Report says Philippines needs better teachers, bigger education budget
By Alexander Villafania, Yahoo Philippines  News

QUEZON CITY, June 13, 2011 (loQal.ph)—For education in the Philippines to be achieved, the education system must focus on developing the skills of teachers, a report by the Senate Economic Planning Office (SEPO) said.

In addition, the SEPO also recommends that the government should secure resources to ensure implementation of the K+12 program that the Department of Education (DepEd) is implementing.

The SEPO report “K to 12: The Key To Quality Education” was prepared by SEPO Staff Rocky Howard Yap and looks at the viability of extending the country's basic education from 10 years to 12 years (additional two years in high school), as well as adding kindergarten as a requirement prior to entry to Grade 1.

The report recognized that nearly all countries have adopted the 12-year basic education program, except for the Philippines. Only the African countries of Djibouti and Angola have retained their 10 years of basic education.

The premise for adopting to the extended number of years in basic education is due in fact to the need decongest the current curriculum that squeezes education within 10 years whereas other countries have stretched their curriculum with the additional two years.

Likewise, the additional two years should provide better skill sets for elementary and high school students who need to be prepared for their entry to higher education…

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Philippine schools lack more than 143,000 classrooms this year

MANILA, June 8, 2011—The Philippine public school system lacks 143,281 classrooms this year, Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

Angara, who chairs the House committee on technical and higher education, said the government plans to ease the severe classroom shortage by leasing 16,051 classrooms from private schools through tuition vouchers and by building 14,243 rooms.

However, the money for the construction of new classrooms was affected by the decision of the administration’s economic managers to tighten infrastructure spending in the first four months of the year, he said.

“Government disbursed only P34.8 billion for infrastructure, an amount that is 53 percent – or almost P40 billion – lower than what was spent during the same period last year and an anemic 14 percent of the current full-year program,” he said.

He added that the early passage of the 2011 budget in December 2010 should have given the government a head start in construction, which would have also allowed it to take advantage of the good construction weather in the first half of the year.

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500 Chinese students to start English classes in Davao school

DAVAO CITY, June 15, 2011 (PNA)—An initial 500 Chinese students are coming to Davao City in August, this year for an English study and tour program here.

I-Study Brainmaster, an institution that caters to foreign students, is partnering with the JIB e-Academy and Solutions based in this city, in providing ESL (English as a Second Language) lessons to beginners and those in advanced levels.

Joji Ilagan-Bian, owner of JIB e-Academy Solutions, noted the increasing number of Chinese adults and students who want to learn the English language.

Bian said in offering the ESL Program, JIB e-Academy and Solutions will expand its services to Chinese students wishing to undertake intensive study of the English language including listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The program will run for 12 months and will also have lessons in personality development, culture, and values formation.

She said the 12-month study program aims to teach students to communicate in a social setting, use English for the students’ academic preparations, use English socially and culturally, and pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam.

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House approves bill on ladderized education

MANILA, June 2, 2011—The House of Representatives recently approved on third and final reading a bill instituting a ladderized education for students taking up technical vocational education and training (TVET) and higher education (HE).

House Bill 4255, to be known as the “Ladderized Education Act of 2011,” will enable technical-vocational (tech-voc) students to earn a college degree by giving corresponding higher education credits to subjects or training programs acquired in tech-voc institutions and vice versa.

Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the House committee on higher and technical education, said the proposed integration and interface of tech-voc education and higher education will enable vocational school graduates to pursue higher education without repeating subjects that were taken under TVET.

“This proposed act will definitely widen opportunities for professional growth for our vocational students where, for example, an automotive graduate can pursue related degree courses such as mechanical engineering,” Angara said.

Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II, one of the proponents of the bill, said the proposed act can be the solution to structural unemployment where there is a mismatch in the quality of skilled graduates produced by educational institutions, compared to the needs of the current market and industries.

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Philippines pilots mother tongue-based education in Bicol schools

LEGAZPI CITY, June 1 (PNA)—Bicol has been chosen as among the pilot testing areas for the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) program. The start of its implementation in the region is all set with the opening of classes in June, a regional official of the agency on Tuesday said.

“We have identified 22 public schools in the seven cities and 12 municipalities of the region for the initial phase of the MTB-LME and have also completed the 10-day in-house training given to school heads and 46 selected teachers who will handle the Grade I classes placed under the program this school year,” said Regida Vibar, the DepEd’s assistant regional chief of the elementary education division.

In Albay, Vibar said these schools are the Banquerohan Elementary School and Albay Central School in this city; Tabaco South Central School in Tabaco City; Ligao East Central School in Ligao City; Bacacay Central School in Bacacay town; and Guinobatan East Central School in the municipality of Guinobatan.

In Camarines Sur, she said these are the Triangulo Elementary School and Naga Central School, both in Naga City; San Isidro Elementary School and Iriga Central School in Iriga City; Lagonoy Central School and Nabua East Pilot School in Lagonoy and Nabua towns, respectively.

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Foreigners find Philippine education cheap

MANILA, June 2, 2011 AFP)—Irony of ironies.

While millions of Filipinos are too poor to even finish basic education, tens of thousands of foreigners are flocking to the Philippines to study, saying the costs of education in the country are relatively cheap—and life can be fun and easy.

“It was cost effective for me,” said medical student Dike Edward Ikechukwu, a Nigerian, who is the president of the 605-member foreign students’ organization at the 400-year-old University of Santo Tomas (UST).

“I would have spent so much more in the United States for the same quality of education,” Ikechukwu said.

A four-year degree course in the Philippines costs between $1,000 and $2,500 a year, significantly cheaper than in the United States, for example, where one could spend more than $30,000 annually, educators say.

Ikechukwu, 22, said he learned about studying in the Philippines at an education road show conducted by Manila schools in his country.

Then already studying pharmacology in Lagos, Ikechukwu said he was intrigued by the prospect of studying in a foreign country where he could expand his medical knowledge without depleting the family resources.

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Philippine government offers scholarships for “undersubscribed” courses

MANILA, June 1, 2011 (PNA)—The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has announced that the government is providing education grants in a bid to lure students to take up “unorthodox and undersubscribed” courses sought after by present and future industries.

“We offer scholarships for aeronautics, geology, software engineering, mining, among others. These are the identified as priority courses,” CHED chairperson Dr. Patricia Licuanan said.

She also said these are also courses that await a job that pays good.

Licuanan said emerging industries such as aviation and tourism, mining, and information technology have informed CHED to improve curriculum and spur enrollees “because these are where jobs are.”

“Only few students dabble in these courses because they are perceived as expensive, and that industry standards are too high,” she explained.

According to CHED website, applicants must be high school graduate with at least 80 percent general weighted average (GWA). Priority is given to those whose parents have combined annual income of only P300,000.

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Philippine schools rank low in international quality audit

MANILA, May 26, 2011—Youth party-list group Kabataan said that the government’s neglect of its duty to maintain the quality of higher education in the country was largely to blame for the Philippine higher education institutions’ poor performance in a education quality audit conducted by an international education network.

Based on the QS World University Rankings, the University of the Philippines is No. 1 in the country and No. 62 in Asia; the Ateneo de Manila University is No. 68; University of Santo Tomas, No. 104; De La Salle University, No.107.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino said that the government, particularly the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), has continued to show a lack of urgency and aggressiveness to push Philippine colleges and universities, especially their owners and administrators, to do something about the sad state of the quality of education they give their students.

“It is worth noting that majority of the top Asian schools, including the leading Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are State universities substantially funded and supported by their respective governments. This appreciation for tertiary education starkly contrasts with the education policies of the Aquino administration. In our country, state universities and colleges (SUCs) are neglected to utter destitution,” Palatino said.

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Philippine senator calls for immediate reform in education sector

MANILA, May 26, 2011 (PNA)—Senator Edgardo Angara called on Wednesday for immediate reevaluation of the country’s educational system, stressing that the government needs to enact dramatic reforms to rescue the struggling sector.

“We need to overhaul our education sector, to turn it on its head and examine it component by component, element by element,” said Angara at the National Education Forum hosted by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Angara, a former education secretary, said the country’s education system has been lagging behind its ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors especially in terms of government spending and investment.

“Looking at recent international studies —we are obviously among the weakest in terms of competitiveness in the region. We used to be the teacher of many Asian countries. Now, we have to go to them with a begging bowl," he lamented.

He stressed that human development is at the heart of a country's competitiveness.

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Learning to speak English the Cantonese way
By Hong Liang , China Daily (HK Edition)

HONG KONG, June 10, 2011—Many Hong Kong parents, myself included, believe that it is best for their children to learn English from native-English speaking teachers. They send their children to expensive private schools with a high proportion of expatriate teachers from Britain, Australia and Canada. Some parents go a step further by insisting on nothing less than schools with curriculums for expatriate children.

Now, we are told that we may all be wrong. Learning to speak English from native English speaking teachers can inhibit, rather than facilitate, the use of the language, according to Andy Kirkpatrick, chair professor of English as a professional language at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Kirkpatrick's argument in favor of teaching English to Hong Kong students by multilingual teachers is likely to stir a storm of controversy among educators, and prompt many parents to rethink if it is worth the trouble and expense to send their children to these special schools. Speaking of his hypothesis, Kirkpatrick was quoted to have said: "It's a revolutionary shift that we're arguing for, and it's that the multilingual way becomes the linguistic model for teaching kids English, not that of a native English speaker."

The professor contends that most English speakers in Hong Kong are multilingual and therefore "the benchmark for children should come from successful multilinguals."

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Top universities use reputations to run pricey English camps

June 13, 2011—"It`s so expensive even if the university`s name value is considered," a mother of two daughters said who planned to send them, one in middle school and the other in elementary school, to an English-language summer camp run by a Korean university.

She gave up, however, due to expensive tuition of a combined 6 million won (5,540 U.S. dollars) for a three-month program.

"Certain English camps in the Philippines with the same schedule cost less than 3 million won (2,770 dollars)," she said, adding, "It`s unpleasant to see domestic universities apparently encourage expensive private education."

In the run-up to summer vacation, major universities in Seoul are recruiting elementary, middle and high school students for English camps. Such programs are so popular among parents that the universities hold briefing sessions on them. Certain parents even have a far-fetched expectation that such programs will help their children enter a given university.

The problem is the cost of a camp can exceed 1 million won (923 dollars) per month. Tuition is 3.1 million won (2,862 dollars) at the 19-day Sogang English Workshop run by Sogang University¡¯s English education center SLP. Native English speakers and Korean teachers will give lectures in the program that begins July 25.

I-Oedae, an English education company under Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, will open the 2011 I-Oedae Summer English Camp for students in fifth and sixth grade and seventh and eighth grade from July 22 through Aug. 10. The program costs 2.94 million won (2,714 dollars) per student.

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Foreign entrepreneurs learn to thrive in Korea
By Niels Footman, Yonhap Features

SEOUL, June 15, 2011—Robert Taylor, an American entrepreneur living in Seoul, clearly remembers one of his earliest attempts to pitch his life coaching services to a marketing director at a big Korean firm.

"For 45 minutes, we sat there while he told me why my business wouldn't work," said Taylor. "He assured me that cold calling simply couldn't succeed in Korea, because everything is based on relationships."

Fortunately for Taylor, he decided not to heed the marketing man's words. Today, he says, his firm, One Amazing Life, has a growing clientele of both foreign and Korean business people for his classes on life coaching and presentation skills.

"I sold my car, my 401(k), and my wife and I had to move to a smaller place," said Taylor of the trials he faced in establishing his business. "So in January I decided to adopt this more aggressive pitch. It was a crazy idea, but it kind of worked."

Though Taylor's approach and business model may be unorthodox, his attitude toward naysayers is a common one among Korea's growing coterie of foreign entrepreneurs.

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Taxi drivers hit language barrier

ADELAIDE, June 13, 2011—Fewer than half the people who try to become Adelaide taxi drivers pass a basic English language test.

And although they must hold an Australian driver's licence for at least six months before they apply, one in four fail a road theory test and one in three fail a driving practical test.

The previously secret State Government figures are in documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents show that after studying and passing a test which examines their knowledge of Adelaide, only 49 per cent of candidates then pass the English tests.

The applicants - who on average have been in Australia for nine months - are allowed to sit the exam three times, with 86 per cent eventually passing after some coaching.

Taxi Council SA executive director Wally Sievers said the figures were proof that strict new measures to weed out bad applicants were working, but Family First MLC Robert Brokenshire said the industry was still rife with "horror stories".

"A lot of taxi drivers still say to me that even though there have been improvements, there are still problems in the industry," Mr. Brokenshire said.

"This industry is the gateway to the state... so it is incredibly important that they speak English, know where to go and how to get there safely."

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New English language test options for Australian student visas

June 7, 2011—The Australian government has announced three new English language test options for student visa applicants which will help alleviate the current shortage of available testing places.

Applicants from all countries will be able to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to confirm their English language ability for Australian student visa applications. Moreover, the Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) and the Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) from Cambridge ESOL will be added to the list of existing English language tests used to assess English language ability for student visa applicants.

"We have given careful consideration when selecting these three English language test providers to ensure that high standards of integrity are maintained and that test score results are appropriately safeguarded," said Australian immigration minister Chris Bowen.

"The integrity of English language testing is important because the language test results are a key component in visa application requirements," he added.

Bowen said the new language test options would create more competition in the English language testing market while at the same time creating more available testing slots for people applying for immigration to Australia as students.

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Few high schoolers fail English, but hit snag on Bahasa
By Nurfika Osman, The Jakarta Globe

JAKARTA, June 11, 2011—Far more high school students failed the Indonesian language test than the English test during last month’s national exams, the National Education Ministry revealed on Thursday.

According to ministry data, 1,786 of the 4,648 students who failed the exams did so after coming up short on the Indonesian language test, compared to just 152 who failed the English exam.

Fasli Djalal, the deputy education minister, said the results highlighted a “sad” downward trend in the average score for the Indonesian language exam over the past several years.

“This is due to the decrease in interest among students to read Indonesian,” he said.

He added students tended to dismiss the importance of studying the Indonesian language because they used it in their daily conversations.

“They think that it’s something they don’t need to study to be good at,” Fasli said.

“But language is like sports — the more you practice, the better you get. For Indonesian language, the more you read, the better you understand how to get the main idea of the texts, and the more creative you become in re-writing those ideas.”

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Neoga native’s love of language leads him to teach
By Dawn Schabbing, Mattoon Journal-Gazette

NEOGA, Illinois, June 10, 2011—Andrew Eichel said becoming a teacher was in Plan B.

And as a teenager growing up in Neoga, he had no desire to live outside the United States or even travel outside the borders.

"I was quite mundane in this manner, very mid-western," he said.

But after an experience in a study abroad program and a little bit of fate, his plan changed when he was smitten by a Turkish girl, a fellow student at Eastern Illinois University.

Intending to follow her home, he needed a career to enable him to live in Turkey. The best fit was English as a Second Language.

"I wanted to be with her, and teaching ESL was the easiest way to make that a reality," Eichel, 27, said. "I quickly fell in love with teaching, though, and that's what made me decide to go to graduate school."

As a junior at EIU, groundwork for his career path came when he participated in an exchange student program in Holland for a semester.

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Legal threats force town to rescind English-only ordinance, sponsor says
By Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News Latino

June 1, 2011 (AP)—The sponsor of an English-only ordinance in a small New York town is bracing for the measure to be overturned by his fellow council members Wednesday.

Councilman Roger Meyer said the threat of legal action by the state Attorney General, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, leaves Jackson Township little choice but to back off its determination to have the English-only law.

“I’m sure it will be voted down at the next meeting,” Meyer said, “because of the threats of the ACLU and the Attorney General.”

“We can’t afford a lawsuit, we’re just a very tiny town.”

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently ordered the town officials to overturn the ordinance, which bans public employes from speaking a language other than English in the course of their work and calls for all documents to be only in English.

Schneiderman said the ordinance is unconstitutional. He called the measure “illegal” and “discriminatory.”

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Thousands of children unable to make progress in three-Rs
By Graeme Paton, Telegraph.co.uk

June 9, 2011—Hundreds of thousands of pupils are gaining worse results in English and maths exams at 16 than in comparable tests taken at the age of 11, it was revealed.

Official data shows boys are lagging behind in both key subjects and the gap has widened since 2009.

In some parts of England, more than half of pupils are failing to make the progress expected of them in the basics at secondary school.

It is feared that many schools disproportionately focus on “borderline” pupils – those on the cusp of gaining a decent C grade at GCSE – at the expense of the very brightest or the worst performers.

Ministers insisted the pace of improvement in state schools was too slow, even though results were up on a year earlier.

Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, said: “It’s not good enough that tens of thousands of children in English and maths are still falling short of expected progress. Children only get one chance at education and we know that the further behind pupils are at 11, the less likely they are to catch up…”

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Colleges in England’s south coast find new ways to teach English

June 9, 2011—Times are tough for the hundreds of English-language colleges that cluster along the south coast of England and stud the country’s university towns. Reforms to the student-visa system that are intended to help cut immigration are strangling the inflow of foreigners enrolling at them. But language entrepreneurs are finding alternative ways to meet the rising demand for tuition.

Students who visit English City (pictured), a language-teaching program, can chat to passers-by as they wander through the streets, meet their tutors’ avatars in virtual cafés and order snacks from Pebbles, an aspiring actress played by a teacher.

Shiv Rajendran, who founded LanguageLab, a London-based start-up that devised English City, says business is booming, albeit from a small base. He plans a tenfold increase in his 1,000-strong enrolment within a year. Englishtown, an older and bigger website owned by EF, a Swiss company, grew by 45% last year to 500,000 paying students. Bill Fisher, the site’s boss, says it aims to expand tenfold within five years. China is the biggest source of students for both.

Online language instructors are benefiting from recent changes to the immigration regime. Schools that recruit students from outside the European Union must now demonstrate their trustworthiness to the borders agency…

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New English requirements for student visas to UK set

June 9, 2011—Following the recent announcement of changes to the English language requirements for overseas students wishing to study in the UK, a document clarifying the rules has been published.

The document from the UK Border Agency sets out the details of the changes under Tier 4 of the points based system with requirements for students and sponsors.

It points out that students who wish to study at NQF/QCF level 6 (SCQF 9) and above normally need to produce a Secure English Language Test (SELT) certificate, from a UK Border Agency approved provider, showing that they have achieved level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR) in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Students who wish to study between NQF/QCF levels 3 and 5 (SCQF 6-8) normally need to produce a SELT certificate, from a UK Border Agency approved provider, showing that they have achieved level B1 on the CEFR in each of the four components.

However, different rules apply to those students who wish to study at a higher education institution (HEI). At NQF/QCF 6 (SCQF 9) and above there is no requirement to produce a SELT certificate, the HEI can vouch on the conformation of acceptance for studies (CAS) that the student has attained B2 level on the CEFR in all four components.

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English lessons to be started in 70 rural schools

PUNE, June 14, 2011(TNN)—The education department of the Pune Zilla Parishad is all set to provide English language lessons in 70 of its schools—anganwadi and pre-primary categories—from the new academic year. The move, first in the history of the ZP, is aimed at providing lessons in Engish language to students in rural areas.

ZP vice-president and chairman of education board Arun Gire said, "This initiative aims to give the children in rural regions an opportunity to learn English. We expect each ZP member to take the initiative to commence English lessons in, at least, one school under his/her constituency."

Gire said the project is in the final stages of implementation. The teachers are undergoing a special training for the project. Students will learn basics, such as alphabets, and even behavioral skills. "In the initial stages, we will observe the students and their grasping ability," said Gire.

Children from lower income families often find it difficult to enroll themselves in English medium schools. This project will ensure that such students do not miss out on English lessons, said Gire.

The ZP has also initiated steps to upgrade toilet facilities, with separate blocks for girls and boys, in 500 schools in the district.

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Violent protests over English language

June 6, 2011—Road traffic has been paralysed in Goa since morning, as protesters have descended on roads to enforce the “Goa bandh” over state government's decision to grant recognition to English as a Medium of Instruction (MOI) in the primary schools. Goa government recently decided to recognise English as an MOI, alongwith Marathi and Konkani, and to give grants to English-medium schools.

But the decision has led to howls of protest, with the fear that it would undercut the vernacular-medium schools.

Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) has given a call for strike on Monday, which is supported by BJP, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), and Shiv Sena.

It is also backed by 67 institutions across the state.

Since morning, no buses could ply on the inter-city routes. A few buses were seen on city roads here, with a few passengers.

Most schools remained closed, though on Monday was the first day of the current academic year.

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English law in Russian business

June 15, 2011 (Moscow Times)—Numerous contracts and agreements in the Russian corporate world include English law provisions. An example of this is the shareholder agreement between BP and the Alfa-Access-Renova consortium, or AAR, covering their Russian oil producing joint venture, TNK-BP. The provisions of this shareholder agreement were central to a dispute between AAR and BP over BP's plans to establish an Arctic oil exploration and development joint venture with Rosneft and to conduct a $16 billion share swap.

The announcement of the joint venture and share swap plans between BP and Rosneft in early January with high-level government encouragement saw AAR seek redress, claiming that its rights under the TNK-BP shareholder agreement were being violated. AAR was granted an interim injunction in English courts, pending the outcome of a London-based Stockholm arbitration process, preventing BP and Rosneft from proceeding. The arbitration panel subsequently determined that the injunction should remain in place indefinitely, with the provisions of the shareholder agreement between BP and AAR over the operation of TNK-BP effectively preventing a tie-up between BP and Rosneft.

Subsequent discussions between BP, AAR and Rosneft, which continued to an extended deadline in May, failed to produce agreement on enabling the BP-Rosneft joint venture and share swap to proceed within the framework of the TNK-BP shareholder agreement, or over reported moves by BP and Rosneft to buy out the 50 percent AAR stake in TNK-BP to circumvent the TNK–BP shareholder agreement…

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Students lack confidence to use English
By Trung Hieu, Vietnam News

June 13, 2011—Many Vietnamese students face the common problem that although they spent six or seven years studying English at school, they can't pronounce an English sentence correctly, and they are not confident enough to communicate in the language.

Nguyen Duy, a former student at Nguyen Trai High School in Ha Noi, says he struggles to speak in English, even though he studied the language from sixth to 12th grade.

"I also studied English at a language centre, but I still found it hard to complete the intermediate course. Now I'm a university student, but the language is like my nemesis," he says.

Duy is not alone. Many young students only learn enough English to pass examinations, when in reality, they need to be able to communicate.

Wealthy families can afford to send their children to expensive centres with foreign teachers, but most students are still afraid to learn English.

Some students understand English grammar very well, and even score high marks in examinations, but their communication skills are very poor and they are often too shy to even attempt to strike up a conversation.

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Reshaping the British Council’s English language services
            
KATHMANDU, June 11, 2011—The British Council is reshaping its English Language Services in Nepal to ensure that a wider range of young people and teachers benefit from high-quality English products.

With hopes of providing better English language resources for teachers and students alike, the British Council will utilize partner organizations and will discontinue teaching at the British Council’s Lainchaur center. 

This decision will take effect from July 22.

“We’ve reviewed the ways in which we provide English language services in Nepal. We believe we can have a much greater impact by playing a more transformational role, encouraging a more widespread improvement in teaching standards and providing opportunities for young learners across Nepal,” says Director of the British Council, Robert Monro.

Along with the changes, the current and future initiatives include providing access for young Nepalis to a range of high-quality English learning products, partnering with media organizations, companies, and NGOs to ensure that Nepalis can build careers and learn English with British Council resources.

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Demand for English language teachers to rocket in Saudi Arabia

There has been resistance to the teaching of English in primary schools in Saudi Arabia but this appears to have been overcome with the recent announcement that the starting age for learning the language will be reduced from 11 to nine from the beginning of the next academic year.

The decision to begin lessons from grade four for both boys and girls was made at a meeting of the Saudi cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.  The cabinet also authorized the ministry of education to study the possibility of teaching the language from earlier grades.

Religious hardliners have opposed the introduction of English classes in primary schools, warning that it could undermine students' competency in Arabic and Islamic studies.

But the demands of an increasingly competitive job market have highlighted the need for language skills among school leavers and graduates, with educationalists arguing that an earlier start in English will improve outcomes.

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Saudi cabinet decrees earlier start for English

June 7, 2011—Long-standing resistance to the teaching of English in primary schools in Saudi Arabia appears to have been overcome with the announcement, made last month, that the starting age for learning the language will be reduced from 11 to nine from the beginning of the next academic year.

The decision to begin lesson from grade four for both boys and girls was made at a meeting of the Saudi cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz (pictured). The cabinet also authorised the ministry of education to study the possibility of teaching the language from earlier grades.

Religious hardliners have opposed the introduction of English classes in primary schools, warning that it could undermine students' competency in Arabic and Islamic studies.

But the demands of an increasingly competitive job market have highlighted the need for language skills among school leavers and graduates, with educationalists arguing that an earlier start in English will improve outcomes.

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Maids to get free language classes, then trained on vocational skills

ABU DHABI, June 5, 2011—Female workers like housemaids in the capital have a golden opportunity to learn English language and vocational skills free of cost thanks to the initiative of a community organization.

Indian Ladies Association (ILA) has launched "Women's Basic Literacy Programme" to teach housemaids English, Jonia Mathews, the honorary president of ILA, told Gulf News yesterday.

The programme will gradually include vocational training in stitching, embroidery, beauty treatments and others in future, she said.

Although the programme initially targets Indian female workers, it will gradually be open to all nationalities, Mathews said.

"We are spreading this message to housemaids in the beginning through our members. The classes will begin next week," she said.

She said many of the Indian housemaids coming to the UAE are uneducated so they are not aware of their rights and easily mislead by others.

A basic training in English will make their life more comfortable, Mathews said.

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Difficulties in learning English bother many
By Iman Srour, GulfToday.ae         

ABU DHABI, June 3, 2011—English is a language that links the world together. It plays a central role in aviation, engineering and computer communication.

It is also a gateway for information, which is the basis of progress and development, whether on an individual or a public level.

Today, many graduate courses require fluency in English. For many however, the language has to be learnt over a period of many years and the difficulty in learning concerns students, teachers and parents alike.

The reasons for difficulties in learning the language are different. Some people see the root of the problem in teachers who are not qualified enough.

Some say that an effective way to teach the language is when it is taught from an early stage, starting from kindergarten.

Others, however, think that learning becomes difficult when there is a lack of mental preparedness among students and not enough willpower to learn. Nevertheless, the problem is not confined to teachers or the subject only.

A number of consultants, school administrators and teachers told The Gulf Today that the Abu Dhabi Education Council is working on developing strategies that aim to enhance the four skills of students: Reading, writing, listening and speaking.

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Poor English skills: “Rot started in the 70s”
By Teoh El Sen, Free Malaysia Today

PETALING JAYA, June 19, 2011—The lack of proficiency in the English language among the current crop of Malaysians does not come as a surprise at all to academicians.

They say the rot started when the medium of instruction was switched from English to Malay in the 1970s.

Malaysia was ranked third after Singapore and the Philippines in an English level assessment test conducted by online recruitment company Jobstreet.com.

Thailand and Indonesia came in fourth and fifth respectively.

“There has been a clear decline of English language proficiency over the past 20 years,” said an English lecturer with over 37 years of experience.

The lecturer, who wished to remain anonymous, said that the rot set in since the 1970s, when the medium of instruction was switched from English to BM.

“From then on, our children were less exposed to the language. Another reason is the lack of emphasis on English as it now not a compulsory subject to pass,” he said.

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Fun in the classroom

May 29, 2011—If you are running out of ideas to keep the students in your English Language classroom interested and involved in the lesson, you definitely should not miss the International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT) 2011.

The conference, organised by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) Faculty of Educational Studies and supported by the Education Ministry, will be held from September 18 to 20 at the Swiss-Garden Golf Resort and Spa, Damai Laut, Perak.

It promises to be a one-of-its-kind conference for English language teachers focusing on infusing creativity, fun, and interesting activities into the teaching and learning experience.

Themed “Teaching English as a Performing Art”, ICELT 2011 will see a gathering of some of the world’s most renowned names in the performing arts and English language teaching.

Among the featured speakers will be Jan Blake, a leading storyteller who specialises in stories from Africa and the Caribbean.

Then there is much sought after performance poet Adisa, recipient of the Apples and Snakes New Performance Poet of the Year award. He has delivered his work all around the world, “from pub basements to Buckingham Palace”.

Modern-day court jester Vivian Gladwell, who lives and works in France, is another speaker you wouldn’t want to miss.

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Championing indigenous languages for children

LAGOS, June 4, 2011—The Director General of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC), Tunde Babawale, has called on the government to support and protect children in the society.

“Governments at all levels must faithfully implement legislations that protect the rights of the African child such as the Child Rights Act and African Charter on Human and People’s Rights,” he urged.

Mr Babawale made the call during the CBAAC organised International Children’s Day celebration at the National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos on Friday, May 27.

The relevance of children to the development of society underscored the CBAAC DG’s speech, as he noted that children “represent continuity as they link our today with our tomorrow and even the future.” This, he said, is one of the reasons why children are worth celebrating and investing in.

He continued, “Our interest and investments in children and youth programmes are also encouraged by the fact that children are malleable and can be shaped and turned into positive torch-bearers of society which can help in facilitating societal growth and development.”

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Maid hung herself after failing English entry test thrice

SINGAPORE, June 1, 2011 (AsiaOne)—A 26-year-old Indonesian maid tried to hang herself after failing her English-language entry test three times.

She is now in intensive care with brain damage.

The Straits Times reported that the maid, Ms Sulastri Wardyoyo, tried to hang herself at a maid hostel last Saturday.

According to staff at the hostel, she was allegedly depressed after failing her English-language entry tests.

Failing the test would mean she would have to leave the country, and pay back any loan taken.

The Straits Times reported that she may have taken more than $1,000 in loans to come here.

Ms Sulastri arrived early last week and was housed by employment agency Budget Maid in a maid hostel in the north.

All new maids have to clear the Foreign Worker Domestic Entry test within three days of their arrival, according to the Ministry of Manpower regulations.

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Government, businesses seek to further spoken English in Turkey
By NURDAN TABAK, TodaysZaman.com

ISTANBUL, May 15, 2011—Students practice their spoken English by studying in small groups and having conversations in English.

Spoken English skills are fairly poor in Turkey in comparison to other non-English speaking nations, and the growing need for Turks to develop their spoken English has been acknowledged by the government and the business world alike.

Overhearing people speaking in broken English and having pamphlets of various English teaching centers forced on them by promoters in the street is becoming increasingly common in the lives of many İstanbulites. More than ever in Turkey, people are becoming more eager to learn and speak English. This growing importance placed on spoken English is linked to both direct bureaucratic policies and the changing views of civil society.

Undoubtedly, there is a whole range of factors that have contributed to the recent growing importance of spoken English. Turkey’s increasing cultural role, economic power and globalization are all leading factors. The country is also now avoiding isolationist policies and focusing on opening up to the world, which in turn makes fluency in the English language all the more important.

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A call to defend Urdu against English language onslaught

LAHORE, May 16, 2011—Renowned writer and novelist Abdullah Hussain has urged for combating the onslaught of English language that could reduce Urdu into just a mere dialect.

Hussain made the call while presiding over the second session, titled “100 years of Urdu Novel,” of the ongoing three-day International Literary & Cultural Conference at Al Hamra Arts Council, The Mall on Sunday.

Abdullah Hussain warned that there was a need to seriously look into the issue of English language’s onslaught in our society since Urdu writers and speakers were turning towards English for the money it brings. He emphasized the need to combat this onslaught seriously.

Renowned writers and scholars including Shamim Hanfi, Dr Anwar Ahmad, Mubeen Mirza and Abbass Rizvi presented research papers in this session. Javed Qureshi, Hamid Ali Khan, Islam Shah and Azam Khan shed light on the topic of “The Future of Ghazal singing in Pakistan.” Renowned singer Ghulam Ali presided over the abovementioned session.

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