Withthe coming of the Spaniards, the elites especially of Manila and the main urbancenters began to add Spanish to their repertoire
With the Americans, still another foreign language was added, English.
In the last quarter of the twentieth century, concern was voiced by parents who complained to the Department of Education and to the national leadership that English competence had 'deteriorated' and that it was time to renew the teaching of English.
This began during the time of President Corazon C. Aquino, and continued during the administrations of President Fidel V. Ramos and President Joseph Estrada, andwas given new impetus by the current President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In response to this concern, there has been a return to the use of the English language in seminars and meetings, especially outside of Tagalog-speaking areas, as well as an emphasis on the renewal of methodology and the retraining of teachers in oral competence and reading skills,
Thegreat incentive for improving one's English language competence is the foreignmarket, where Filipinos with English competence are very much in demand not only as health professionals (doctors, nurses, medical technologists, x-raytechnologists, and now midwives and caregivers).