Press Release
July 4, 2012

ANGARA WELCOMES REINTRODUCTION OF
SPANISH LANGUAGE IN PHL EDUCATION

Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture, welcomed the reintroduction of the Spanish language in Philippine education, saying that doing so will not only strengthen bilateral relations with Spain, but will also create employment opportunities for the youth.

Angara, who joined the state dinner in honor of Queen Sofia last night, has long been pushing for the incorporation of Spanish language courses in the secondary school curriculum to prepare students for a possible career in tourism, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and other related industries.

He said the move will pave the way for the integration of Spanish language courses in the areas of arts, livelihood and sports at the 11th and 12th grades under the K to 12 .

"If you speak Spanish, you can speak to almost one-third of the world. If you speak, Mandarin, English and Spanish, you talk practically to the entire world. That's how valuable this language is in these modern times," Angara said.

"The trend of investment and tourism of Latin America is towards Asia. We ought to catch that wave because now we have a natural destination," he added.

Angara said that having many Spanish speaking graduates would likewise help boost our fast growing BPO industry.

The Spanish government, through the AECID and the Instituto Cervantes, has been sponsoring the training of teachers of the Spanish language in public schools, starting with the first batch of 100 teachers who have completed an intensive summer training last year.

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