The Filipino way of speaking English is very close to how Americans speak. It is mostly due to our affinity to anything that is U.S.-made especially with the movies that we watch and the books that we read. For this reason it comes as no surprise that foreign companies would prefer the Philippines for their offshore work needs.
But the thing is, most of us Filipinos still need to practice conversational English if we want to get hired as a call center agent. It is not just the way we pronounce words or sounds (like the ‘t’ in ‘think’), it is usually with the way we select our words.
Most of the trainees that I’ve met use too much fillers in their English conversation. Fillers such as ah, umm, hmm, yeah, and many others are fixtures in their daily speaking habit. These are of course hindrances to be better understood by American clients.
So if you want to apply for a call center agent position, one of my best advice is that you should practice good conversational English. How can you do this? By asking your family or friends to speak to you only in English.
Speaking in English on a daily basis will improve your grasp of the language and the proper ways of communication. It will also make you more confident in dealing with other people. In fact, in my opinion, just a couple of weeks of this kind of practice can greatly enhance your English conversational skills.
Practice, practice, practice. There is no better training to be a customer service representative for an American client other than to religiously practice speaking in English.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with what you said about Filipinos are “almost” same the way American speaks. No wonder why Foreign investors were in much favored to invest call center companies in our countries.
Filipinos are very good English speakers and what is great about them is that they work really hard on their jobs. This is also one of the reasons why Americans prefer Philippines for their outsourcing business such as the call center.