English Virtual Community: Alexa Thompson discusses the ways ...

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Alexa Thompson discusses the ways that learning English in an online or offline setting can benefit non-native speakers

The Internet platform has become an essential tool for learning and teaching online, as noted by English Virtual Community. In this post, Alexa Thompson discusses the ways that learning English in an online or offline setting can benefit non-native speakers. For instance, learning English can lead to outsourced jobs that big businesses make available overseas. To read more about online English school from Alexa, visit the website she maintains about English education.

English as a second language teachers, English Language Learners

Did you know you can get a foreign job based on your ability to speak English? Many work opportunities are available to English speakers from almost any country in the world. Thanks to the Internet and impact outsourcing, more foreign speakers of English are coming into contact with businesses from North America and Europe, making English as a Second Language courses extremely valuable for both students and native English speakers.

The last three decades have brought an unprecedented amount of international trade. Currently, international deals comprise 60% of the world?s GDP, according to the New York Times? blogger, David Bornstein. That figure is more than double what it was just 30 years ago. Within this massive amount of global trade, a new category is emerging: business outsourcing, with an emphasis in impact outsourcing.

Impact outsourcing typically brings together English-speaking professionals from emerging nations, like India, China, and the Phillipines, and businesses in the North America and the UK. People in these countries have been able to connect online with corporations looking for a myriad of tasks to be completed at a reduced price that still exceeds the wages typical in their home country. These deals benefit everyone, as employers receive work for cheaper rates, and employees achieve financial stability with relatively higher pay. Impact outsourcing is a win-win, and it already accounts for $4.5 billion in international trade annually.

What makes impact outsourcing a real possibility is the widespread acceptance of English as the international language of business. In fact, native English speakers account for a relatively small percentage of total English-speaking populations. According a Boston Globe article, in 2007, there were 400 million native English speakers in the world, 300 to 500 million fluent ESL speakers, and 750 million speakers who knew English as a foreign language. Those numbers have presumably increased in the last 5 years and will continue to increase.

The other principal factor that makes impact outsourcing possible is the Internet. Because information can be transferred with ease and at almost no cost, employers can communicate freely with workers from across the globe. A number of websites have used this to their advantage, by creating procurement portals that bring together employers who need tasks to be accomplished and contract employees who are looking for work. oDesk and Elance are a couple of examples of these websites, some of which create opportunities to outsource writing, organization, computer programming, design, engineering, and many other tasks. Often, jobs are given on a temporary-to-hire basis, meaning that successful contractors often receive future work and long-term, dependable business relationships. Business on these websites, as in most international venues, operates primarily in English.

A number of businesses have set up shop to support this type of business. Businesses such as Digital Divide Data and Samasource work in countries such as Cambodia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Kenya and South Africa to build skills required for impact outsourcing, including English-speaking and computing, the two main components of outsourcing contracts.

Impact outsourcing will only continue to grow in popularity in emerging and developed nations. As it reaches more people and businesses, families in the developing world will transform and gain real financial stability as they contribute to the profits of established businesses.

Source: http://englishvirtualcommunity.blogspot.com/2012/09/alexa-thompson-discusses-ways-that.html

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