US-based BPO to open 1,000-seat center in Taguig City

MANILA, May 6, 2011 (GMANews)—A US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) firm will soon open a 1,000-seat facility in Taguig City to satisfy growing demand by clients who want to be serviced from the Philippines.

In a statement, CustomerContactChannels (C3) said it would occupy a facility at the Bonifacio e-Services Building in Taguig City to expand in the region.

“This expansion is particularly exciting for us as we move into Bonifacio Global City, a relatively new area of Manila that offers an excellent environment for our employees and management alike," said Rick Ferry, C3 president and chief operating officer.
C3 said it would start hiring agents this month for its energy and utilities, financial services, health care, hospitality and travel, media, and telecommunications accounts.

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Summit to be held on basic education concerns in Western Visayas

ILOILO CITY, May 7 (PNA) – The Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Social Development Committee (SDC) will hold an education summit sometime in August or September this year to look into the problems besetting the basic education sector.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional director Ro-Ann Bacal admitted that Western Visayas is “among the lower performing regions in terms of achievement rate.”

She disclosed that eight out of the identified 20 schools divisions nationwide that are not performing well are from Western Visayas; seven are from Negros Occidental and one from Roxas City.

“We cannot allow that to happen and there are a number of things that we really have to look into in the education sector,” she said.

Prior the summit there will be a pre-consultation workshop, according to Bacal, for the “substantial discussion of the issue” to be done in June.

The regional mean percentage score of the overall performance of Western Visayas in the elementary was pegged at 62 percent and 46 percent for the secondary out of 100 points in the 2008-2009 results.

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Cebu stakeholders say quality education, not two more years in high school

By Candeze R. Mongaya and Carmel Loise Matus, Cebu Daily News

CEBU CITY, April 29, 2011—“The government should focus on the problem of textbooks and improve the quality of education instead of adding more years to the academic curriculum of students.”

These were among the sentiments of most education stakeholders, including two Cebu congressmen, who attended yesterday's congressional public hearing on the proposed K+12 bill to add a year for kindergarten and two more years for high school.

The Cebu leg was the third of the 20 public hearings around the country for the proposed bill.
Around 100 people—mostly teachers, who were representatives of their divisions, student councils’ representatives and parents aside from the Cebu congressmen—attended the public hearing at the Cebu Provincial Board's Session Hall at the Capitol.

Rep. Salvador Escudero (Sorsogon 1st district), chairman on the Committee of Education, led the committee in hearing the public’s sentiments on the proposed bill.

Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia (Cebu 2nd district) said he opposed the proposed bill because it needed to undergo thorough study to determine if adding two more years would be effective in strengthening the academic performance of the high school graduates.

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DepEd-7 defends K+12 program
Cebu Daily News

CEBU CITY, April 30, 2011—Criticism and sentiments aired by Cebuano legislators and stakeholders on the proposed K+12 program by the national government are legitimate and will be taken into consideration, a top education official said yesterday.

But Regional Director Recaredo Borgonia of the Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) said the opinions expressed by education stakeholders yesterday are for “Cebu only.”
He said their sentiments don't represent Central Visayas and other parts of the country.
“They have a point and it will be considered in the refinement of the strategies during the implementation,” Borgonia told Cebu Daily News.
The program that adds an two years in high school and one year in kindergarten before elementary school was met with sharp opposition in a public forum held at the Cebu Provincial Hall last Thursday.

The Cebu leg was the third of 20 public hearings for the proposed bill around the country.
Around 100 people, mostly teachers of various divisions, student council representatives and parents, joined Cebu legislators in ventilating their opposition.

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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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“Mission possible” to teach the police English

NEW DELHI, May 1, 2011—Till a few weeks back they could not correctly pronounce everyday English words. But after a mere five days of training in the language at Delhi's Police Training College (PTC), the trainers were correcting their seniors while speaking in English.

Many of the trainers at the PTC, some of them nearing retirement, could not speak the language continuously for even two minutes, but were training thousands of policemen over the years. But the scene changed ever since the man from Hyderabad started his mission.

A group of 40 trainers—out of the total strength of 500 at the PTC—were coached by Munawar Zama from Hyderabad, who took upon the job on the advice of India Islamic Culture Centre (IICC) president Sirajuddin Qureshi.

Qureshi had felt that Delhi, being a global city, must have its police force well articulated in English and he suggested the task to Zama.

The first phase of the training concluded last week and the second would commence soon. Divided into two phases—English pronunciation and communication skills including grammar—the classes were held between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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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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NHK has grand design for English education
By Yuki Senda, Yomiuri Shimbun

May 5, 2011—NHK has just launched a "grand design project" for its English-learning programs, with the ultimate goal of offering learners of all ages a consistent approach to studying the language.

The impetus for the project was the launch of compulsory English at primary schools this month, while an increasing number of Japanese companies have been making English their official language.

With the new project, NHK is hoping to help learners develop skills to express themselves effectively in English, rather than merely grappling with grammar issues.

Pre-kiso Eigo (6:50 p.m. Saturdays, NHK-E) is the first of the project's new shows. The program targets primary school students, with the name indicating that it is a primer for NHK's Kiso Eigo (basic English) radio programs, which are mainly for middle school students.

Pre-kiso Eigo offers children a visual world tour with scenes of many other countries, providing glimpses into other cultures.

"The program is like a quiz show with questions coming from overseas," says Mizuto Tanaka, deputy chief of the language-learning department at NHK Educational, an affiliate specialized in producing educational programs for the public broadcaster.

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Ministry to enlist help of foreign firms to teach English

JEDDAH, May 5, 2011 (Arab News)—The Education Ministry will enlist the help of international companies to teach English at government schools after the Cabinet decided on Monday to start English language studies at Grade IV, said Naif Al-Roumi, deputy minister for planning and development.

“We have so far received three applications from specialized international companies to support the ministry in implementing its English language program for government schools,” he said.

On Monday, the Council of Ministers approved starting English language education at government primary schools from Grade IV from the next academic year (2011-12).

“It will be a basic subject and follow the same criteria as other subjects,” a Cabinet statement said, urging school authorities to appoint qualified staff to teach the language.

Al-Roumi said the teaching of English at an early stage would have a great impact on students in learning the various sciences and developing their innovation skills. “It will also help transfer our knowledge to other communities and speed up propagation of Islam,” he said.

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English language studies to begin from Grade IV

RIYADH, May 3, 12011—English language education at government primary schools will start from Grade IV from the next academic year (2011-12) after the Council of Ministers chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah approved the plan on Monday.

“It will be a basic subject and follow the same criteria as other subjects,” a Cabinet statement said, urging school authorities to appoint qualified staff to teach the language.

“A special panel including representatives from the Ministry of Education and English language experts will make sure the language is taught by qualified teachers,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said, explaining the Cabinet decision.

The Cabinet urged the Education Ministry to make proposals to teach English language in classes lower than Grade IV if it was prepared.

Earlier, King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the content of a message he sent to Muhammad Tantawi, chairman of the Supreme Military Council in Egypt, while highlighting the deep-rooted relations between the two countries.

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10,000 to be trained to increase number of English language teachers

KUALA LUMPUR, April 26, 2011—The Education Ministry will train 10,000 English language teachers this year.

The ministry also plans to hire 600 retired English language teachers between this year and 2013 to serve nationwide on contract.

“So far, 168 retired teachers have accepted the offer,” Education Minis­ter Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He was replying to Senator Ng Fook Heng, who wanted to know the steps taken to improve the teaching and learning of English in schools in preparation for the abolition of teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

The teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) policy is to be replaced by the Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English policy next year when the subjects will be taught in both languages.

A total of 12,000 English language teachers were trained last year.

Muhyiddin reiterated that the bilingual “soft landing” approach would provide a smooth transition for the affected students. “The teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics can be carried out bilingually according to the capabilities of the teachers or students.

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English is no hurdle
By Aminuddin Mohsin, TheStar.com.my

May 1, 2011—The English language should not be seen as a barrier for Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) students pursuing their higher education at western institutions, say educationists.

The students complete six years of education in Chinese independent high schools before sitting for the UEC which is equivalent to the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), but many of them shy away from pursuing courses in western colleges and universities because they fear that the lack of proficiency in the language could hinder their academic progress.

Dr. Hou says UEC students might get a chance to enter public institutions of higher learning.
This should not be the case as there are many courses available for students to enhance their understanding of the language and there is no reason for them to shy away from tertiary-level courses at such institutions, said Tim Crick, who is Sheffield University international liaison director.

He added that at Sheffield, there were many language courses and programmes for students to help them understand basic English and improve on it.

“Two of our lecturers at the varsity were UEC students and they have performed their tasks well and speak impeccable English.

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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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Every high school student should learn a second language, says MLA president
By Cynthia Haven, Stanford University News

May 6, 2011—All high school students should be fluent in a language other than English, and it's a matter of national urgency. So says Russell Berman—and as president of the Modern Language Association (MLA), his opinion carries some clout.

"To worry about globalization without supporting a big increase in language learning is laughable," the Stanford humanities professor wrote in this summer's MLA newsletter, in an article outlining the agenda for his presidency.

In conversation, he is just as emphatic, calling for "a national commitment to ramping up the quality of education."

"Budget attacks on language programs from the Republicans and Democrats are just the contemporary form of a xenophobia that suggests we don't need languages – and it's deeply, deeply misguided."

Berman noted that "barely a dozen states require any foreign language study to graduate from high school."

"You can't expect that we can eliminate language, eliminate the arts, dumb down history and English and have intelligent achievers come out of secondary schools," he said.

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The challenges of a multicultural village
By Sarah Baraba, STLToday.com

April 25, 2011—Fairmont City has long been a settling ground for immigrants seeking to carve out a new life in the United States. The small St. Clair County village (population 2,381) has a rich history in Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian and German cultures.

"It was a magical place to grow up," said Raymond Muniz, a Fairmont native and now mayor of St. Jacob, in Madison County. "Every morning, I would wake up to the sounds of mariachi and mandolin music."

Today, Fairmont City is still a cultural hub, but now the largest population group is Latino. More than 85 percent of residents are Hispanic, up from 55 percent in 2000, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau numbers. A third of the village's population was born outside the U.S.

The makeup has brought issues — some real, some perceived — that are common to communities with large immigrant populations, from worries over language barriers to concerns about gangs. For residents, it's a familiar situation in their multicultural village.

"It's nothing we haven't overcome before," said resident Marie Barron Johnson, who strongly believes that English learning and cross-cultural education are key to the village's future.

"What we have now," she said, "is what it was when we were all immigrants."

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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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Head teachers to get more powers to sack underperforming teachers
By Graeme Paton, Telegraph.co.uk

Head teachers will get more freedom to sack underperforming staff as part of a Government plan to improve classroom standards.

The Coalition is to outline new measures later this month designed to slash the amount of time it takes schools to remove weak teachers – from more than a year to just a few months.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, said the move would give heads the ability to “manage out of the profession those people who should not be teaching”.

It represents the latest in a string of reforms designed to boost teaching standards.

This includes raising the bar on qualifications needed to train as a teacher and a review of the professional standards against which staff are judged.

Speaking at the National Association of Head Teachers’ annual conference in Brighton on Sunday, Mr Gove told school leaders: “There are some underperforming teachers and it’s your responsibility to pick up the pieces.”

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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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Can you still speak standard English?
By Rotimi Ige, Tribune.com.ng

April 26, 2011—The introduction of “faceless” technology has been described by many as responsible for the dearth of English language among youths in Nigeria.

The knowledge of English, the nation’s official language, is a fast fading culture among the younger generation, and the introduction of new technology has been fingered as one of the key contributors to the problem. Rotimi Ige, in this report, examines the reasons for this problem and the possible solutions.

Sandra (not real name) was the cynosure of all eyes as she led the choir in one of the new generation Pentecostal churches. She sang choruses and danced vigorously. At the end of the worship period, she led the church through a short prayer session in Igbo. She spoke with authority and raised some prayer points. Rumours had it that eligible bachelors in the church had asked for Sandra's hand in marriage but one thing had constantly barred her from settling down; the failure to speak and write correct English.

Her problem is one which is fast becoming the predicament of many Nigerians all over the country.

Since the adoption of English language as the nation’s official language, the government has invested a lot to ensure that it is taught at all levels of education. In most schools, English, over the years, has been used for teaching and disseminating information. It is also used during tests and examinations.

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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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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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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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