Examination Ethics

Cheating is part of the human nature.  Here in the Philippines, we tend to associate this word to the elections.  Whenever the election results come out, we have everyone, including voters and elected officials crying foul.  Throughout my more than six years of teaching at The American Institute, I have come across individuals who have asked me to do something unethical for them.  For different reasons, there were people who have asked us to lie for them.  Here are some of the things we've encountered:

1. Money for Certificate.  The most common one is to give them a certificate even if they have not enrolled in our English proficiency classes.  They will just pay the tuition fee.  Why do they needs these certificates?  They want to present to their employers that they are improving their skill sets.  They want to present to a future employer that they have studied at The American Institute, which would give them a better chance of gaining employment.  They can also present these certificates to the embassy when migrating to an English speaking country like Canada, the US, the UK, or Australia.
   
2. Falsified Certificate.  There have been individuals who have gotten a copy of the certificates we issue, and they reproduced their own with fake signatures.  One technical training center required their students to complete at least 100 hours of English proficiency training in order for them to complete their school requirements and graduate.  These students created their own certificates, but they were caught when the training center called us to verify the certificates. 
   
3. Exam Substitute.  Just recently, I got a call from a foreigner who would like me to find someone who would take the TOEFL or IELTS exam for them.  This individual mentioned that his school required him to have a 7.0 Band on his IELTS exam, and he would be willing to pay someone who would pretend to be him and take the exam for him. 

Of course, we point blank refused to do anything unethical.  These individuals argue that there are some schools who would do that for others.  Well, they called the wrong school.  Some of them even argue that "this is the Philippines."  Well, sorry to say, but we do stand by our corporate motto: Ethics, Education, Empowerment.  Ethics is the first word, and with better education, citizens would become more empowered, as in empowered to create better decisions.  So instead, we clearly tell these individuals that what we do is to help them speak English well so that they do not have to resort to any unethical behavior.

There will always be individuals who would like to take the quick, easy way.  We believe that learning a language isn't necessarily easy, but it could be made possible when one practices, studies, and works hard.  At The American Institute, we make learning more fun and interactive so that acquiring the English language and improving one's communication skills can be more effective.

American Institute for English Proficiency

The American Institute, located in Makati City/Manila, is the Philippines' leading service provider of English training and career development, specializing in American Accent, Conversation Fluency, Critical Thinking, Confidence Building, Grammar, Writing, and Test Preparations (TOEFL, IELTS). We have revolutionized and innovated English language learning in the Philippines by offering specialized courses that will not only teach you how to speak English well, but also to think critically and analytically; you will not find any English learning institution with higher standards and better staffed than we are. Our goal is simple: to provide only the best English learning experience to help you or your company reach your personal and professional goals.
Our clients are from all over the world; they are executives, professionals, and students from Japan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Germany, Turkey, Italy, and Spain. Here in the Philippines, we have consulted with not only corporate groups and call centers, but also with business professionals who are seeking to improve their critical thinking skills, confidence level, and of course, speech and communication skills, recent college graduates who are preparing for their call center interviews, and school teachers who are applying for positions abroad. Simply put, we are both the professionals' and students' choice.

Because we administer the highest educational standards, our graduates are poised, knowledgeable, and very confident; they excel in interviews, are awarded promotions, and become social and corporate leaders. Once you meet with us, you will find that American Institute for English Proficiency (AIEP), Philippines is very different than other schools here in the Philippines in that we are extremely professional and friendly as well as innovative and qualitative. Our English Language Specialists are Americans and Filipino-Americans with extensive backgrounds in English language training, corporate training and management, and personality development. Now is the time to take charge of your future. We invite you to call or visit us today.

Desperately Seeking Janina San Miguel

A lot of people are making fun of Janina San Miguel because of her dumbfounding moment and answer at the recent Binibining Pilipinas pageant. She is physically beautiful, but most argue that she has nothing but air up there. So what now? How is she going to represent the Philippines at the Miss World pageant? Will she humiliate the Filipinos?

I don’t blame Janina for what she’s done. In fact, I commend her for making it to the top. She did what she could with what she had, and it surely wowed the judges. Let me repeat, it wowed the judges. The judges were the ones who gave her the title. That means that if we’re to blame anyone, it’s the judges. They were the ones who selected her. They were the ones who thought that she will do us Filipinos proud at the Miss World pageant. I’m sure that the judges were very qualified. They’re not? Do you say they are not qualified at all? Well they had different ambassadors and celebrities like Marian Rivera and Dennis Trillo, and even a basketball star.

Next, most people are making fun of her grammar. I’d like to point out that her grammar was indeed erroneous, but her answer was even more horrendous. The question was about the “role of her family,” not the “importance of her family.” She missed the target. She could have said that her family played an important role in her process to become a winner by financing her, giving her advice, and educating her. (Notice the three points…Five elements, anyone?) Then she could have gone on to illustrate each point with a specific detail. The point is, the grammar can be corrected easily, but the critical thinking and analytical skills are a bit harder to improve upon.

So what’s the moral of the story? Well, we can relate this situation by how we elect our public officials. We also make the mistake of electing not-so-good politicians, thinking they will represent us well. At the end of the day, it is not about how one falls, but how one rises. The true measure of a man is how he rises to the challenge.

To Janina San Miguel, you have about eight months to improve your skills. That’s a long time to prepare yourself for the international competition. If you put the time, energy, and effort, you will be more than prepared. And with this statement, we at The American Institute would like to offer you a Full Scholarship for our C3 Course: Conversation Fluency, Critical Thinking, and Confidence Building. We also offer you another full scholarship in our Critical Writing and Intensive Grammar Course.

So if anyone knows Ms. San Miguel, I hope you will be able to relay this message…