A JAPAN-based English tutorial school is investing $4 million on a new facility at the Cebu IT Park.
QQ (Quick and Quality) English Tutorial School recently expanded its Cebu operations by occupying three floors of Skyrise 4, one of the serious investments so far by a Japanese firm in English as Second Language (ESL) education in Cebu, according to Department Tourism 7 Director Rowena Montecillo.
QQ president Raiko Fujioka said they decided to expand because of the increasing demand of foreign students, mostly Japanese and Koreans, for English education.
“Cebu is in the best position to offer a good quality of ESL education among our foreign clients given its rich pool of talent who have good English communication skills. The Philippines has the best English speakers in Asia. Students from Japan, Korea and China come here to study,” Fujioka said during the school’s inauguration last week.
QQ English is both an online and offline ESL tutorial center.
Although dedicated to render English classes for second-language learners, QQ has expanded its operation by also giving tutorial services for those who want to enhance their English-speaking abilities either at home or in school.
According to Fujioka, QQ currently has 3,000 enrollees, 20 to 30 of whom are offline students. Majority of the enrollees are Japanese students while the rest are from Korea, China and Iran.
The school has 120 classrooms for offline students and another 200 rooms for online classes.
QQ English uses Skype for their online lessons, which are all one-on-one. They have also various curricula that can make a flexible lesson plan to match the student’s level and goal.
QQ adopted a teaching methodology that is based on the communicative learning approach (CLA) currently being used in the United States and the United Kingdom. This method assumes daily practical situations where students learn communication based on the given scenarios in English.
QQ currently has 150 Filipino teachers, all trained by a Cambridge Research Center for English and Applied Linguistics (RCEAL) instructor.
Montecillo welcomed the opening of ESL schools in Cebu, saying that this is one way of attracting more tourists to come here. She said Cebu can bank on education tourism as one of its best growth drivers as this could promote long-staying visitors.
She said the DOT 7 office is meeting with the local government unit and Cebu Hub for English Excellence (Chele) for the establishment of an ESL website.
QQ plans to grow by tapping other markets such as Russia and Brazil.
