Learning a language is a hobby for some but a scare for others. What is interesting is that Filipinos are naturally equipped to assimilate culture and language because of our ability to speak even nasal tones, as confirmed by my colleague Jimmuel Naval at the National Language Skills Center (NLSC), where the University of the Philippines dean serves with me on the Advisory Council. We discussed at length why Filipinos are better language learners, including our claim to 120 languages even if only 19 are active and only eight are major distinct spoken tongues (e.g. Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Pampango, Tagalog, etc.).
Why all the fuss about language? Did you know that the three industries needing language skills can pay the highest salaries? The first are BPOs or the business process outsourcing industry where Spanish speakers are paid three times that of an entry level wage. How do you learn Spanish? You can get free lessons online from Duolingo as our speaker Wallen Tan from GAIN (Government Academe Industry Network) shared his experience. Instead of paying almost P100,000 for a Spanish course, he downloaded Duolingo for free and just had to invest in some courses after that online app helped him. He must have saved 90 percent of what would have been the investment to learn Spanish. If he applied to a BPO needing that skill, he would easily get back his investment of about P10,000-15,000 to get a rating in CEFR (Common European Framework Reference for Languages) of a level B2. It is a way to standardize so a grade B2 in competency is easily understood by other countries, especially in Europe.
The second industry needing language skills is tourism. Imagine our tourist destinations needing tour guides, attendants and service workers who can speak a second or third language. Besides our broken English and Tagalog, tourists are pleased when we can converse with them in their own tongue. This can mean more business for the establishment or more tips for the service worker. So we at NLSC propose to meet with the Department of Tourism to make language a priority for tourism-oriented establishments. One can require Duolingo from applicants or come to your nearest language center and learn the language of your choice. It goes without saying that knowledge of an extra language, even just conversational, can get you places. And make you more money in tips, even for massage therapists and café baristas.
And the third industry is the OFW sector. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) has a list of countries where skill in speaking another language gets you the job. Of course we have the usual destinations like Korea and Japan, but did you know that speaking Arabic is much in demand in the gulf states like Oman, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia? Today Ms Rose (another NLSC colleague) shares that Slovenia and Croatia are new destinations also needing language skills of OFWs.
The collaboration TESDA (where NLSC belongs) is looking at will be with the three agencies: DOT, DMW and the DICT. The private sector groups we can work with are IBPAP (for business process outsourcing), various food and beverage groups, hospitality associations and local government units (LGUs) so language can be given more importance. Another agency needing much discussion with is the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on curricula to include languages. After all, our English is not even perfect as our Filipino is spotty and not refined. One cannot speak in either language with ease because we lack the basic foundation for proper English and Filipino. We tend to mix the two and end up being mediocre in both. That is why we have “Taglish” as an awkward way of accepting our inability to improve and be proficient in either tongue.
Another admirable effort of NLSC is teaching language to PWDs who are hearing-impaired. Did you know that many victims of rape are unable to put their perpetrators behind bars because they cannot present evidence by sign language? The law can only make them re-enact the crime, which brings about trauma and added stress to the already muted victims. Through Kakamay Foundation, the NLSC is developing a sign language so those who are hearing impaired can better explain themselves in a language that used to not be available for this sector. Imagine all the victims of rape and abuse that sign language can help to get relief and repair.
Language must be communicative and serve its main purpose, which is communication between two or more people. It is not just about grammar and using proper tenses or complicated words. Language can also empower our workers to earn better when they work abroad and accept online overseas jobs. Language also strengthens our tourism industry to attract more visitors to our many islands, speaking their language besides English (which we are quite known for).
I commend the career people at the NLSC for taking time to improve their courses and making language a TVET course that can benefit our workforce, here and abroad. We in the private sector are honored to be part of the Advisory Council because we all love language and can give our two cents for improving the center’s offerings. I took Duolingo in Japanese as soon as I got home from our meeting. It is free and fun to do, even at 10-20 minutes a day. Imagine doing that productive learning instead of mindless viewing of reels and YouTube videos. Make learning fun and productive!
And for our youth, consider perfecting your English and Filipino, and then learning a third language. The younger you are, the better your absorptive capacity to learn more languages. It comes in handy for travel but is a game changer when you apply for work. This may be a benefit employers can also give their staff. Language is fun and now productive, too. Remember, Filipinos are cut out to learn another language. And hopefully make a better world where people can communicate and understand each other better.