The hundreds of thousands of Filipino migrant workers deployed all over the world are still an important source of foreign income for this poor South East Asian Country.

Now, educational institutions in South Korea are tapping into this resource (domestically) via robots teaching English to students, especially those who find it hard to relate to (real-person) foreign teachers.

Why not?  If South Korea is anything like Hong Kong, Filipino’s are already rearing their young, wiping their bums, feeding them, dressing them and carrying their school bags.

For little pay.

(from News24.com)

Almost 30 robots have started teaching English to youngsters in a South Korean city, education officials said on Tuesday, in a pilot project designed to nurture the nascent robot industry.

Engkey, a white, egg-shaped robot developed by the Korea Institute of Science of Technology (KIST), began taking classes on Monday at 21 elementary schools in the southeastern city of Daegu.

The 29 robots, about one metre high with a TV display panel for a face, wheeled around the classroom while speaking to the students, reading books to them and dancing to music by moving their head and arms.

The robots, which display an avatar face of a Caucasian woman, are controlled remotely by teachers of English in the Philippines – who can see and hear the children via a remote control system.

Cameras detect the Filipino teachers’ facial expressions and instantly reflect them on the avatar’s face, said Sagong Seong-Dae, a senior scientist at KIST.

“Well-educated, experienced Filipino teachers are far cheaper than their counterparts elsewhere, including South Korea,” he told AFP.

Apart from reading books, the robots use pre-programmed software to sing songs and play alphabet games with the children.

“The kids seemed to love it since the robots look, well, cute and interesting. But some adults also expressed interest, saying they may feel less nervous talking to robots than a real person,” said Kim Mi-Young, an official at Daegu city education office.

Kim said some may be sent to remote rural areas of South Korea shunned by foreign English teachers.

She said the robots are still being tested. But officials might consider hiring them full time if scientists upgrade them and make them easier to handle and more affordable.

“Having robots in the classroom makes the students more active in participating, especially shy ones afraid of speaking out to human teachers,” Kim said.

She stressed the experiment was not about replacing human teachers with robots.

“We are helping upgrade a key, strategic industry and all the while giving children more interest in what they learn.”

The four-month pilot programme was sponsored by the government, which invested 1.58 billion won (1.37 million dollars).

Scientists have held pilot programmes in schools since 2009 to develop robots to teach English, maths, science and other subjects at different levels with a desired price tag of five to eight million won.

Sagong stressed that the robots, which currently cost 10 million won each, largely back up human teachers but would eventually have a bigger role.

“The machines can be an efficient tool to hone language skills for many people who feel nervous about conversing with flesh-and-blood foreigners,” he said.

“Plus, they won’t complain about health insurance, sick leave and severance package, or leave in three months for a better-paying job in Japan… all you need is a repair and upgrade every once in a while.”

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As an English teacher in Taiwan for six year and 3 years here in Hong Kong, I can relate to all that has been reported above.

Here are the magic ingredients that the South-Koreans are trying to mint:

* A white (Caucasian) face on the screen

* A non-white, hidden face (on the speaker)

* who can work for less

* who are already acceptable to their young (maids)

* no sick-leave/hang-over leave

* no bitching that “I can earn more money in Taiwan/Japan/Hong Kong”

What more do you want…?!

Many of you will agree with me when I say that staying on the straight and narrow as far as healthy eating and lifestyle in Hong Kong is concerned, can sometimes be quite a challenge.  Add raising two pre-teens in the mix and it becomes even more challenging.

For those of us who need some guidance and a word or two of advice, help is at hand.

Hong Kong’s first collective HEALTHY LIVING EVENT is coming to Duo Restaurant in Hollywood Road, Central courtesy of Sarah Baker and local lifestyle magazine Healthy Times.

Organisers assure us that this event will be the perfect opportunity to find out more about healthy products and services available locally.  You will also have the opportunity to mingle with like-minded folk and share ideas and tips.  There will be different speakers who dedicate themselves to health who will share what they do in Hong Kong.

Continues below. SA readers please click on the banner to support Howzit-HongKong:

HK$100 at the door gets you in and you will have enough food and organic wine to keep you content throughout the evening.  On the menu will be:

Organic wine, raw food, healthy crepes, edible arrangements and many other delicious and healthy snacks.

Duo Restaurant and Cafe can be found on G/F, 118 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong and you can read more on the event’s FaceBook page here

I don’t know if Danny Jordaan (CEO of the 2010 LOC) had a chat with his SARU counterpart when the Confederations Cup (Soccer) and British & Irish Lions test (Rugby) were put together, but it’s all working out rosy insofar as testing the SA infrastructure is concerned.  The SA daily newspapers are headlining 2 important issues for FIFA:

(1) does South Africa have enough beds to accommodate the expected 100′s of 1000′s of soccer fans next year and

(2) do the country’s plethora of pubs have the capacity to deliver enough beer to cool the 100′s of 1000′s of hot and thirsty soccer fans next year (bearing in mind that it will indeed be WINTER in the Southern Hemisphere.)

As far as the latter is concerned, apparently not.

The following report appeared in The Argus (a Cape Town daily) today:

Lions supporters drink pubs dry

Emergency beer supplies had to be trucked in to pubs in Durban and Umhlanga to cope with the demand from Lions rugby fans

And one venue ran out of beer not once, but twice on the same day.

“It was completely wild and I had to deliver emergency supplies to venues all over town on Saturday morning,” said SA Breweries sales manager Paul Bartmann.

Some venues had to hire trucks to pick up extra supplies.

Seven hundred extra cases of beer had to be rushed to the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World where restaurants were said to be “a sea of red”.

In Umhlanga, there were so many partying Lions supporters that they were 15-deep in one pub at one stage, with another venue running queues to get inside.

“It was absolutely unbelievable. We were just not prepared for the onslaught,” said a delighted Eleanor Gillies, manager of The George Tapas and Wine Bar.

“The Lions twice drank us dry on Friday and I had to close the doors at midnight as we had run out after getting a resupply at lunchtime,” she said.

Over at the Cotton Fields restaurant, owner and partner Gordon Jestin said the Lions fans had got through about 6 000 beers. He had also had to call for a resupply. Jestin said he did not normally open on a Sunday but had done so to put on a braai for fans.

Would you rather see rugby pics like this or listen to Naas Botha’s comments? No really? Would you?

The Springboks are playing the British & Irish Lions in the first Test today (Saturday June 20, 2009) and no other TV ad encapsulates the feeling of thousands of rugby-loving Saffa expats all over the world as this Castle Beer TV advert.  Images of my own time in Taiwan, watching the Springboks play from a braai on a rooftop way over in Taoyuan City, Taiwan with a smattering of Yanks, Canadians and even a Pommie or two come vividly to mind!

Hope that this is how you feel!

Bokke Bo!