English teachers sent abroad

July 17, 2011—Positive comments about Japan's system of English teaching are rare, but hope is on the horizon. This month, 96 Japanese high school and junior high teachers of English leave for a half-year training program in the United States. They will enroll this fall in courses on English-teaching methods, stay with local families and work as interns at secondary schools in America.

The experience they bring back will be a great step toward genuinely improving Japan's woeful way of teaching English.

The program, sponsored by the government, is an important initiative. The teachers, most in their 20s to 40s, will be able to acquire the kind of experience that will have an enormous impact on their students.

By going abroad, these teachers can learn how to teach communicative English and how to communicate better themselves. That will bring a higher level of English into the classroom as well as a broader outlook on English as a global language. That will also be a start toward changing the current fixation on exam-based English.

After these teachers return, they will also be changing the attitudes of students. At the send-off ceremony, Vice Education Minister Hirofumi Ryu said the teachers would be able to change the "inward-looking" nature of Japanese students and help to nurture students who can be "active globally."

Teachers who have developed a broad-minded, active and open approach themselves will be even better equipped to achieve those aims.

These teachers will also be able to encourage young Japanese to study abroad, or at least study with greater zest. The authority of experience goes a long way, especially with young people.

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Japanese English teachers leave for U.S. looking to broaden horizons

KYODO, July 8, 2011—A total of 96 Japanese teachers of English who will leave for the United States this month on a half-year training program vowed Thursday to use the experience to enhance global understanding.

The junior high school and high school teachers from across Japan, who are in their 20s to 40s, will be enrolled in courses on English teaching methods at seven U.S. universities, stay with local families and work as interns at American secondary schools on the exchange program through early February. The program is sponsored by the government.

Kaori Taguchi, a 32-year-old teacher at a high school in Miyagi Prefecture, told a send-off ceremony in Tokyo that she felt guilty about leaving at a time when her colleagues remain affected by the March 11 megaquake-tsunami disaster.

“Some schools in coastal areas are used as evacuation shelters and classes cannot be conducted properly there,” Taguchi said, speaking as a representative of the teachers. “I hope I can improve my English teaching skills through the program and return the favor by nurturing students who will open their eyes to the international community."

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Purdue creates new certification for English Language Learners

August 1, 2011—As Indiana has become the state with the third-highest increase in English language learners, the College of Education is taking steps to prepare its teachers for changing Hoosier school populations.

According to a 2006 report by the National Clearinghouse on English Language Acquisition, from 1994 to 1995 and 2004 to 2005, Indiana saw a 408 percent increase in the number of English language learners – the third-highest in the United States.

An English language learner, commonly referred to as “ELL,” is any student for whom English is a new language. According to James Lehman, a faculty member in the College of Education, most ELL students are of Hispanic origin.

In fact, John Layton, assistant superintendent of the Lafayette School Corporation, reported one in seven students in his schools are considered to be an ELL.

It is left to Hoosier educators to respond and adapt.

This fall, the College of Education will offer a new graduate certificate program focused on identifying ELL needs, developing student language skills and utilizing effective teaching methods unique to the ELL student.

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In-language Initiative creates glossary of translated industry terms
By Jake Weyer, FenderBender.com

SALT LAKE CITY, July 21, 2011—The National Auto Body Council’s (NABC) In-Language Initiative committee on Wednesday announced it has created a glossary of collision industry terms, translating them from Spanish to English.

The In-Language Initiative, which was approved during the NABC board meeting Nov. 2, 2010, is meant to provide non-English speakers equal access to industry training, service and product resources.

The committee will initially focus on the Spanish-speaking community because they represent the largest and fastest growing immigrant community in the United States, said to Karen Fierst, board member and in-language advisor for the NABC. Twenty percent of mechanical and collision repair technicians are of Hispanic decent—many of which are non-English speakers.

There are many issues that need to be addressed to improve industry communication with non-native English speakers, Fierst said. The committee identified that creating a glossary of terms that translate Spanish to English would be the best preliminary first step to address the issue.

The committee created translations for about 4,400 industry terms. The glossary is a combination of the Collision Industry Conference’s (CIC) glossary of terms, which has existed for more than 10 years, with the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence’s (ASE) Spanish-English dictionary.

The glossary will be available to the industry for free on the NABC website by mid-August, according to Fierst.

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Chinese students seeking opportunity in Maine schools
By Nick Sambides Jr., Bangor Daily News

LEE, Maine, July 15, 2011—Imagine sitting in a classroom from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday with as many as 64 other students, stationary except for a 2½-hour lunch break, and having to take classes on Saturdays and Sundays, too.

Imagine lessons heavy with memorization and detail, with little opportunity to question, analyze or even explain what you’re expected to learn, where dead silence is normal, and teachers rule with strict discipline and give you little if any personal attention.

Imagine having every grade intensely scrutinized by parents who view your educational achievement as their ticket to a better life, and a massive annual exam that strictly regulates your chances to get a better education.

If you can envision that, you can begin to see why many Chinese parents prize the opportunity to send their children to American high schools as diverse as John Bapst, Lee Academy and Stearns. Those are among several state high schools that, like others in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Virginia and Washington, will have dozens of Chinese students enrolled in September.

Yet the picture drawn of a typical Chinese classroom — if there ever can be such a thing in a country of more than 1.3 billion people — could be starker still, said Bruce Lindberg, headmaster of Lee Academy, one of the state’s pioneers of large international student programs.

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Minimum English language standard for teachers set in Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, July 8, 2011—Teachers who are suspected of not speaking English intelligibly will be required to take a language-competency test to determine whether they should be allowed in the classroom, and they must score in the mid-range to keep their job, according to a new requirement adopted by state education officials Thursday.

Several people, including teachers who had immigrated to this country, opposed the move, saying it could be used in a discriminatory fashion to target good teachers who happen to have heavy accents.

“Students could complain they just don’t understand me,” said Viola Egbuniwe, a science teacher in Providence who moved to this country from Nigeria in 1974.

No one in Rhode Island seems to know exactly how many teachers may not be competent in English, but the state’s largest district, Providence, has acknowledged it struggles with the problem. And several districts have moved away from bilingual education in recent years, placing teachers who are native speakers of foreign languages in classes for which they may not be adequately trained.

The Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education approved a new regulation in March that requires all teachers in public schools to be competent in English, and that requires the testing of teachers who are identified as struggling with English.

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New York councilmen seek to make business signs mostly in English

NEW YORK, July 3, 2011 (AP)—The teeming streets of Flushing, Queens, can feel like a different country.

A booming Chinese population exists alongside a longtime Korean enclave. On a recent afternoon, the sidewalks were jammed with shoppers browsing and haggling in stores offering everything from iPhones to herbal remedies. Stalls selling fragrant dumplings and tea shops did a brisk business.

Day trippers from Manhattan or the suburbs often come to eat and shop here on weekends, savoring the broad array of foods and products available. But to some, the area can feel a little too foreign.

Republican City Councilmen Dan Halloran and Peter Koo are drafting legislation that would require store signs in the city to be mostly in English. They say police officers and firefighters need to be able to quickly identify stores.

The change also would protect consumers and allow local shops to expand outside their traditional customer base, the council members argue. But merchants say it would be an unnecessary and costly burden on small businesses and would homogenize diverse pockets of the city that cater mostly to immigrant residents.

"People must respect that this is a special area and please respect the Asian culture," said Peter Tu, executive director of the Flushing Chinese Business Association. "They have their own life in this area. When you walk in the street, you don't feel like you are in America."

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Language a barrier on test scores
By Joe Dejka, World-Herald

OMAHA, Nebraska, July 6, 2011—When parents descended on the Crete Public Schools for parent-teacher conferences last school year, 22 Spanish translators hired by the district were there to greet them.
“It's incredibly important,” Superintendent Kyle McGowan said. “We don't want language to be a barrier.”

Breaking down the language barrier is one facet of the small Nebraska district's approach to raising Hispanic achievement as its minority population grows sharply, largely drawn by employment at a local meatpacking plant.

The report reveals the language barrier as a key reason why the nation's Hispanic students continue to score lower than their white peers on national math and reading tests.

An achievement gap has persisted relatively unchanged over the past two decades nationally.
At the same time, both whites and Hispanics have improved their scores steadily, if slightly, according to the report from the U.S. Department of Education.

Similar gaps exist in Nebraska and Iowa, where Hispanics represent the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the schools.

On 2009 national reading tests, the gap in Iowa and Nebraska was narrower than the national average. In math, the two states' gaps generally reflected the nation.

Experts caution against making direct comparisons because some states, like Nebraska, are dealing with a flood of new immigrants, while other states have more established Hispanic populations who speak English and have assimilated into the culture.

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In experiments with language, spoken English is the latest
By Shiv Sahay Singh,

July 16, 2011—From abolishing English in primary classes in 1982 by the Left Front government to the recent proposal by the Mamata Bannerjee government to making spoken English mandatory for children from Class I, the state’s experiments with English education have continued for the last three decades.

As per the recent announcement, every child admitted to government or government-sponsored school will have to go through spoken English classes and hone up their language skills.

State School Education Minister Bratya Basu said, “Because of faulty experiments with English education, many generations in the state found it difficult to get jobs where communicating in English is important. We don’t want our future generations to face such humiliations.”

“The introduction of spoken English is a welcome step,” said leading academician Sunando Sanyal. Sanyal has been part of various committees formed for re-introduction of English.

However, some intellectuals have doubted the efficacy of the new system in the absence of compulsory exams for children up to VIII.

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Bollywood gets the Hinglish effect

July 11, 2011—After “Dhobi Ghat,” “Delhi Belly” has now been released in English. Fans of “Delhi Belly” enjoyed both the versions but as they put it — angrezi mein Hindi galiyon ka dum nahi aya. But why this sudden trend of making cinema in English, or more appropriately Hinglish?

Director Mani Shankar says, “There are millions of English speakers in our country nowadays. It is, I think, but natural, that films are made in English or Hinglish.” Director Kabir Khan agrees, “English is no longer a foreign language. The film portrays the urban middle class and it is only natural that they speak in English. It mirrors real life and that is one more reason why the film is being appreciated so much. The film is very true to the urban lingo youngsters follow these days.

Sreejith, a software engineer, who saw both versions, agrees with the director and says, “I liked the Hinglish version more. In the Hindi one, it seemed like they were using expletives all the time. The Hinglish version was more natural and fun. This film shows exactly how urban youth interact with each other and so we could identify with the language. As for Bollywood taking to English, I think it is but natural. This was not set in a village, so the use of English makes perfect sense.”

Agreeing with him is Pratiksha, an MNC employee, who says, “I feel that in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, we all speak in Hinglish. Forget that, here we speak a mixture of English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, depending on where your friends are from. That gives filmmakers a lot of ideas and opportunities and also helps when such films are screened abroad in international film festivals.”

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Rickshaw drivers and housewives in India trained to speak good English

July 4, 2011—A unique batch of students, comprising rickshaw drivers and housewives, is looking up to better opportunities in life after completing a course in English

Milind Kate walks confidently up to the podium. He looks around at the packed room facing him and takes a deep breath. “Good afternoon Honourable Shri Sanjay Chordia, Honourable Shri Baba Adhav, Honourable Shri Deepak Shikarpur, faculty and my friends. I am proud to be a part of the Suryadatta family...” Five minutes later, he takes his seat again, after having delivered a speech in fluent English.

Why the fuss, you ask? Only because Milind Kate is a rickshaw driver who, up until six months ago, could not speak a word of English.

Suryadatta Group of Institutes had undertaken an initiative to conduct a second workshop for 40 housewives and 40 rickshaw drivers from Karvenagar area. The course, which ended on June 24, was aimed at providing these individuals with the basic tools of the English language and computer learning.

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India to teach English to Kyrgyz armed forces

NEW DELHI, July 6, 2011—India is sending a team to Kyrgyzstan to train its armed forces in UN peacekeeping operations and also impart English language skills. The team will arrive in the central Asian country by the end of this month, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

The decision was announced after a meeting between defence minister A K Antony and his Kyrgyz counterpart Major General Abibilla Kudayberdiev in Bishkek on Monday. Antony is leading a defence delegation to Kyrgyzstan.

Antony said though the present level of defence engagements were rather limited between the two sides, there was “potential to enhance the scope and scale of activities in a gradual manner in areas of mutual interest, particularly in the field of military training, defence research and development and production of defence armaments.”

On Tuesday, Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva and Antony inaugurated the Kyrgyz-Indian Mountain Biomedical Research Centre at Bishkek. The spokesperson said the centre will carry out research on the mechanism of short term and long term high altitude adaptation. "It will also mobilize and synchronise the expertise of the two countries in the area of high altitude research," he said.

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Lack of English proficiency contributes to high failure rate in Namibia                                      

July 8, 2011—About 100 linguistics experts from all over the world are attending the annual Poetics and Language Association (PALA) Conference which is currently taking place at the Polytechnic of Namibia in the capital.

In a speech read on his behalf, the Education Minister, Dr Abraham Iyambo, said English is being taught from the cradle to the grave in many parts of the world.

“But this teaching must be done properly by trained teachers. The teaching of English should not be at the exclusion or neglect of indigenous languages. Do we have these trained teachers? I do not think that we have them in enough numbers in Namibia. Is it obvious that proficiency in the English language will enable learners to perform better in other subjects because these subjects are taught and written in English,” he said.

Iyambo added that it is a fact of life that if learners have deficient English language reading, writing, listening and speaking skills; then they will not understand those subjects written and taught in English.

According to Iyambo, the strident call for the introduction of Science and Mathematics will remain just that, unless equally vocal measures are taken to improve the teaching of English in educational institutions.

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International firms being hired for English teaching at schools

JEDDAH, July 10, 2011—English will be taught from the fourth year in 284 elementary boys’ and girls’ schools in Makkah province from the next academic year, which begins Sept. 10, the local education officials announced Sunday.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Planning and Development Naif Al-Roumi said the ministry would seek the help of international firms to teach the language. He said the ministry has so far received offers from three of these firms.

“The ministry is determined to arm students with languages so that they take our culture to foreign societies, spread Islam and serve humanity,” he said.

The Ministry of Education has already chosen 30 boys’ and 30 girls’ schools to apply the project aimed at expanding the teaching of English from the first intermediate school year.

Eight intermediate schools have already implemented the project of expanding the teaching of English at the second year as part of a pilot program, bringing the total number of boys’ and girls’ schools in Makkah teaching the language to 352.

According to the Department of Education for Makkah province, English will be extensively taught to fourth-year elementary students and second-year intermediate students.

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Few jobs for Saudi graduates without English

July 9, 2011—There is a wide gap between what students learn at universities and what is required by the job market. Private companies mostly want graduates with English language skills and experience, which they lack and has resulted in many Saudis being unable to find work.

Amr Fallata, a media graduate, thinks there are more job opportunities for university and college graduates, but not enough. Most jobs are for scientific and administrative majors.

“Despite my high grades I could not get a government job and turned to the private sector.” Pursuing higher studies would be the solution because the high number of bachelor’s degree graduates has meant less job vacancies, he added.

Ali Saud, an education graduate, said he and his fellow graduates will only be able to get positions as teachers. “But there are earlier batches that graduated years ago and have still not been employed,” he said. “What about the antiquities college in Hail? Would its graduates find jobs?” he wondered.

Saleh Nami, an English language graduate, thinks there may be more opportunities to teach English at primary school level. Abdulrahman Makkawi, a chemistry graduate, said while the private and public sector require experience and English, universities have not fulfilled their role in terms of teaching English.

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Improving English is top New Year resolution for salaried workers

August 1, 2011—Improving foreign language skills, especially English, was the goal that employees want to achieve the most in the New Year, with 56.8 percent of 944 people surveyed making the statement, according to the recruitment company Saramin.

When multiple replies were allowed, the other most common New Year resolutions included self-improvement (47.7 percent), saving money (36.5 percent), and maintaining good health (26.8 percent).

The survey results come at a time when an increasing number of people are signing up to take English classes at private institutes. YBM, one of the largest English schools, sees about a 60 percent rise in the number of attendees every January compared with other months.

“We have many students during summer, but have more in winter because English study is one of the most common New Year resolutions for both students and workers. Employees usually take early morning or late evening classes,”' Cha Kyung-sim, of YBM's marketing and PR department, said.

Due to financial constraints, some people have chosen to study at home alone instead of attending institutes. According to online auctioneer Auction, the sales of language study materials such as TOEIC handbooks increased by 20 percent in December compared to the previous month.

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Busan Global Village emerges as major English education center
By Song Sang-ho, The Korea Herald

June 30, 2011—Busan Global Village is emerging as the country’s key center for English education, thanks to a variety of unique programs tailored to the needs of different age groups and its location in the center of the southeastern port city.

Since it opened in July 2009, BGV has gained much recognition from inside and outside of the country’s second largest city as it seeks to offer a low-cost and effective alternative to overseas language learning.

For the last two years, more than 100,000 people have learned English at BGV, which now seeks to transform itself into a leading English education center representing the country.

Kim Ji-seon, a 32-year-old housewife in Dongrae-gu, Busan, said that she is satisfied with the three-month “Happy School” course designed to give toddlers a head start in English education.

“I take my 25-month-old son to the Happy School class every Thursday. This is a class my son and I attend together,” she said. “Compared with programs offered by other language institutes, the BGV course is far more satisfactory and its price is very reasonable.”

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Koreans struggle to solve English quagmire

SEOUL, June 17, 2011 (Yonhap)—No English. No job. No future. At least that's what many Koreans believe these days, and they will do almost anything to improve their English skills.

Parents pour huge amounts of money into a bottomless English-craze pit, while students stay late into the night at private cram schools finding ways to hack the "terrible" TOEIC, as many here call the dreaded standardized English test.

"In many countries around the world, there is a push from governments, employers and parents to improve levels of English, but Korea probably tops the league table for anxiety about English proficiency," says David Graddol, a well-known British writer, broadcaster, lecturer and consultant on issues related to global English and educational trends.

The British Council commissioned Graddol to write two of his most famous works: The Future of English and its follow-up, English Next. Both books report on the global development of English as a world language.

He says that in Korea, "too much emphasis is placed on the power of English to transform people's lives."

Few countries in the world spend more time and money learning English. According to a 2006 study by the Samsung Economic Research Institute, Koreans spend around US$15 billion per year on private English education. That's more money than the gross domestic product, or GDP, of Laos, Jamaica or Iceland.

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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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Preparing English teachers

July 24, 2011—Five students were recently awarded the Tun Dr Mahathir Internship Scheme, sponsored by ELS Language Centres.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students Alia Diyana Hosni and Siti Nur Farahin Hamdan, UNISEL student Farahani Mohd Zakaria, Universiti Malaya student G. Devan, and Universiti Teknologi Mara student Mohammad Khairul Firdaos Fadzil were selected based on their strong academic qualifications, participation in extra curricular activities, and recommendation by their university lecturers as well as through interviews with members of the review committee.

They began their three-month internship at ELS Language Centres last month.

“We are delighted to offer these scholarships to students pursuing The teaching of TESL (the teaching of English as a Second language)/TESOL (the Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) degree programme with the aim of providing adequate training and employment opportunities for young Malaysian English language teachers,” said ELS Malaysia vice-president (Operations) Robert Brander at a ceremony.

He added that the centre not only aspires to produce qualified English language teachers, but also quality educators who are leaders in the field.

From thorough reviews of grammar, writing and phonology in their first month of internship, the students improved their language skills, before building their classroom teaching skills.

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Malaysia wants more English volunteer teachers from US

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2011—Malaysia has asked the US State Department to consider sending 300 English volunteer teachers to Malaysia under the Fulbright Programme.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who disclosed this, said the increased number sought was due to the Government’s greater emphasis on English Language proficiency in schools.

He said he had held several rounds of discussions with Education Ministry officials on the matter and the consensus was that more volunteer teachers were needed.

Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said students in rural schools in Terengganu were already being taught English under a US-funded English Language assistance programme, with an English Language Teacher Development Project being conducted by the British Council in Sabah and Sarawak.

“But we are hoping that the US Government will consider increasing the volunteers pledged to us under the Fullbright Programme to 300,” he said. “We have agreed to finance part of the costs, such as accommodation and allowances involved, and have set aside an initial allocation of US$1mil (RM3mil).”

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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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