Internet and Philippine English Proficiency
Hazel Rose V. Corachea The internet is a computer based global information system. It is composed of many interconnected computer networks. Each network may link thousands of computers enabling them to share information. The internet has brought a transformation in many aspects of life. It is one of the biggest contributors in making the world into a global village. The use of internet has grown tremendously since it was introduced. It is mostly because of its flexibility. Nowadays, one can access the internet easily.
Most people have computers in their homes but even the ones who don’t they can always go to cyber cafes where this service is provided. The internet has developed to give many benefits to mankind. The access to information is one of the most important features that it has. Students can now have access to libraries around the world. Before, students had to spend hours and hours in the libraries but now at a touch of the button students have a huge database in front of them. In the Philippines, more and more Filipinos are going online and forming their social networks.
The following numbers show this reality. Philippines is sixth among all Asian countries in terms of top internet user. While, we rank in seventeenth place in the worldwide survey. InternetWorldStats says that Philippines has 29. 7 million internet users, as of June 2011. Undeniably, as the use of internet grows rapidly, English language skill also has become a necessity in order for us to establish linkages with the rest of the world. English has played a central role as the common international language in linking people who have different mother tongues.
When it comes to English language proficiency, recent language test results released by the IDP Education Pty. Ltd. Philippines, an accredited group that administers the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to Filipinos seeking to work and migrate abroad, showed that the Philippines is no longer the top English-speaking country in Asia. With an overall score of 6. 71, Malaysia is now the No. 1 in English proficiency in Asia. The Philippines placed only second with 6. 69, followed by Indonesia (5. 99), India (5. 79) and Thailand (5. 1). This was gleaned from IELTS results in 2008, during which some 35,000 Filipinos — 70 percent of them nursing graduates applying for jobs abroad — took the language exam to evaluate their English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. The group blames technology such as the internet and SMS messaging (texting) on cell phones, which favors speed and levity but fosters poor written skills. “We use abbreviations in chat rooms, and we have created a whole new language, and texting on cell phones has created a short language. ”
