English Proficiency Workshop at Speech Coach (JC Santos Speech Training Center)

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I have decent enough English writing skills but I am not comfortable with speaking in English at length. I know many Filipinos can relate to this. We've been taught English since we were toddlers. We watch a lot of Hollywood movies and American TV shows. We read a lot of English books and magazines. We use written English a lot in our work/business and we type a lot of our thoughts in English to converse with people online, BUT we only speak in English when it is required. Try speaking in straight English out of the blue and chances are, other people will find it amusing or maarte. Double that if you speak with an accent. Triple that if you have no mestizo features at all.

When I chanced upon the Speech Coach ad for a 1-day intensive English fluency and self-confidence workshop, I told bf that we should check it out. He was skeptical; he wasn't sold with the idea that a life-long awkwardness with English speaking would be solved in just 8 hours of work. We went anyway.

Speech Coach has two branches, both in Marikina: one in C&B Mall and one across Santolan LRT-2 station. We chose the Santolan branch since going there was more convenient for us (via LRT-1 and 2). When we were already in the Santolan station, we couldn't see Speech Coach's sign so I called them up and we were told to cross the overpass and someone from their office would be waiting for us at the 7-11 store. True enough, a guy was waiting for us in front of 7-11 and he accompanied us to Speech Coach. Their office was just a few steps away but was not conspicuous when standing in the LRT station due to the way the road curved.

The workshop was from 9am to 5pm and the maximum number of students per class was 16. That particular day, there were eight of us. One was a student and the others were all professionals. I was actually surprised to see our classmates. I guess I was expecting some bumbling people, but our classmates, during our getting-to-know-you portion, spoke well enough. They already spoke clearly in a well-modulated voice and already looked confident to me. So just a little more polishing was needed.

The workshop was done in the second floor of the building and had an informal classroom setup. Our teacher was JC Santos, the owner of Speech Coach. According to him, he used to be with Speechpower but his then-boss (and mentor) encouraged him to spread his wings and find his own path.

JC Santos of Speech Coach

We were given individual workbooks which we used for the reading exercises and for writing down notes. A workbook contained 52 pages. We didn't have to read the book cover to cover. JC emphasized some of the lessons written in the book and we did some oral exercises. We could read the rest and do the other exercises at home.

The workbooks were my only complaint with the whole lecture. When they were handed to us, one of my classmates asked if we could write on them. JC said yes, and that the books were ours. After the lecture, we were surprised because we were charged P350 each for the books. That was one expensive workbook! The bigger issue was that we were not informed beforehand that we would be paying for them. We couldn't back out either, because we had already scribbled notes on the pages. We felt set up somehow. Good thing we had extra cash. Otherwise, we would have ended up sweeping the floor (since there were no dishes to wash).

Anyway...

Aside from English proficiency, the seminar also touched on self-confidence. JC taught us about the power of words and how self-affirmation could help build confidence. Also, he stated that speaking with conviction was actually more useful than memorizing grammar rules when it came to achieving fluency. I agreed with him and for the same reason: even Americans commit grammar mistakes while speaking, but we don't notice those mistakes much because Americans speak English confidently.

There was a one-hour lunch break during which some of our classmates trooped to the nearest eateries. Since SM City Marikina was within walking distance, bf and I opted to exercise our legs and go to the mall.

After the break, we had more pronunciation drills and reading aloud exercises. Another teacher (the lady in the pink dress) came by to facilitate some of the exercises.

class dismissed

Bottomline: Fluency is a habit. Habits are formed by doing them everyday. Thus, to become fluent, you have to practice everyday.



Speech Coach
The JC Santos Speech Training Center
3 MA Roxas St., Calumpang
Marikina City, Metro Manila
(infront of Santolan LRT Line 2)
Phone: 964-0366 / 792-4342 / 0917-8694722
Web site