China-Philippines Ties: Filipino teachers popular among Chinese English learners

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02:54

When it comes to teaching English in China, foreign instructors are largely preferred over their English-speaking Chinese colleagues. But of all the countries where English teachers come from, it's one in Asia gaining the upper hand in this lucrative business. In fact, one-third of the workers from this country will be English teachers in China.

For Chen Yuxuan, learning English is always exciting. She started with greetings and some chitchat, followed by reading and speaking training. A twenty-five-minute "English only" class is filled with light topics and substantial content.

CHEN YUXUAN ENGLISH LEARNER "I like the class. It's interesting. The topic really fits me. The teacher doesn't force me to do anything. She really likes me."

The nine-year-old's English fluency practically goes without saying. She was the Beijing champion of China's English Talent Competition – Star of Outlook. Her Filipino tutor, Marjie Ann, is with 51 Talk, an online English education company.

MARJIE ANN, FILIPINO TEACHER 51 TALK "I'm really enjoying it because we always get to meet different people, from toddlers even to grandparents. The best of part of it is that it's not only you teach or educate them, but you also get to learn a lot of things from them as well."

According to a report from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China has a large English consumer group of 300 million people, and there are 50,000 English training institutions. The English training market in China is as large as 500 billion yuan. And Philippine Star reports tens of thousands of Filipinos are currently employed as online English tutors by Chinese educational institutions.

HUANG JIAJIA, FOUNDER AND CEO 51 TALK "The Philippines is one of the best English-speaking countries in Asia. Filipino teachers have standard American pronunciation. More than one million Filipinos work at call centers in the United States."

And with tuition always a concern among parents, fees for most American tutors are 3 to 4 times that of a Filipino tutor on the same course.

CHEN BENDONG CHEN YUXUAN'S FATHER "We have compared foreign teachers in the United States and those in the Philippines. We feel that the Filipino tutors show the highest cost performance."

As the Chinese and Filipino governments correspond more on education, more Filipino teachers are expected a warm welcome to China. Good news for overseas workers from the Philippines and great news for English learners in China.