DOT finalizing ESL roadmap

-- The Department of Tourism (DOT) said it will be securing the future of the country’s English as Second Language (ESL) program to continue attracting foreign students to learn the language in the Philippines.

DOT Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said the agency will be unveiling the ESL roadmap soon, which charts the direction of the country’s programs and promotional efforts to cement its standing as a leading ESL destination in Asia.

“We will soon roll out a roadmap for education tourism, specifically for ESL for which Cebu is a top-notch destination among different markets,” said Bengzon, during the Tourism Innovation Summit held at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel, Cebu City.

He noted that the agency already charted the course for tourism products like meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice), cruise, medical tourism and ecotourism.

DOT, he said, is looking into ESL, citing the country’s leadership in teaching foreign students to learn English.

It first offered services to Koreans, and eventually diversified to include other non-English speaking markets like Japan.

According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), ESL is another service opportunity that Filipino entrepreneurs can offer to new markets like China as the country experiences a shortage of bilingual workers.

Glenn Penaranda, commercial counsellor at the Philippine Trade and Investment CenterBeijing, in previous interviews, said that as China opens its trade to the world, it would need to master English to better communicate with nonChinese business partners.

“With the opening up policy of China, more and more enterprises are going global. This is an opportunity where Filipinos could come in and offer ESL to this market especially that they have shortage of talent of bilingual people with international experience,” said Penaranda.

He is confident that the Philippines would succeed in this venture, citing progress it has made and achievements it reached in the IT-BPM sphere.