Beijing-based leading online English education platform 51Talk is planning to hire 30,000 more Filipino teachers.
Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian noted how online education and other booming digital industries in China have cultivated new modes of win-win cooperation between the two countries.
“On the one hand, it has helped China’s distance education, and on the other hand, it has provided a large number of online job opportunities for the Filipino people,” Huang said in his keynote speech during the 2020 China-Philippines Educational Exchanges Seminar.
“As a well-known online English education company in China, 51Talk has fully tapped the talents from the Philippines in the past several years. With the help of online digital technology, 51Talk has opened a window for thousands of Chinese children to communicate with foreign teachers worldwide, and it has created a worthwhile online platform for China-Philippines educational cooperation,” the ambassador added.
To mark the 45th anniversary of the founding of bilateral relations between the Philippines and China, 51Talk successfully broke a Guinness World Record on Oct. 16 for the largest online video album of people waving.
51Talk has already provided more than 20,000 jobs for Filipino English teachers and opened a window for tens of thousands of Chinese children to learn more about the world.
Philippine Ambassador China Jose Sta. Romana, for his part, shared how learning a language helps broaden perspectives while enriching experiences.
“Learning a language helps bridge the present embodied by our youth to a future that is full of opportunities for their personal development—that of their families and their communities,” said Sta. Romana.
“This educational exchange, albeit virtual, provides an enabling environment for cultural exchange between Filipinos and the Chinese.
As the demand for online-based learning surges in China brought about by the new normal, it is my hope that more doors will be opened up for more and more Filipino educators in the same mutually beneficial manner,” he added.
Jack Huang, CEO and Co-Founder of 51Talk, underscored how the online education platform has promoted bilateral cooperation and exchanges between China and the Philippines.
“The year 2020 marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. We at 51Talk are very happy to have contributed to the strengthening of the ties of our two countries through online education,” he said.
“Through 51Talk, nowadays, Filipino online teachers are well-received among Chinese families. Chinese parents understand that Filipinos share their roots from Asia and that they have a better understanding of the Chinese culture which helps them in teaching Chinese kids effectively,” Huang added.
In May, 51Talk donated P5.25 million worth of medical equipment and supplies to several hospitals in the Philippines to aid in their efforts to combat COVID-19.
