian countries, china, korea, vietnam, almost anyone, is trouncing them economically, I think they are truly baffled themselves at to the reason, if they knew how to fix it , i think they would, perhaps too much corruption,

Everything seems to be upside down or opposite of what it should be or what common sense would dictate,

Nevertheless i love it there, thanks for your  input

[Dave H]

... in response to Re: Don't believe it..., posted by outwest77 on Oct 25, 2002

[This message has been edited by Dave H]

Hi Outwest,

The "Brain Drain" is just more babble from the spin-doctor politicians and news media (the same groups who consider penpal clubs to be involved in exploitation of Filipinas and slave trading). It's another excuse for the poor Philippine economy. Money remitted from Filipinos living and working overseas is what keeps the economy afloat. Corruption at all levels and terrorism effect the economy negatively, in a major way. There are many brilliant and hardworking Filipinos still living in the Philippines. Unfortunately, there are not enough opportunities for most of them to use their talents and skills. Most are working far beneath their education levels. I admire the way Filipinos pick themselves up after every adversity and cheerfully go on living.

Dave H.

[Ray]

... in response to The Brain Wane..., posted by Dave H on Oct 26, 2002

That was very well said Dave!

Ray

[Nathan]

... in response to The Brain Drain..., posted by Dave H on Oct 24, 2002

  A recent Philippine Daily Inquirer article mentions a
recent international study of corruption in over 160 countries...the Philippines was rated as #11 in the world
for the extent of corruption. So long as that is the case, they will never have anything more than a backwater economy.
Morality does matter, even in economics.