Philippines seen as ideal education destination in ASEAN

CEBU CITY, April 29, 2011—The Philippines is gaining a foothold in attracting more foreign students to pursue their education here, including those coming from Indonesia.

His Excellency, Kristiarto S. Legowo, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines, said many Indonesian students are considering taking up graduate or post-graduate studies in various Philippine schools, which they described with high academic standards.

“The Philippines could be positioned as a premier education tourism destination in the Southeast Asian region, because its strength lies mainly on its being an English-speaking country,” Legowo told reporters in a recent visit to Cebu early this month.

He noted that among the top favorite schools preferred by Indonesian students in the Philippines are the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), and other schools offering business administration, medical, and theology courses.

The Ambassador also said Indonesia’s large student population (out of a total population of 230 million) could very well be a good basis for the Philippines to boost its education tourism sector.

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Publishers urged to cooperate to raise quality of Philippine textbooks

MANILA, April 21, 2011—Storybooks and other reading materials in public preschools are riddled with errors and have content harmful to young children’s impressionable minds, a quality textbook crusader said the other day.

Antonio Calipjo-Go, academic supervisor of Marian School in Sauyo, Novaliches, Quezon City, said that a quality check he has done on some 28 “supplementary reading materials” being distributed in public and private preschools shows numerous errors and have content better left out of the supposed learning materials.

Go has blown the whistle on numerous textbooks made obligatory reference materials for millions of public and private elementary and high school students in the country in the last several years.

The extent of the errors and the questionable contents, he said were also considerable, needing a two-book corrigenda or error guide to guide teachers of children who will be exposed to the said materials.

Go turned over the corrigenda to Education Secretary Armin Luistro in official ceremonies held the other day with officials of several publishers present.

Luistro played referee to a face-to-face between Go and the publishing company officials where Go was again met with angry and indignant tirades.

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1.5M children to be educated in Philippine schools in 2011, thanks to 4Ps

MANILA, April 10 (PNA)—Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Soliman has announced that 1,538,592 children, coming mostly from marginalized families, will go to school this year, thanks to the agency's "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program" (4Ps).

“It is hoped that the program can be an important weapon in empowering the poor and a step forward in the effort to create a base for a movement for 'transformative social protection,' one that sees the right to be free of poverty as a basic social right. Education is one of the core ways in attaining this right,” Soliman said.

She also said that the 4Ps is a dream come true for poor but deserving students who want to complete their studies as this poverty alleviation tool ensures that the beneficiaries will have food and some money to spend in their educational trek.

Statistics from the Department of Education (DepEd) reflect the conditions of many poor students.

According to DepEd’s research, only 65 percent of pupils reach sixth grade in the elementary level while only 61 percent get a high school diploma in the secondary level.

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Over 80,000 jobs available for students, Philippine labor department announces

MANILA, April 8, 2011—The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday reported that over 80,000 jobs in various government offices and commercial establishments are now available for poor but deserving high school and college students.

Nicon Fameronag, DOLE-Labor Communication Office (LCO) director, said employment would be available to young students as part of the government’s special program for employment of students (SPES).

“A total of 84,918 students would be employed for the entire 2011 and those who would be hired this summer vacation could already start reporting for work on Monday,” Fameronag said.

Fameronag said the Department of Education and Department of Science and Technology and local government units have allocated P32 million to hire 10,000 students this year.

He said persons employing less than 10 workers are allowed to hire poor but deserving students with ages ranging from 15 to 25 years.

College students and those enrolled in vocational and technical education could also be employed any time of the year or during the school break as long as they obtained passing grades during the school year.

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1,246 high school grads finish DOST-SEI scholarship exam

MANILA, April 3, 2011 (PNA)—Around 1,246 high school graduates passed the scholarship exam given in November 2010 nationwide by the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Out of the total number of passers, some 846 qualified as scholars under the RA 7687 scholarships, a scholarship program for talented and deserving students belonging to economically disadvantaged families. The remaining 400 passed in the DOST-SEI Merit scholarship program.

DOST-SEI scholars will receive tuition fee subsidy and other school fees, monthly stipend, book allowance, monthly living allowance for a 10-11 month duration, post graduation clothing allowance and more.

On the other hand, DOST-SEI Merit scholars will also receive the same benefits except for a pro-rated monthly stipend depending on their economic status.

Qualifiers can enroll in state universities and other schools recognized as Centers of Excellence or Centers of Development by the Commission on Higher Education…

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Thousands of school teachers “lack subject expertise,” official figures reveal
By Graeme Paton, Telegraph.co.uk

Official figures show more than quarter of mathematics teachers fail to hold a relevant degree or postgraduate qualification in the subject.

Some 31 per cent of physics teachers, 29 per cent of geography teachers and 21 per cent of those teaching English are also not trained to the highest level in their subject, according to data published by the Department for Education.

The disclosure will lead to fresh concerns over standards in secondary schools. It follows the publication of major international league tables last year that showed British teenagers were falling behind peers in many other developed nations in literacy, maths and science.

Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University, said taking degrees in relevant subjects was a “necessary condition to being a good teacher”.

“It is very concerning that a lot of our young people are not being introduced to subjects by teachers with the necessary expertise in them,” he said.

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Graduates with a foreign language have huge edge in the job market
By Steve McCormack, Indepedendent.co.uk

April 14, 2011—There are pros and cons about being a native speaker of English. One advantage, of course, is the ease with which English speakers can move around the world, on holiday or on business. But a disadvantage is that it breeds laziness. Far too many of us Brits, either consciously or unconsciously, don't really bother with learning a foreign language.

The flip side, though, is that the relatively few Brits who do have a foreign language string to their bow stick out in the crowd, and consequently have far healthier career options.

"Languages give you so much more flexibility in terms of where you work and how quickly you get promotion," says Teresa Tinsley, director of communications at CILT, the Government-funded National Centre for Languages, which, among other things, provides support and career guidance to anyone who uses languages in their work.

One of Teresa Tinsley's strong beliefs is that graduates in a foreign language have far more to offer potential employers than just the ability to operate in that language.

"Language graduates need to show that through learning a language they have gained international awareness and international business awareness," she argues.

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Foreign doctors work in Britain without speaking English

March 29, 2011—Foreign doctors whose English is so poor that they need interpreters are being allowed to operate on patients in Britain, the medical regulator has warned.

The General Medical Council said current European rules represent a “serious cause of concern” and risk to patient safety by banning it from testing GPs’ language skills before they can start working here.

The regulator said it has some doctors on its books who "are not able to communicate in English" but could not prevent them seeking work here under European law.

It warned that bogus doctors from other countries may find their way into the NHS by presenting fake certificates or ID, because of a lack of security checks, or could hide the fact that they had been suspended from practising in their homeland.
Even genuine doctors from abroad may have little idea of how to carry out procedures that are standard in Britain, because there is no standard training, education or healthcare system.
The GMC’s strongly worded submission to the European Commission, which is reviewing the laws that allow free movement of medics across the continent, comes after the scandal of Daniel Ubani.

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Ability to speak, write English should be requirement in jury box
By Maria Anglin, Midland Reporter-Telegram

April 26, 2011—It's not unreasonable to require Texas jurors to read and write in English.
Even in those parts of Texas where everyone prefers to speak Spanish, in those pockets of the state where people roll their eyes when they ask you a question in Spanish and you answer in English, because you both understand that you both, well, understand.

It's really not that complicated. There has to be a standard when it comes to things as important as courtroom proceedings, and the English language is a good common denominator.

Last Wednesday, the Texas House voted to make reading and writing in English a required floatie for survival in the jury pool. House Bill 1633, authored by Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, zeroes in on the English requirement. In Tuesday's Express-News, Bonnen explained setting up a "specific 'English' standard will give judges more control instead of relying on lawyers from opposing sides to negotiate a prospective juror's literacy qualification."

Nobody is asking for an English degree. Or a catalog of poetry. Not even the ability to write an interesting version of those cutesy Christmas letters that tell everyone what you and the kids have been up to all year. All that's required is fundamental reading and writing, so that proceedings -- and public oversight -- can be fair.

Makes sense, right? But, as is the case in situations where non-English speakers are singled out, there is always the reaction to awkwardly overcorrect so nobody gets left out.

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Students split on extending language law to CEGEPs

MONTREAL, April 26, 2011—A federation representing more than 60,000 CEGEP students has decided not to support the proposed extension of the educational provisions of Quebec’s language law into the province’s colleges.

After lengthy debate during a convention in Lac St. Jean on Sunday, no consensus could be reached by the delegates representing the 23 student associations included in the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec.

Instead, said FECQ president Léo Bureau-Blouin, the federation would push for other means to promote the use of French, particularly in Montreal.

“We’ve been talking about this issue for about a year and a half,” Bureau-Blouin told The Gazette on Monday. “And we’ve been having public meetings for the past two months with our member CEGEPs.”

The proposed change in the law was approved at a Parti Québécois convention last week that saw PQ delegates vote to end freedom of choice for francophones and allophones who might want to attend English CEGEPs, professional training and adult education schools after attending French elementary and high schools.

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Adult literacy pursued on many fronts

April 5, 2011—Once a week, a dozen learners and their tutors get together to practice literacy skills in a program called COOL (Community One on One Learning) for Adults. COOL provides volunteer tutors for people who need help with basic literacy skills.

“Tutors report that it is very rewarding to make a difference in someone’s life,” said Bev Krieger, who co-ordinates the program and trains the tutors.

One student’s remark speaks to the success of the program: “It’s like being released from prison.”

Many learners have gained the skills they needed in the workplace or who have qualified for further training, Krieger said, adding that “all of our learners have improved their language skills.”

Another said, “I get a real kick out of learning a new word or the spelling of a familiar word,” and another described the classes as great fun. “I’m always learning something new,” he said.

“Before, I would pass over words I couldn’t read and now I try hard to figure them out or get help,” said another.

One student felt “really proud of myself as I was able to fill out an application for OAP without help,” and one learner was able to reach the point where he was able to complete the paper work he needed before he could move into his new apartment. He managed it without help from family or friends.

The comments of students demonstrate the success of COOL. One student talked of “no longer hiding the fact that I attend literacy classes.”

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Foreign tongues wrap around tests
By Dan Harrison, The Sydney Morning Herald

April 30, 2011—Children of migrants do better than classmates from English-language backgrounds on all areas of literacy and numeracy except reading, test results published yesterday show.

The results of last year's national literacy and numeracy tests show students from homes where a language other than English is spoken have higher average scores in writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation and numeracy than those from English language homes.

But students with English-language backgrounds do better in reading.

In NSW, students from non-English-language backgrounds have a larger average lead over their classmates than students in the rest of the country.

The gap in numeracy performance between students from English-language and other language backgrounds in NSW widens as children age. Students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit the tests.

The chairman of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, Barry McGaw, suggested Australia's selective immigration program, which filtered migrants by skills and qualifications, may be contributing to the result. But he said the overall result masked the fact that some language groups were disadvantaged.

The results are consistent with international test results published last December by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which show Australian students with immigrant backgrounds did better on average than those without an immigrant background. Australia was the only nation in which this was true.

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English language monopoly on shaky ground
By Bernard Lane, The Australian

April 6, 2011—The federal government shows no sign of bringing forward the long-expected breakup of the IELTS English test monopoly, after the worst case of onshore fraud at a test centre in Perth.

Eileen Tyson, whose US-based TOEFL test has been lobbying against the monopoly since 2005, said the falsification of results at the Curtin University centre "highlights the need for alternative testing methods."

Both TOEFL and the new Pearson test claim their systems are not open to the manipulation seen at Curtin.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Bowen could not say when a decision on the monopoly would be announced.

However, the timing of the decision is not dependent on the handing down of findings from Western Australia's Corruption and Crime Commission investigation into the Curtin fraud, the HES understands. CCC hearings ended on March 28.

In May last year the federal government declared its "in-principle support for the acceptance of more than one English language test under the migration regulations."

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70,000 to Learn English for the Olympics
By Anatoly Medetsky, MoscowTimes.com

April 28, 2011—The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee Wednesday hired EF English First to teach the language to an astounding 70,000 people as part of preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Under the contract, the international firm will educate athletes, Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee staff, service providers — including taxi drivers and hotel maids — judges and volunteers. Most of the training will be carried out online.

"With our help, the Olympians will master modern spoken English," English First vice president Bernard Shearer said at a news conference.

Headquartered in Switzerland, English First beat six other contenders for the contract, whose value wasn't disclosed, organizing committee president Dmitry Chernyshenko said. He didn't name the competitors.

One reason for the choice, Chernyshenko said, was the firm's experience in giving language training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

English First will provide training on a much larger scale at the games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi than in Beijing, where, according to Shearer, the company helped improve the English of 6,000 of the organizing staff.

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Russia makes breakthrough in the English-language world
                           
MOSCOW, April 12, 2011—“A stepping stone for modern Russian literature to the English language world”. This is the name used by Russian book publishers, writers and translators for the 40th London Book Fair on the 11th to the 13th of April, at which Russia is an honorary guest.

Russia considers its presence at the book fair in the capital of the UK as an opportunity to expand its participation in the international literary dialogue. The head of the Russian Presidential Administration Sergey Naryshkin spoke about this on the day when the Russian pavilion opened at the Earls Court exhibition centre in London:

“This is certainly a step towards integration with the global book publishing community. As we can see, the interest in the Russian exhibition is great. One of the best ways to find out how a country lives, what its people think and what they dream about is to read books by its contemporary authors.”

Modern Russian fiction can interest foreign readers only if it describes present-day life in Russia and does it without any bias. This is the opinion of Arkady Vitruk, the director of the Azbuka-Atikus publishing group:

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English-language press flexing its muscles in Eastern Europe
By Andrew E. Kramer, The New York Times
 
KIEV, Ap;ril 24, 2011—Brian Bonner, the editor of The Kyiv Post, a small English-language newspaper here in the Ukrainian capital, received the first phone call even before his journalists had returned from their interview with the minister of agriculture. Other calls followed, growing increasingly shrill.

And soon enough, Mr. Bonner, a former reporter at The St. Paul Pioneer Press who moved here a few years ago for the adventure of working at an English-language newspaper abroad, found himself on a bizarre trip through the journalistic norms of former Soviet states.

Minutes later, an aide to the newspaper’s publisher began calling the editor, expressing concern about the tone of the questions to the minister, Mykola Prysyazhnyuk.

Eventually, the publisher called demanding that the newspaper drop the project and not write about the interview, Mr. Bonner said.

The ministry of agriculture later said it had not contacted the publisher asking that the article be withheld.

Media rights groups say that all too often at newspapers in this region, a phone call is all it takes to kill an article, even if only to save face for a public official who misspoke.

But when that approach was applied to an English-language newspaper with Western ideals, the phone calls did not work as intended. Mr. Bonner refused to kill the article and was fired, and the newsroom went on strike to support him.

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Masidi backs move by Mission schools

KIULU, April 24, 2011—Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun welcomed the move by Mission schools in Sabah to ask the Government to allow Mathematics and Science subjects to be taught in the English language.

"I welcome the move by the Mission schools. It's worth serious consideration by the Ministry of Education. We are moving towards liberalisation of education in our efforts to attract more foreign students to study in Malaysia," he said at the closing ceremony of the national-level Gala Co-curriculum 2011 programme at Co-Curriculum Centre in Camp Malangang, Kiulu.

He said the move was consistent with the Government's policy to make Malaysia an education hub in South East Asia.

"I think this proposal is a right one. I do hope the Government will give it fair and serious consideration.

"In fact, I had advocated long ago that not only Mission schools, but it may be a time now for the Government to seriously consider turning some of the government secondary schools into English-medium schools.

"This is so that parents can have the opportunity and choice to send their children to an English-medium school.

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English teachers differ in competencies

PETALING JAYA, April 26, 2011==The competency level of English language teachers varies across a wide range in the teaching of various subjects, says Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam.

"There is a large number of English teachers proficient in the language while there are also individuals who only have basic knowledge of the language," he told The Malay Mail.

“It’s not their fault though. There are teachers in our education system who are not trained as English teachers while there are trained teachers who are not English language optioned and are teaching English. This happens because they have no other choice or the school has no options.

“On the other hand, some teachers possess diplomas, degrees and Masters qualifications. The point is, there is a whole range of different language proficiency levels so it’s not fair to make judgment on teachers’ competence.”

Ganakumaran was commenting on the Education Ministry’s target to train 10,000 English language teachers this year to raise their competency. Almost 12,000 English teachers attended the special training programme last year.

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Global language
By G.K. Cheryl Brenda, TheStar.com.my

April 24, 2011—As the global language for trade and commerce, proficiency in English is an essential requirement in the workforce today, and it is important for students to master the language to be competitive globally.

“Having mastery of the English language prepares students for the rapidly changing globalised world,” said EON Bank Bhd senior executive vice president and Group Business and Investment Banking head Peter Y C Chow.

Chow, who presented a sponsorship worth RM68,640 towards The Star’s Newspaper-in-Education (NiE) pullouts at SK Cheras Indah, Kuala Lumpur recently, said it was the group’s mission to develop youth to be better equipped for the future.

Chow, Yeoh and Mohd Thani together with SK Cheras Indah pupils and the EON Bank mascot after the ceremony.

“We hope to change the world through our youth,” he added.

The Star deputy group chief editor (I) David Yeoh received the mock cheque on behalf of the newspaper.

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University teachers students cry foul on thesis in English

LUCKNOW, April 25, 2011—The recent directives of the University Grants Commission (UGC) asking students pursuing research, except those in language subjects, to compulsorily submit a copy of their thesis in English, has led to resentment among the teachers as well as students in the Lucknow University and associated colleges.

Shunning the move, vice-president, Federation of UP University and Associated Colleges Teachers' Association (FUPUACTA), Pankaj Pathak said, "It is a wrong move taken by the UGC, which will generate disparity among the students, who are not competent in English."

President, Lucknow University Associated Colleges Teachers' Association Moulindu Mishra termed it as an insult to the national language. Citing examples of Germany, Russia, Korea and China, the countries known to produce world's best PhDs, Mishra said, "These countries are known because they produce thesis in their own languages. People in India understand Hindi better," said Mishra.

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Rural students affected by government failure to establish English Language Labs

HYDERABAD, April 18, 2011—The failure of collegiate education department to impart aural and oral skills in English language to students in government degree colleges has deprived thousands a chance to be globally acceptable.

Be it employment opportunities either at call centres or marketing firms, the chances of these students making it to the interview-level look grim because of the failure of the government to establish even one new English Language Lab (ELL) in the past two years.

The state government had launched the ambitious ELL programme in 2006 after several IT companies indicated that Andhra Pradesh, with its huge talent pool, would be their most preferred destination. Despite a budgetary allocation to start 75 ELLs in the state in 2009-10 and 50 ELLs in 2010-11, not a single lab could be established. Though there are 75 ELLs running in the state now, uncertainty dogs the fate of students in the remaining 125 odd government degree colleges across the state.

The government had announced that the ELL curriculum was designed to make the poor rural student globally acceptable. The software introduced in ELLs was designed to develop and strengthen communication skills (oral and aural) and analytical skills and also help students of first and second year degree to hone their communication, logical and aptitude capabilities…

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India BPO industry suffers 55% attrition

NEW DELHI, April 14, 2011 (AFP)—The attrition rate in India's business process outsourcing sector jumped to 55 percent from a year earlier, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the flagship industry, a study said on Thursday.

The study released by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) blamed the high turnover rate on bad working hours and a perceived lack of long-term career growth.

Between December 2010 and April 2011, the attrition rate in the BPO industry increased to 55 percent from 40 percent during the same period a year earlier, Assocham said.

"Although the BPO sector has been popular since the beginning, as it has opened up plenty of job opportunities, the high attrition rate is plaguing the sector now," Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said.

The sector is also facing serious challenges such as a shortage of skilled workers, the study said.

US and other foreign firms, drawn by India's English-speaking workforce and lower costs than in the West, have farmed out a wide range of jobs from answering bank client calls to processing insurance claims and equity analysis.

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How service providers in Israel handle English speakers
By Nofar Sinai Porat, YNetNews.com

April 16, 2011—Put 100 Israelis in a room and you'll see 100 different ways of contending with the English language: Those who speak well and those who don't speak at all, those who understand everything but are terrified to speak, those who have the courage but speak badly, and those who reply in Hebrew…

Still, we expect service providers in Israel to possess a minimal level of English-language skills. After all, not all residents in this country speak good Hebrew, not to mention the many tourists who arrive here.

For our report, Yedioth Ahronoth enlisted the help of instructors at the Wall Street Institute School of English. We asked them to present questions to service providers at various companies, government bodies and businesses. The replies were ranked from 1 to 10 based on the service provider's level of English.

While this is not a scientific poll, it does provide an impression about our level of spoken English…

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High schoolers turn away from learning second foreign language

SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap)—The number of South Korean high school students choosing to study a second foreign language fell sharply last year, after education authorities decided it was no longer required, government data showed Sunday.

According to data released by the state-run Korean Educational Development Institute, the number of high school students learning a second foreign language totaled 596,044 as of April 2010, marking a drop of 16.8 percent, or 120,939, from 716,983 in the previous year.

The number of second foreign language classes at high schools nationwide also fell 11.2 percent to 18,554, the data found.

The dive in popularity for a second foreign language has come after the government adjusted high school curricula in 2009 to put more emphasis on the study of English, Korean language and math. Learning a second foreign language was compulsory until 2009.

By language, the number of students who chose German as a second foreign language marked the steepest 26.9 percent fall from 29,881 to 21,841, according to the data.

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Set a clear goal when learning, teaching English
By Han Sang-hee, Korea Times

April 13, 2011—English is considered extremely important in Korea and thousands upon thousands of hours and won are spent learning it, but how about in other countries? How well are other non-English speaking countries learning English? Do they too invest as much time and effort as Koreans? What’s the secret?

The answers can be found in an interesting index conducted by English education institute Education First (EF). The English Proficiency Index (EPI) ranks countries depending on their English proficiency level, as well as considering cultural, social, financial and historical backgrounds regarding the results.

As for Korea, 13th place is not bad among 44 countries. Malaysia topped Asian countries in ninth. The second highest Asian nation was Hong Kong, while Japan was 14th. The country with the highest English proficiency was Norway.

So how does this translate?

``It means we’re not that bad,’’ Yerrie Kim, special project manager at EF, said in an interview in Samseong-dong.

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Schools in disaster-struck Japan zones want English teachers back

April 12, 2011—The earthquake in Japan on 11 March, which triggered a series of devastating events across the east of the country, has left tens of thousands dead or missing, huge swaths of the population anxious about nuclear energy and had an economic impact that remains opaque. For the English language teachers, that means an uncertain future, not that those remaining are thinking ahead too far.

The earthquake came at both the best and the worst time for the region's English language teachers. During an exam period and close to Japanese spring break, many teachers were not at work when the tsunami struck, and have had time to think about their ongoing residence in the country. By the end of March, only one ELT fatality from the disaster had been reported, that of 24-year-old Taylor Anderson, a teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme in the tsunami-struck town of Ishinomaki in Miyagi prefecture.

However, with many schools offering one-year contracts that end on 31 March, employers have struggled to keep teachers as much as teachers have struggled to keep their jobs. "Many foreigners in Japan are on yearly renewable contracts, most of which end in April," said Louis Carlet, vice-chairman of Zenkoku Ippan Tokyo General Union, which represents a large number of EL teachers throughout the country.

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It takes a village to raise an English speaker
By Shoko Okuda, Yomiuri Shimbun

OSAKA, April 7, 2011—Back in January, sixth-graders at one particular elementary school in Osaka-Sayama, Osaka Prefecture, had three teachers when they studied English.

In addition to their full-time teacher, they have a foreign assistant language teacher and Mika Miyazono, who was dispatched by a nonprofit organization assisting the city's primary schools with their English lessons.

The students' teacher, Akitoshi Ikeda, had his students repeat the target phrases in unison with the ALT:

"I get up at 6:30."

"I eat lunch at 12:30."

As they did this, Miyazono walked around the classroom, watching each of the students. She would approach any student who looked lost and say the phrases along with the child.

The Osaka-Sayama Shogakko Eigo Katsudo Shien no Kai (Osaka-Sayama elementary English booster club) was inaugurated last year at the behest of the city. It's mission is to find people in the community who can assist in English instruction in primary schools.

The group has 32 members, all of them living in the area…

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Indirectly Speaking: Cheat the cheaters with a test of real ability
By Mike Guest, The Daily Yomiuri

March 28, 2011—February's university entrance exam cheating scandal, which had seemingly the entire nation caught dazzled in its collective headlights discussing how to eliminate future subterfuge. Some called for stricter rules as to what is allowed into the testing venue, recommending that cell phones be handed over before entering the site. But this would not foil determined cheaters who could easily hide a cell phone and instead hand over a dud to proctors. And the more technologically proficient could well start using an assortment of hidden gadgets resembling something out of a spy film. Hey--they have the technology.

Others called for better-trained or more alert proctors. Having invigilated tests myself on numerous occasions, I must admit that I find it stunning that the perpetrator pulled off his cell phone stunt not just once, but at four different test venues. I had thought that proctoring naturally required a constant monitoring by walking about the room while being as surreptitious as possible so as not to disturb the examinees--in short, being vigilant! I had not imagined that a student holding an item under the table or regularly looking away from the test paper would go unnoticed, but I have heard since that in some settings proctors fall asleep or concentrate on other work. Still, the sneak in the Kyoto University must have been either exceedingly lucky to have had inattentive proctors four times or have magician-like stealth in his manner.

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Bangkok English school flirts with Chinese market
 
BANGKOK, April 14, 2011—A local English language institution is introducing long-distance online learning courses to China to tap into dramatically growing demand there for English teachers and courses in remote areas.

Fun Language International (Thailand) has been providing English teachers and curricula for children in both public and private schools in Greater Bangkok since 1997. Managing director Tongjai Tangsanga said it was cooperating with its partners in China - Leap School and an investor from Hong Kong - to develop interactive English classes via the internet.

It has set up a 10-million-baht studio in Shanghai where English-speaking teachers are filmed and broadcasts sent to schools in Shanghai's suburbs.

Mr. Tongjai said China's education market had improved markedly after the country held the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. Demand for English teachers and courses is rising significantly, and many international English teaching institutions are setting up shop in Beijing and Shanghai.

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Chinese language proficiency contest held in Stockholm

STOCKHOLM, April 11, 2011—The third Chinese Bridge Chinese language proficiency competition for Swedish middle school and university students has been held at Stockholm University.

Nine students from Stockholm, Lund and Linkoping Universities and 42 students from a dozen middle schools in Sweden participated in the competition jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Sweden and Nordic Confucius Institute in Stockholm.

Professor Thorbjorn Loden from Nordic Confucius Institute said that with the support of Confucius institute, more and more schools open Chinese courses and more and more people began to study Chinese in Sweden.

"I like you to follow the Chinese principle that friendship comes first, competition comes second and enjoy the process of taking part in the competition," he gave the students such good advice before the competition began.

Incomplete statistics show that all Swedish Universities and over 60 middle schools in the country have started the Chinese courses. The Swedish government has made Chinese a second foreign language equal to English, French and Spanish for students.

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Tamil, English courses improve forces’ language skills

April 4, 2011—English and Tamil language courses offered to the combined forces and police will help improve their inter-personnel relationship and language skills, said National Cadet Corps (NCC) Director, Major General Gamini Jayasundara.

He said so addressing a ceremony to distribute certificates to 102 police and combined forces personnel who successfully completed Tamil and English language courses, at the NCC headoffice, Pamankada.

Sri Lanka was freed of terrorism due to the commitment of the combined forces and police although there were issues among them during the conflict due to language barriers, Jayasundara said.

The NCC had organized these Tamil and English Language courses for the combined forces and police in collaboration with the Official Languages Department on Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s concept.

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Spreading the English word: BC reaches out to teachers

April 3, 2011—Whether singing a punk rock song or a musical classic like Edelweiss, the student from the schools in Gampaha are confident in their English language skills. Participating in a concert held in Gampaha the children showed members of the British Council and other guests to what degree they’ve improved in speaking English.

However, the concert was more of a review meeting that reflected the progress of the teachers who have received training by the British Council. The teachers have been selected for the University of Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test project, a training programme designed to improve teachers’ capability in teaching English.

The programme in Sri Lanka is conducted by the British Council and apart from helping the children improve in spoken English, the teachers are trained to help them improve in writing and understanding the language that dominates the commercial world.

As Country Director of the British Council in Sri Lanka, Tony Reilly says, “English is everyone’s language. It is the language of business, the language of the internet and the language people across the world protest in” emphasising the importance of being able to communicate in English.

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English words fail to take root in Polish vernacular
By Julian Borger, The Guardian

April 6, 2011—The constant shuttling of hundreds of thousands of mostly young Polish workers between Poland and Britain has had a big and visible impact on demographics, economics and culture. But the influence on language is curiously hard to pin down.

That is partly because Polish, like Poland itself, has been subjected to successive waves of invasions. Americanisms have been here since before the end of communism, arriving principally through television and films. So dzinsy (jeans), keczup (ketchup), koktajl (cocktail) and hamburger were already part of the vernacular long before the great Polish migration of the past decade.

The other wide-open portals through which English words have poured into the everyday language are through western management jargon, computers and the internet.

This linguistic invasion would have happened without a single Pole moving to Britain looking for work. It started with the mass arrival of US business consultants in Warsaw in 1990 – the archetypal biznesmen and bizneswomen seeking to set up “joint ventures.” It continues today with social media such as Facebook (fejsbuk). After meeting someone for the first time, you could wyguglowac (Google) them, and then perhaps rzucic posta na fejsa (add a post on Facebook).

Words picked up in the bars, restaurants and offices of Britain and then carried home to Poland are harder to find…

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