The Philippines is once again ahead in the BPO race with regard to English-speaking competency, as determined by the results of scores from Pearson Talent Assessment’s Versant English Test. The exam, which has been employed “by corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions around the world to measure spoken English skill,” uses speech processing technology and the advanced science of linguistics to automatically assess the spoken English skills of non-native English speakers.

The Philippines led the pack with a score of 61.84, while East Europe and Latin America finished second at 58.0, and India was at third place with a score of 55.62. According to Mr. Sushil Eapen, Managing Director of Pearson Clinical and Talent Assessment, it is possible to compare English-speaking proficiency across countries because the Versant tests are used globally and Pearson has wide access to results from all over the world.

The edge of the Philippines over India may be attributed to its close historical and cultural ties with North America and the local government’s efforts to integrate and promote English in educational institutions.

source: The Hindu Business Line