3 PH universities among world’s best English-teaching schools

 

MANILA, Philippines – Three Philippine Universities are among the top 50 universities in the world when it comes to teaching English, according to a new survey by the London-based research and ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

In a statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, QS said the country’s “specialist strength” in the English language was affirmed in results of its latest World University Rankings by Subject, an index that rates universities across 29 disciplines.

Ateneo de Manila University posted the highest rating of all Philippine schools, ranking 24th in English language and literature. University of the Philippines ranked 32nd while De La Salle University ranked 44th.

World-renowned universities in the United Kingdom and the United States took the top five spots (in this order): Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Yale and University of California Berkeley.

“The specialist strengths of Philippine universities in English language and literature are clearly shown in these rankings. The country should be proud of their achievements,” Ben Sowter, QS research chief, said in the statement sent to the Inquirer.

English is widely used in the Philippines in business, government, media, pop culture and daily life, with the language integrated in basic education. Proficiency in the language is also known to have helped the country become a top location for international business process outsourcing firms looking to hire qualified non-native English speakers.

The Philippines rated in only one other discipline, with UP placing within the 101-150 bracket in Geography.

QS ranked schools on 29 subjects “based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and citations per paper,” QS said.

The ranking, the “largest of its kind to date,” rated some 600 universities from 27 countries, with scoring based on some 50,000 responses from employers and members of the academe, QS said.

 

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/42293/3-ph-universities-among-world%E2%80%99s-best-english-teaching-schools

 

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ph--world-s-best-country-in-business-english.html

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

LOL This must be a way to make a push to hire Philipino teachers over people from real English speaking countries because they are cheaper. No offence, while they can speak english, they no way have the same command of the language as people from Canada and so on. Nice try Global Village.

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

“It is not surprising that both the Philippines and Norway—the only two countries in the top five in both 2011 and 2012—are improving their economies, based on the latest GDP data from the World Bank,” it added."

No offence to Filipinos and their country, but I think anyone with a modicum of education would know that the Philippines' economy--and its politics--is a total mess. Social capital in the Philippines is close to nonexistent. Separatist movements are found in the Sulu archipelago with bombings and kidnappings every now and then, and pretty much everywhere else as well violence and crime is rampant, not to mention extreme poverty, unemployment, and a dire lack of education. I find it amusing that the Philippines are compared to Norway, this latter which tops pretty much any studies related to human development, GDP per capita, and political progressivness.

Filipinos in general (say, in Manila and surroundings) no doubt can speak English to a certain degree a proficiency, but this has probably more to do with the fact that they were a US colony for nearly 50 years and that a quarter of words in Tagalog are downright English, rather than that their people are, on average, well educated...

 

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

[insult removed]....where did you get your idea? I suggest you research for the World Bank latest review on Philippine economy....you are entitled to your opinion but never fool youself to believe that is the fact. You are rumor-mongering...this is not a gossip column like talking about your hated Korean actress.....get out of the box, dude!

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

 

Look, my friend, why don't you sit back and relax? Obviously I've hit a sensitive chord, perhaps your wife is Filipino?

Whatever the case, and whatever the latest report of the World Bank on the Philippines, I think it's not an overstatement to say the this country is very poor and not faring that well economically. With a GDP (nominal) per capita of $2,376, I think this speaks for itself. Concerning social capital, I think it's also a fact that the Philippines is clearly lacking in this matter, and this could be argued to be a reason why the country hasn't fared very well economically since independence from the US.

I invite you to read more about this subject, if you are interested Douglass North is usually the reference in regards to social capital. Let me quote a few sentences from an informative scholarly article I've recently read regarding the Phillipines (see Putzel, 2007).

"Some commentators question whether the Philippines with its high levels of economic inequality, deeply-rooted patronage politics and elite dominance of the political system can meaningfully even be labelled a democracy."

"The restoration brought an explosion of associational activity. However, civic-minded social capital remains weak in the country. One has only to look at an intersection in the congested streets of Metro Manila. Once while riding in a taxi, I was held up at an intersection that had reached gridlock. Cars from four directions were all pushing against one another and refusing to give way. It was only when a driver emerged from behind the
tinted windows of a white Mercedes Benz waving a large calibre pistol at the self-serving drivers shouting orders that the intersection was quickly cleared. Of course after the Mercedes disappeared, drivers once again were locked into a self-defeating contest and traffic came to a halt. With little expectation that formal rules will be enforced and little confidence that informal rules of courtesy will be abided by in public spaces, the consolidation of democracy is still a distant prospect."

 

As for me, I visited the Philippines and it was the only country in SEA that I didn't really enjoy that much (apart from the awesome diving) because poverty was so rampant and I felt so insecure, and as a consequence I had a hard time enjoying my stay there. Anyway, I have nothing against Filipinos. I really hope their economy will get better, and it's true that lots of Koreans go there to study English, which is good for them. All this to say that I doubt Filipinos *on a national average* have the world's best business English. But I may be wrong.

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

John Venerikson, it's offense, not offence. That's why Filipinos are better in English. How certain are you that Filipinos "no way have the same command of the language as people from Canada.."

Tests state facts  [insults removed by mod]

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

Anonymous, offence is perfectly correct. It is the British English spelling of that word. Offence is also used, although more rarely, as a variant of offense in American English. I wonder who should be "testing these facts."

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

Thank you annonymous for setting annonymous above you, straight. This person was so upset he or she even had "insults removed by mod" to boot. I guess this person really took offence to how I chose to spell the word offence. No offence annonymous, but you are a...(insult removed by mod). 

Love life! Cheers!      

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

This topic will surely invite a lot of narrow-minded people who are trapped inside the box. Pathetic of them....

Professional Filipino teachers won't come in Korea...they have more opportunity teaching in the USA. Yes, Filipinos are teaching in the American schools for a long time now. Given the facts, all the countries in the world hire Filipinos to teach English and South Korea won't take them? Sounds weird, huh? 

The truth, the Korean government approached the Philippine gov't about this matter and after weighing the advantages and disadvantages....the Philippine labor department declined. They argued, it's more beneficial for Koreans to come to the Philippines to study and invigorate the tourism industry. There are more than seven hundred thousand (700,000) Koreans living all over the Philippines not including the temporary visitors, if added, will total up to 2 million visits on yearly basis . They are the business people, students, church workers and regular tourists. However, the number of Filipinos staying in Korea are just a mere fraction, less than 30 thousands on temporary basis. Despite of the xenophobia and constant discrimination by narrow-minded Koreans, back in the Philippines, the Koreans continuously receiving warm hospitality.

We're reasonable enough to understand, whoever pays has the right to choose. But it doesn't translate to superiority. Filipinos don't have to spend billions of dollars just to study English...it's freely given to them and accessible to everyone. Who is more pitiful then? Those who work hard to earn money for English education or those who learn English for free? One thing for sure, there is no perfect accent, only the narrow-minded people believe so.

Sometimes, it's so disgusting to hear myopic people giving racist remarks as if their mouth work faster than their brain.

The Korean people are so pitiful for becoming blind victims of false information disseminated by unscrupulous English recruiters and language institutes owners. When the blind guides the other blinds.....it would be difficult for them to reach their ultimate goal. The results, look how messy the English education in Korea. It became highly commercialized that divided "the haves and the have nots". Creating artificial miseries in the society. I hope some great minds in the Korean government will do something about this. The Filipinos learn English among themselves...what about the Koreans? In this kind of commercialized system...it would take longer and billions of dollars more from the pocket of struggling poor and middle class families before the Koreans can stand on their own and teach English themselves....save money and destroying the great wall of English divide.

I once heard this conversation, "Hey, dude! come to Korea and teach. If you have two legs and can speak...you'll become a teacher and a celebrity." This statement is true.

Again, there are two kinds of frogs....one group were trapped inside a well...as they look up, they believed the sky is round. The other group of frogs live outside the well....ask them about the sky, they know it's not round!

Which group of frogs are you?

 

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

I know this topic will invite a lot of narrow-minded people....

Why do you think the USA keep on hiring teachers fro the Philippines to teach in American public school? Forget the economics, what about the skill?

All the countries in the world hire Filipino teachers except South Korea? Does this translate to superiority? or there maybe reasons? Do you want to know the truth?

Long time ago, the Korean government approached the Philippine Labor Office about the idea of hiring Filipino teachers. The Philippine government, after weighing the advantages and disadvantages, declined. They argued that the country will gain more if Korean will come to the country to study and invigorate the tourism industry. Informal hiring of resident Filipinos here is fine but not the government-sponsored policy. The Philippine government decision proved to be correct.

There are now seven hundred thousand Koreans living in the Philippines for study, business, church works and business purposes. Including the temporary visitors, at least 2 million Korean visits the Philippines on yearly basis and the numbers keep on increasing.

It's a sad thing to see how the Korean households became victims of false information perpetuated by unscrupulous English recruiters and hagwon operators. The result was a great divide between the haves and the have nots. Poor Korean families feel miserable if they couldn't send their children to English cram school with people "who have two legs and can speak." Worst, Koreans are made to believe there's a "perfect accent" to learn as a symbol of status quo. So, pathetic....

I hope the great minds in the Korean government will do something to correct this injustices done in Korean society at the expense of poor and middle class families' hard-earned money. 

Simple logic dictates, why many Filipino professionals earned their fortune in the countries where these foreign teachers came from and yet, they are in Korea trying to meet both ends. Hmmmm.... 

Some people have mouth faster than their brain....

 

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

I know this topic will invite a lot of narrow-minded people...

Seems so, you have commented and attacked several different ethnicities...

Why do you think the USA keep on hiring teachers fro the Philippines to teach in American public school? Forget the economics, what about the skill?

Please cite a source for this, in all my time in California school I did not see any Filipinos working their who were not born and raised in the U.S. I cannot speak about any other state.

There are now seven hundred thousand Koreans living in the Philippines for study, business, church works and business purposes. Including the temporary visitors, at least 2 million Korean visits the Philippines on yearly basis and the numbers keep on increasing.

Again please cite a source for this, though I have heard that Koreans regularly go to the Philippines for vacation, that number for people actually living their, not on vacation seems very high.
It's a sad thing to see how the Korean households became victims of false information perpetuated by unscrupulous English recruiters and hagwon operators. 
What are they becoming victims of? How much business does Korea do with the Philippines when contrasted with the U.S. or the EU? They want to learn language from people speaking the format that they will then do business in.
 
I have nothing against Filipino's, have Filipino friends, and I don't think people on this sight do either, but you seems to be taking it personally.
 
Finally my original comment was simply that this source was not an actually a news article but a business selling a service.
 
Prove me wrong.

Re: PH: World's best country in business English

Sparrow, and Princess, who are obviously the same person as the OP, both of whose ID's where created today...

 

Not sure what you are trying to tell us, you have railed on about the bad practices of Koreans, but most of the people who use this sight every day are... not Koreans. Yes Koreans certainly use it and use the forums but the vast majority are English teachers.

Seems that you want the English teachers who treat Filipino's poorly to "learn something" from you, but those people are likely all at bars by now... Just sayin~