Getting Killer Abs and Becoming Fluent in English

Many people would like to get those killer 6-pack abs.  And if we can't get them ourselves, we would like to be with and have someone who does.  No matter how obsessed we are with looking good and having a to-die-for body, we simply find it too difficult to achieve those washboard abs.

How, then, do some people get those perfectly sculpted abs?  Is it a blessing?  Is it a gift?  Absolutely not.

Those who have it simply worked for it.  That's right.  No big secret.  Plain and simple.  Work for it.  They definitely had the right diet combined with the right exercises.

Compare the achievement of abs to the achievement of speaking English fluently.  It is not a blessing.  It is not a gift.  It is a skill that one must worked hard for.  Like having killer abs, it is a combination of the right practice and habits.  It is a combination of studying and practicing, meeting new English speaking friends, being around like-minded people, and studying and practicing again and again.  Study without practice and application doesn't do much.

I cannot emphasize enough how important to practice and apply what you have studied.  Like every skill, one must be passionate and motivated to continue to improve oneself.  In becoming a good English speaker, I would highly recommend to read books, speak English with friends, and enroll at a good English school.  Of course, I would recommend the American Institute for English Proficiency in Makati or Quezon City.  It is a great institution for learning English because English is not only a classroom subject there, it truly is a lifestyle and culture.

So whether you want to have a heavenly body with killer abs or be dynamic and powerful public speaker in English, don't forget, get the right combination of of habit, discipline, and lifestyle.

Most Filipinos Won't Read Despite Benefits

I moved to the United States when I was just nine years old.  When I got there, many kids, especially Filipino kids, made fun of me because I didn't speak English, and my accent was, well, very Filipino.  I had other Filipino friends who also just migrated to the US, and they, too, were made fun of because of their English and accent.  I didn't want to be teased of bullied, so I decided to quickly improve my English and American accent.  I did many things like watching television and mimicking the sound of the actors, but the one that really helped me a lot in becoming more proficient was reading books.  That's right, reading! 

After a few years, my accent was reduced, and I started to have a neutralized American accent.  Guess what, I was playing lead in theater and even became the captain of my debate team in high school.  To add to that, I was the literary magazine editor and editor-in-chief of our high school paper.  Yes, I was class president too.  I attribute my growth and development to reading, the past time that most Filipinos hate.  But I tell you, if you really want to go far, you should learn to love reading. 

Here are three benefits of reading:

1. You become smarter.  Yes, you really do.  You improve your knowledge as you gain information.  You become a critical thinker, and you will strengthen your analytical skills.  Reading helps you to gain so many perspectives from different characters, including of course, the authors.  You become a philosopher, a psychologist, and a thinker. 
   
2. You become a better communicator and better in English.  Your vocabulary will expand, and your writing and speaking skills will definitely improve.  You start to sound like the characters you read about.  You start to speak like the authors you read.  When you absorb all these stories, the information, these perspectives, these ideas, you can use them to strengthen your speech.  And if you read books written in English, you definitely will become a better English speaker.
   
3. You become more successful.  When you become smarter and a better communicator, success naturally follows.  A well-read person, combined with having a great-personality, can go very far in life in terms of career and business.  People naturally gravitate to a well-spoken, intelligent individual, regardless of looks and social status.

The problem is, even with these benefits, most Filipinos will not read.  They would rather make excuses like "I'm busy," "I don't have time," or "It's boring."  Then again, the world is fair since success comes to those who do not make excuses.  Otherwise, everyone would be successful.

So are you ready to pick up a book and start reading?  Chances are, you are not.

Learning English at a Young Age is an Advantage

Kalihi Waena Elementary School May Day
Celebration.  I was in the 5th grade when I  was
selected as a "kahili bearer."

The average age range of our students at the American Institute for English Proficiency is 20 to 30 years old.  Many of our students finally came to our school to improve their English and communication skills because they are looking to boost their careers, gain confidence and employment, or seek personal enhancement.  They are mostly Filipino professionals from different industries, and because most of them are working, they can now afford to study English.

One of the reasons why many of them do not speak English well is because they did not enjoy their classes.  Furthermore, they didn't believe that English and strong communication skills would one day help them in their careers.  After some years in their respective industries, they have come to reach the glass ceiling and impenetrable walls, and they no longer feel that they are as competitive as their colleagues.

Fortunately for me, I moved to the United States when I was just nine years old.  At an early age, I realized that strong English and communication skills would be my edge.  In high school, I was the editor-in-chief of our newspaper and the literary magazine editor.  I was also  the captain of the debate team.  I even participated in speech competitions,winning awards in dramatic interpretation, and I was a member of our school's theater group.  In college, I continued participating in speech and debate competitions, winning numerous awards in speech, specially in my final competition held in Vancouver, Canada, where I won Western America Communication Association's Impromptu Speaking Championship.  At the end of my college life, I was selected as the commencement speaker. 

I strongly believe that I became a good speaker because I started at an early age.  As soon as I knew that I would need strong communication skills to compete in the "real world," I was determined to continually improve my English and communication skills, which would, in turn, enhance my critical thinking and build my confidence.  I remember joining a reading program at our local school library; it was especially enjoyable because I could get stickers for each book I read.  I even remember the very first ever gift that I got from a teacher, a dictionary.  She told me that one day, I would be a great speaker.  Today, I am the co-founder of the American Institute for English Proficiency, and my clients include celebrities, politicians, call center managers, doctors, and lawyers.  I have worked with major local and multinational firms. 

I urge parents and older siblings to encourage their young ones to start at an early age.  Do not allow your children to be handicapped with poor English and communication skills.  Do not wait till they are in high school, and it becomes harder to acquire the language skill.  And for those who would like to continue learning, it is never too late. 

The Deliberate Art of Practice

HOW many times have you heard the saying, "Practice Makes Perfect?"  Yes, you've heard this cliche numerous times that it no longer means anything to you.  However, if you are a top athlete, artist, musician, dancer, debater, you would know that practice means everything.

People who don't like to practice will never really know the importance of it all.  They want to get better in doing something, but would never really take the time to practice.  Let's take learning a language, for example, like English.  Learning a new language is not just about knowing one day in class and hoping to speak it fluently immediately.  One must do deliberate practice: read, converse, homework.  And did I mention read, converse, and homework? 

I cannot emphasize enough how important reading, conversing, and doing homework are.  There must always be some kind of interaction with English: enroll in a class, watch a movie, hang out with friends and speak in English, and so much more.  One cannot become good in English by speaking Filipino all the time.  As they say, birds of a feather, flock together.  So if your friends are always speaking Filipino, it's time to find new friends.  Well, you don't really have to replace your old friends, just add new friends who are either English speakers or at least trying to improve their English.

So for one last time, no matter how much you want to improve your English, if you do not practice, you will never really improve.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

It's always a great time at The American Institute: www.aiepro.com.

At the American Institute, we take learning out of the four corners of the classroom.  We believe that spending time with our students outside of the classroom can help them improve their English and communication skills.

In this photo, Chris (Specialist), Daniel (Specialist), Rosdom (Marketing and former student), Leah (Marketing and former student) spend time with the students in Eastwood.  We listened to a band and spoke in English throughout the whole night.

The others in the photo are July (aspiring call center agent), Pretty (auditor), Ken (aspiring English teacher in Japan), Ziad (aspiring businessman), Jennifer (aspiriing businesswoman), and Edward (engineer now in Saudi Arabia).

Most of our students are Filipino professionals who want to improve their grammar, American accent, public speaking, and confidence.  From time to time, we also have foreigners who prefer to study at The American Institute because they are surrounded by Filipino classmates whom they can practice their English with.

Confidence Building via English Learning

There are many ways to build confidence.  One these ways is to improve your communication skills, specifically English.  More and more, we're living in an era of globalization.  We no longer work or deal with others just locally.  With the advent of technology, like internet, email, videos, and communications improvement, it is vital that we improve our English.

When our English improves, we become more confident because we can deal with others easily and more effectively.  In the Filipino culture, speaking English well could also be a sign of upper social status.  It is the lingua franca of the rich.  When we can speak English well, it gives us a certain kind of status, thus making us more confident. 

For more information about learning English, visit the American Institute for English Proficiency in Makati, Baguio, or Quezon City.

English Filipinized, Deconstructing English and Constructing Filipino

"Nabasa ko ang komento mo sa isang blog, yung tungkol sa liberalayzeysyon ng Filipino ispeling. Vizit ka sa www.2001revisyon.blogspot.com para maunawaan mo iyon. Ang kwestson ko lang, para sa iyo, alin ang katawa-tawa, ang weird na Filipino ispeling pero TAMA ang pronunsieysyon o perfekt na ispeling pero pilipit ang pagbigkas ng mga banyagang salita?"

My response:

I know I will get some flack for posting this picture, but I think it will help to illustrate my point. You see, I commented on one blog regarding Filipino and spelling. In this comment, I mentioned that we should try our very best to speak and spell either "proper Filipino/tagalog" or "proper English," and to avoid overuse of Taglish, Englog, Carabao English, Barok Tagalog, cono, blah blah blah or any form of vernacular language. I simply suggested that speaking the right usage of English and Tagalog will be more helpful in certain fields, especially now that we are facing globalization, increasingly.

The arguments to be made against the aforementioned statement is whether or not speaking "proper English" or "proper Tagalog" will help or not. (Note, I do not intend to define proper English or proper Tagalog, as that is another debate altogether). I am not arguing that we shouldn't use some English words and spell them as Filipino. I know that there are some English words that cannot literally be translated into Filipino. For example, I don't even know how to say "computer" in Filipino. I know it in Spanish, since I took three years of Spanish (computadora). But in Filipino. Computer? Is it Kampyuter? Kumpyoter? Kompyuter? I have no clue. This is the exception. I don't mind at all that we can take the spelling of Computer and "Filipinize" it to make it our own. Heck, every language borrows from another. 

But for words like People, the transformation into Pipol gives me the eevy jeevies. Makes my hair stand up. Why, because I know that there is a word in Filipino for People. Isn't it Tao? Mga Tao? Something like that. How about Picture? Isn't it Larawan in Filipino? Or Retrato in Ilocano. Foto en Espanol? Pipol, I mean People, please correct me if I'm wrong. I am in the learning process of understanding Tagalog. One day, I will learn it. One day, my friends will no longer laugh when I speak Filipino. Isang araw, hindi na sila tatawa. One day, they will not find my Filipino cute anymore. (Note, I separated the Filipino sentence and not made it Isang day, hindi na sila will laugh.) I would have been roasted by Taglish experts.

From the quote above is the newly spelled word kwestson. I believe that is question, if I am not mistaken. So here's a perfect example. I learned enough Filipino/Tagalog that there is a tagalog word for question. It's tanong. If we were to respell question into a Filipino one, will it be kwestson, kuwestyon, kwistyon, kuwistiyon; In this case, it will take me years, maybe even decades to learn it well.

I repeat, I don't mind new spellings, as long as there isn't a Filipino word for it. But if there is already a Filipino word for it, why do we re-spell it? Are we uneducated? Are we rebellious? Are we uninformed? Are we careless? Is it our way of saying, look, I'm not that smart, so I'm going to spell the best way I know how and i don't care if you don't understand it, because I do, and that's all that matters, so my way is the better way and I'm so smart for respelling it. 

Before this post gets so long, I will just close with remarks regarding the picture above. I am even more confused than the rabbit when I see English words being respelled into the so-called Filipino spelling. Is it whayt rabeet? The kendy? Or is it white rabbit, the candy? Note, I'm not as horny as that rabbit, looking to do whom or whatever; I'm just as confused, if not even more.

Perhaps I'm like the chicken; like someone just screwed me over when I see Filipinized things. Should I just accept? I probably won't accept now, because I'm still trying to learn about it; for now, the best thing to do is discuss, and try to understand why. There's that word again, why?

Maybe someone will explain to me, so I will no longer be the confused rabbit, or the screwed chicken. I digress again.

NOTE: I do not know what these words mean, but silly me, I commented on that quote anyway: pilipit, pagbigkas, banyagang. Help!