The English Language in the 21st Century

*This is a speech that I wrote and delivered for the Oratorical Speaking Contest for the English week celebration of my school, The following piece, along with my performance won first place for the said contest*



Let’s take a walk down memory lane shall we? I clearly remember being taught countless nursery rhymes by my mom, who at that time was also my English teacher. Isn’t it quite baffling that the first songs that most children learn are nursery rhymes of the English language.


Learning is a life-long process and language learning is one of it. I saw it happen with my mother. I realized how powerful English language is in terms of expressing our thoughts, feelings and ideas. It has become a very powerful tool for each and every successful Overseas Filipino Worker. It is not merely being able to speak the language but more so of how we comprehend and understand the complexity of applying our knowledge in doing our jobs stated in English.

And how did all of these happen? It is that the English language is the primary medium of instruction all over our country from Pre-School to the university. The subjects Math, Science, Computer, and even T.L.E and MAPEH are taught in English. We are very fortunate to have been required and ordered as necessary to learn the language English and learn the academics in English at the same time. I believe that English fluency and proficiency is indeed an advantage in this highly competitive world.

I remember one of my teachers telling me that a person who is fluent with the language exudes with confidence and intelligence. It may or may not be true, but usually a person who speaks good English creates a better impression than the ones who are not as fluent.

Imagine this you are a fresh graduate looking for a job. First you need to come up with your resume, then you would proceed to writing an application letter and if all goes well then you will be called for an interview. During the interview it is important that you present yourself in a pleasing way but aside from that you also must please your prospective employer. Now if you knew how to speak the language then your employer might be impressed. Otherwise, if you sit there and try to stutter non coherent sentences and stumble over your words, you might just as well be told that you have not met the minimum requirements for the job. Powerful indeed and it makes a big difference!

Nowadays around 11 million Filipinos are working overseas and whenever we hear documentaries interviewing foreign employers all they have to say is praises for their Filipino employees. It is no secret that many employers overseas now prefer Filipino workers to be their employees. Why is this so?, I believe that our English competencies has something to do with this. Now you see as I have stated earlier someone who can speak the language creates a far better impression than those who could not. Take this for example, my mom; a Filipina was able to penetrate the International scene as she became an International school teacher in Japan. There are countless other examples of professional Filipinos making names for themselves overseas which just proves that we Filipinos are highly competitive.

Remember the year 2010 when Ms. Philippines Maria Venus Raj almost took home the crown for that year’s Miss Universe pageant but then she failed to do so because of what many think was her failure to substantially answer the question thrown at her during the question and answer portion and I quote "You know what, sir, in my 22 years of existence, I can say that there's nothing major major problem that I've done in my life because I'm very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me.” This was her answer to William Baldwin’s question which was what was the biggest mistake that you made in your life and what did you do to make it right? Now this is a concrete example of how English can work for us or against us. Being in such a big competition is pressure enough, given English is not Ms. Raj’s first language yet this situation clearly proves that being able to speak the language fluently is a big plus, If she answered that question in the right way would she have won? I guess will never know but still these proves just how important a tool English is, how important it is to know when and where to use the right words. Given this made big news for Ms. Raj but it does not remove the fact that this was wrong use of the language.

Given English is not an easy language to speak let alone learn but once you do learn it, its benefits are endless. In a world where everything seems to be so damn competitive won’t you think that being able to speak the language is an advantage that you could use in your favor?

English is indeed a useful tool in this competitive world. We can't deny that English has become an important part of our everyday life - learning at school, using the ATM machines, the road signs, the songs that we hear and more importantly in how each one of our families make a living -their jobs, to give us a better life.

Be it written or oral, English will always be the primary language of the world, Now as I end let me ask you Would learning English be that bad or would it be beneficial to you in the long run?