Dreaming big: how the Philippines is using Microsoft Reading Progress to build confidence and enhance future ready skills in a global economy

Inspiring confidence through skill-building

The key, according to Adolf Aguilar, Schools Division Superintendent of Bais City, was to find a tool that would enable students to work on their communication skills from their homes, no matter where they were located, without overloading educators. To increase the prospects of student success, the Department of Education Philippines embraced a partnership with Microsoft to incorporate Reading Progress as an educational tool to help with reading comprehension, pronunciation, and digital literacy. 

As Adolf notes, “The schools in our system and Microsoft share a common technology vision, which focuses on what matters most: on empowering our students to achieve more together. Our real goal is to transform our students into independent lifelong learners. Microsoft Reading Progress is helping us achieve that because our students can improve their reading skills by themselves and receive immediate feedback and gauge their progress in terms of their own reading proficiency and accuracy.”

Dr. Maria Trinidad V. Uy is an Education Program Supervisor in Learning Resources. In her estimation, “Microsoft Reading Progress builds confidence with the learners because they can practice it on their own and they can immediately see their score and their improvement. They are excited to do more, to get a higher score of their fluency. Through that process, learners build more confidence. When it is time to talk in class, they know that they are prepared and capable of participating.”

Andreah Maegotod is a student who is quick to say, “It makes me feel incredibly happy when I see myself improving with Microsoft Reading Progress. I know that I have become more prepared for high school, with better communication and technological skills.”

The Schools Division of Bais City is just one example of the success of Reading Progress adoption across the country. It is one of 223 school divisions in the Department of Education Philippines and is composed of forty-one elementary schools and eighteen junior and senior high schools. Over 1,000 teachers and staff support the educational needs of their 22,000 learners. The city is surrounded by water and mountains. The diverse geography of Bais City helps generate its identity while also creating challenges for administrators to develop educational services to support its students. 

Adolf explains the challenges with educating students of Bais City, “There are a lot of challenges in terms of delivering education due to the diverse location of our schools in the division. There are schools in the islands, in rural villages, and in the mountains. So, our learners are diverse with very different backgrounds.” 

As Dr. Trinidad explains, “Through Microsoft Reading Progress students are developing their fluency, comprehension, and confidence. And from there they can explore and connect with other parts of the world. As they explore, they will expand their horizon of what is possible in life.”

The notion that students are more eager to learn when they have more control is something that Pinky Cancio, School principal of Olympia National High School, has observed throughout her career. When it comes to adoption she notes, “Reading Progress was a breath of fresh air for students fearful of reading in public.”

The power of giving students agency

Students record their reading on camera and submit it to their teachers for review. The teachers can then review the recordings on their own schedules and mark and return the work. Students loved that they could check their own progress on their computer. In fact, according to Pinky, “We found out that students were more willing to accept the corrections offered by Reading Progress versus corrections from teachers.”

Franco Gablines is a first-grade teacher at Olympia Elementary School, and he appreciates how Reading Progress empowers students to take reading into their own hands. He explains, “Microsoft Reading Progress helps our digital learners to be equipped with comprehension and speaking skills that sound a native-like speaker. It gives them instantaneous feedback about their reading capability. That idea alone makes them more excited to read, to learn more about reading, and to be themselves.”

Franco has observed the same student ownership. In his view, “Sometimes students are very shy when it comes to reading aloud. They are afraid that they might make a mistake or mispronounce their words. With the help of Microsoft Reading Progress, they're able to do the assignment on their own. Using Reading Coach, they have the chance to correct their mistakes and practice how to correctly pronounce the words. All this builds confidence and we see it in the classroom through increased participation.” 

Shelamar Garrucha, a master teacher at Bais City National High School – Senior High School, concurs and suggests, “They are more responsible for their own learning, and they have developed a stronger love for reading. Now that we have access to Reading Progress, the students keep asking me if they can have more reading assignments.”

Helping students with their future careers

Adolf also elaborates on how students are working while setting themselves up for the future. He says, “The Philippines is the call center capital of the world. Many of our students are currently working as call center agents answering calls from abroad.” In the short term, those students are using Microsoft Reading Progress to build their resumes and earn money right now. “With Microsoft Reading Progress, students can develop themselves to be better English speakers so when they interview in these call centers, they have a better chance of being hired.”

Students from the Philippines already have an international reputation for English language proficiency. Filipinos are employed all over the globe and its English language proficiency that gives them the advantage to compete globally. Adolf explains, “Every family aspires for their kids to have the opportunity to work abroad. And with that aspiration, students, teachers, and families began to realize that they needed to continue to improve their language proficiency—to have the best chances working abroad.”

For instance, take Franzery Flordacancio, who is in 10th grade at Olympia National High School. Franzery sought the opportunity to use Reading Progress with a clear vision to fly higher—literally. Franzery says, “Reading Progress will help me achieve my dream because most airlines expect you to be an excellent English speaker.” 

Another example is Mark Joseph V Llera, an 11^th grader at Bais City National Science High School. Mark has embraced Reading Progress because, “Being an engineer requires you to be a good communicator. You must solve problems by communicating scientific concepts in a variety of settings.” 

Franzery and Mark are the next generation of Filipino workers that will enter an increasingly competitive global marketplace. They both know that effective communication will be essential to their success, and they are using Reading Progress to bolster their skills. 

Longer term, Microsoft Reading Progress is supporting the students of the Philippines to develop the confidence and capacity to pursue their dreams. Franco suggests, “Microsoft Reading Progress, is a catalyst. It's instrumental in helping us support our pupils towards achieving their dreams.” According to Joanna Mae Adana Tosoy, a teacher at the Bais City National Science High School, “What matters most to our students is that they'll be able to graduate equipped with the 21st century skills to be able to be part of the growing community of professionals working to use science and technology to solve complex issues. They must be language proficient, number proficient and, of course, digital literate. Microsoft Reading Progress is the game changer in the lives of our students when it comes to developing these skills.”