For Japanese Nationals, Cebu gains ground as ESL hub

CEBU, Philippines - Japanese nationals are now eyeing Cebu not only as a tourism destination but also as a preferred country where they can learn English as a second language.

Yosuke Togezaki, Japan Tourism Industry relations officer for the Philippines said that more Japanese have now realized that they need to learn English and the Philippines is one of their top choices as ESL destination.

In Cebu, there are already many foreign nationals, mostly Koreans, who have established businesses here bringing along their families purposely to take ESL classes.

At least 20,000 Koreans are now residing in Cebu doing businesses at the same time learning good English.

Foreigners prefer to learn ESL in the Philippines because, aside from the good disposition of Filipino teachers coupled with an inviting tropical environment, ESL classes in the country is also among the cheapest compared to other countries.   

In an earlier interview with economist Bernardo Villegas he said that the 100 thousand Koreans who are living in the Philippines, is a good market to tap.

ESL, Villegas said is another sunrise industry that Filipinos should take advantage of, after-all "we are known for our English fluency."

This time the Philippines has another emerging ESL market, as the Japanese, especially the younger generation are now looking at taking their ESL studies here.

On the other hand, the opening of more direct flights from Cebu to different major cities in Japan could fuel the entry of more Japanese to Cebu not just for ESL, but also for leisure travel.

Likewise, aside from individual Japanese ESL students, more Japanese companies are also sending their employees to the Philippines to learn English, taking advantage of its close proximity and low costs compared with other overseas locations.

In a report, Mizuho Bank bared that it has been sending senior managers awaiting overseas appointments to language schools in Manila and Cebu. The bank is considering adding younger employees to the mix and raising the number to about 30 a year.

"Studying one-on-one for eight to 10 hours a day is appealing," said a spokesperson at Mizuho. "We considered other locations, like Malaysia, but the quality of teachers in the Philippines was the best.”

According to the report, the company used to send employees mainly to the U.S. or Britain, which proved to be costly and not so effective. It switched to the Philippines, where workers could get individualized attention.

Hiring teachers is less expensive in the Philippines, and studying there costs a half to a third the price of other destinations such as the U.S. and Europe. Public safety is also improving with the economic development of the country, which uses English as one of its official languages.

Companies also see it as an opportunity to expose their workers to the business climate in Asia, which is becoming an increasingly important market.

The Cebu Business Club years ago attempted to initiate the formulation of a formal group to maximize the potential of Cebu becoming an international hub for ESL.

Although, there is already a number of schools including the informal school institutions, offering ESL, Cebu should quantify and provide a formal accreditation procedure in order to maintain high standard in this promising educational product. — (FREEMAN)