Philippine president cites importance of technical and vocational education

MANILA (PNA)—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has underscored the relevance of technical and vocational education in the development of an empowered society amidst rapid changes in science and technology.

“Education is the key to a better life. And in these times, strong education should be accompanied by a strong backbone of technology,” the President said in a speech during Friday’s inauguration of the Honorio Lopez Technical Institute in Tondo, Manila.

The school offers vocational courses, including computer science and technology.

President Arroyo stressed that education and technology should be strengthened “because we have to build the mind (of the youth) and we have to connect to the world.”

Towards this end, the Chief Executive said the government has doubled its investments in education and skills training from P90 billion at the beginning of her term to P180 billion at present. This gave rise to the construction of some 100,000 classrooms nationwide, along with the hiring of about 60,000 more teachers at higher salaries.

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Filmfest targets educating 1million kids on environment

MANILA (PNA)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), and SM Supermalls are aiming to give one million public high school students nationwide this year free viewing of films that will help educate them on the environment.

“We hope to give this number of kids the opportunity to see these films,” DENR Secretary Eleazar Quinto said Wednesday at SM North EDSA on the sideline of the one-day nationwide SM Green Film Festival's opening.

He thanked SM Supermalls for this project and urged students concerned to grab the opportunity to view these films so they can better appreciate and understand the environment and its natural resources as well as threats these poses.

This will help them determine what they can do to curb environmental degradation.

“Caring for the environment is the duty of every citizen,” Quinto said.

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The evolution of a teacher

The 34-year-old Shena Faith Ganela, one of the 2009 Ten Most Outstanding Teachers of the Metrobank Foundation, can only look back to the shy, insecure, and introvert girl who didn’t have the courage to speak in front of the class.

“I was doing well academically and was always at the top five of the class. But I shied away from people. I would not speak or recite in class. I was just a silent worker. Lagi ako nasa likod ng nanay ko. I felt I was compared with my well-dressed cousins who were studying in private schools. I felt they had everything. Napaka insecure ko,” reveals Ganela, who is only the second teacher in Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas to be given the Metrobank award. The first was renowned scientist-teacher Dr. Josette Biyo, the first Filipino whom a planet was named after.

Ganela came from a poor family and grew up bereft of luxuries in life. She remembers going to her public school in slippers and with a plastic bag to hold her belongings. She only got to enjoy new clothes from her kind uncles and aunts who provided for her at times.

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More studying on home computers

By Sean Coughlan, BBC News

Pupils may not use computers at school as much as those at home.

Pupils are more likely to use computers for their schoolwork at home on a daily basis than they are to use them every day at school, according to a survey.

A study carried out in the UK for technology company Microsoft showed 37% of secondary pupils used computers for study every day at home.
This is a more intensive use than at school - where 30% of pupils were using computers each day.

The survey considered the computer use of 512 families with children.

The study reveals the increasingly pervasive use of technology for homework by pupils in their own homes.

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Australia changing immigration visa rules to favor English and high skills

Australia is changing its immigration rules to try and attract more doctors and engineers.

Immigration minister Chris Evans says the country has too many hairdressers and cooks and not enough doctors and engineers.

“We were taking hairdressers from overseas in front of doctors and nurses—it didn’t make any sense,” Evans said.

The new rules mean that intending immigrants will be given higher points if they score highly in English and if they have a job offer.

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Universities told to boost English programs

Universities are being warned to increase their English language programs for international students given the potential for a review of the migration points system to recommend higher levels of proficiency.

While universities are set to benefit from the Rudd government's move to refocus skilled migration on higher skills and qualifications, experts are warning it could put pressure on the sector to lift English standards.

Demographer Bob Birrell yesterday warned that there was a real threat to presently enrolled students if the government were to raise English standards.

"It's quite possible they could toughen up English standards in the new migration points test midyear," Dr Birrell told the HES. "That would threaten the prospects of much of the overseas students class, especially those from China," he said.

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Foreign students to face stricter English language test in Britain

LONDON—Foreign students from India and other countries outside the European region who want to study in Britain will have to sit for a stricter

English-language test and will be banned from bringing over dependents if they are studying short courses, the government announced on Sunday.

British Home Minister Alan Johnson said the rules, which will be in force with immediate effect, will also restrict the number of hours foreign students can work in Britain.

The English language test will be upgraded from the current beginners’ English to the intermediate level, the equivalent of a British GCSE foreign language qualification.

Students coming to Britain for courses that are under six months in duration will not be allowed to bring in any dependents.

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First aid for grammar

For the longest time, Amelia Tan, 14, of SMJK Union, Penang, was the only child in her class who knew what a papoose meant. “And just where does it live?” asked this reporter to test her. “No! No!” she exclaims in an octave higher. “That’s what you call a native American Indian infant.”

Thanks to her tutor, and The First Aid in English (as it was then called), Amelia made her mark by attaining one of the highest distinctions in Malaysia when she sat for the University of New South Wales English Assessment Test at the age of 12.

“I started learning to read with my English language tutor at the age of two. When I turned five, she introduced me to her mother’s tattered version of The First Aid in English,” she said.

“I found the book interesting. There were many strange idioms and phrases which she read out to us. There were good examples in the book which helped the six of us (in class) understand (the context) better,” continued Amelia, who actively participates in essay and public-speaking competitions conducted at school.

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Is the English language hard to learn?

IDAHO—There are some bills being kicked around in the 2010 Idaho legislature that push the exclusive use of the English language more. For example, one bill wants to eliminate interpreters for driver's license tests.

It got us wondering about the English language and just how difficult it is to learn. We thought the best source to answer that question might be found at the Missionary Training Center in Provo.

Young men and women from other countries come to the U.S. to learn English, and then they serve a mission somewhere in this country.

Stephen Graham is in charge of foreign students learning English. He says they’ve actually done a study to rate the difficulty of the English language.

“We created a scale from zero to 60, and, um, an English speaker learning Spanish would be a 9,” explained Graham. “For a Spanish speaker to learn English would be a 19. So, English is much more complex than Spanish.”

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“Text speak” confuses English students

By Katie Wiedemann, reporter, KCRG-TV News

CASCADE—LOL means laugh out loud. IDK stands for I don’t know. That’s common “text speak” for many high school students who send dozens of text messages each day. But a growing number of students are apparently confusing text language with the English language

In addition to Shakespeare and American Literature, Language Arts Teacher Jacob Brindle has a whole new lesson to teach.

Brindle said, “I have to write when I am proof reading, no text speak, no abbreviations. Write words, write in proper English.”

But Brindle says his students are not being lazy. Text speak is what they know. Many of these 15 and 16-year-olds grew up with cell phones.

Melissa Huff said, “A lot of times it's like I'm going to write the paper and I have to sit down and think before I write it. Ok, there is no texting lingo. There are no smiling faces. No LOL.”

Spencer Coyle said, “I never catch it until I print it out and the teacher is like, ‘what is this?’ And I am like, ‘oh sorry’.”

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Science university to make English the official language

The Pohang University of Science and Technology, also called Postech, will make English an official language of the school from this year.

Postech President Baik Sung-gi said, “All lectures, meetings and documents will be taught, conducted and processed in English within three years.” All lectures at the university’s colleges and graduate schools will be made in English. Professors’ meetings will be conducted in English. Those of departments and faculty will use English only when attended by foreign professors to provide a favorable environment for foreign professors and students.

Aiming to join the ranks of the world’s top 20 universities, Pstech will increase the number of foreign professors from 31, or 7.2 percent of its 433 professors, to 111, or 25.6 percent, over the next three years. The share of foreign graduate school students will rise from 2.2 percent to 10 percent over the same period. To become a world-class university, the number of excellent papers and the level of student scholastic ability should also be world-class.

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