Philippines unlikely to meet education goal, says US embassy report

MANILA, January 10, 2011—Washington believes the Philippines is “unlikely” to meet its second Millennium Development Goal, which is achieving universal primary education, by 2015, according to a report by the US Embassy in Manila that was furnished the Inquirer.

The embassy cited, among other things, the 2010 Education-for-All Global Monitoring Report in which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) referred to the Philippines as a “country that should not have had difficulty in meeting its targets.”

But “despite policy, curricular and programatic changes, key performance indicators, particularly for basic education, have either stagnated or in some cases, shown negative trends,” UNESCO said.

“The UNESCO report notes that even as the number of illiterate adults fell in the East Asia region, the Philippines experienced a large increase in adult illiteracy—over 1.4 million new adult illiterates in the period 2000-2007,” said the embassy.

The Aquino administration has allocated P271.6 billion for the education sector’s total budget for 2011, surpassing the appropriations of any of its predecessors.

However, the embassy said “resource gaps have grown larger as funding has generally not kept pace with the pace of population growth and increasing demands.”

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Education summit to be launched in Surigao City

SURIGAO CITY, January 21, 2011 (PNA)—In an effort to improve basic education, the provincial government of Surigao del Norte and Surigao City will launch the “2011 Education Roadmap Summit” at the Surigao Provincial Convention Center here next month.

Educators, government officials and stakeholders will be participating in the summit organized and planned by Surigao del Norte Governor Sol F. Matugas, Surigao City Mayor Ernesto T. Matugas, Surigao del Norte 1st District Rep. Francisco T. Matugas and 2nd District Rep. Guillermo A. Romarate, Jr.

Top national government officials led by Education Secretary Armin A. Luistro is expected to grace the event scheduled on Feb. 15 to 16.

Other participants are the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, League of Municipal Mayors of the Philippines, Association of Barangay Captains and parents-teachers and community associations.

With a theme: “Building a New Surigao Through Quality Basic Education”, the summit will be highlighted by the unveiling ceremony of the “Cultural Center for Children” where several cultural presentations for “Alay ng Kabataan” are already lined up to be presented by the Surigao del Norte High School students.

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70 Korean youths “in teachers’ care” after Batangas school closed
      
MANILA, January 15, 2011—Philippine immigration authorities have made assurances that Filipino teachers are looking after the 70 South Korean children enrolled in an English language school in Batangas, which was recently ordered closed for not having the appropriate licenses.

In a release Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is ensuring that the children, aged 10 to 16 years old, are being taken care of and are not in detention.

The children were previously enrolled in an English language school in Lemery town, but immigration authorities ordered its closure on January 7 for operating without licenses.

They are scheduled to return to Korea by the end of the month, the DFA said.

BI authorities raided the school and arrested six South Korean nationals, now detained at Camp Bagong Diwa, for operating a learning facility without a permit and for violating visa conditions.

The Korean students meanwhile did not have the required Special Study Permit (SSP), a document that foreign students must secure upon arrival in the Philippines if they want to study in the country.

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Philippine President urges youth to study sciences and robotics

MANILA, January 14, 2011 (PNA)—President Benigno S. Aquino III urged the country’s youth to take up sciences and technology, including robotics courses that will be the wave of the future.

Looking pleased and proud on the fete of 19 Filipino teams that competed in the 2010 World Robot Olympiad last November, the President said the Filipino youth’s awareness and exposure to science and technological advancements “have gone a long way” from his time “of floppy disc and black-and-white television.”

The President cited statistics showing the low inclination of the youth to science courses, saying that out of every 100 students going to college, only two take up science courses.

Cabinet members in attendance were Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo and Education Secretary Armin Luistro along with Deputy Director Dr. Leticia Catris of the Science Education Institute of the DOST.

He noted that the sciences will be useful to the country’s progress and development with possible applications in security of the railway systems, solutions to flooding and landslides (through the sensors of the robots), and rescue operations for victims of natural disasters..

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Department of Education continues to invest in the war versus illiteracy

MANILA, January 14, 2011 (PNA)—On track to meet its Education For All (EFA) target by 2015, the Department of Education is set to further strengthen its Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) as it continues to wage war against illiteracy.

According to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, part of DepEd’s major thrust in 2011 is to beef up its basic education performance and ensure that all school-aged children are in school by 2015.

“This will include system-wide reforms like BESRA that will be critical if we want all our Filipino children to be literate and imbued with life skills,” he said.

BESRA is a package of policy actions organized under five key reform thrusts (KRT) to facilitate the attainment of the EFA goal and objectives. It aims to systematically improve basic education outcomes nationwide.

Luistro noted that, “our commitment is not to simply achieve EFA but to provide basic competencies to everyone to achieve Functional Literacy for All.”

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20,000 South Koreans visit Baguio in 2010

BAGUIO CITY, January 8, 2011—Competent English-language teachers and the cold weather continue to lure South Koreans to this summer capital.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Alien Control Officer Ricardo Cabochan said more than 20,000 South Koreans flocked here to avail of English lessons from numerous English as a Second Language (ESL) schools mushrooming in the city.

Cabochan said Koreans comprise around 89 percent of the total foreign visitors who extended their tourist visas in their field office here.

Americans registered a far second, with more than 715 nationals or three percent of 2010 foreign visitors, and Japanese nationals came third with 368 visa extensions.

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BPOs to hire 84,000 more workers in 2011
By Philip Tubeza, Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, January 5, 2011—At least 84,000 jobs will be up for grabs in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country this year, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said on Tuesday.

DoLE spokesperson Nicon Fameronag said BPO leaders told the labor department that they would need an estimated 84,000 new employees in 2011 as the industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The BPO industry includes call centers, legal and medical transcription, accounting services, software development and animation, among others services for overseas principals.

To help fill up the projected vacancies, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) will offer a free six-month training course for prospective BPO workers.

Graduates of the course will all be absorbed by BPO companies, Fameronag said.

“(Tesda) has already allotted P20 million for the training of workers. That training is going to be free. And there is an assurance from the BPO sector that they will absorb the graduates,” he added.

Fameronag said interested applicants can visit Tesda or its regional offices if they want to attend the course.

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DepEd to start universal kindergarten program in 2011
By Katherine Evangelista, Inquirer.net

December 30, 2010—The Department of Education will implement a universal public kindergarten program in 2011 to prepare children about to enter primary school, Education Secretary Armin Luistro said Thursday.

In a statement, Luistro said that the DepEd will use the additional budget granted to DepEd for priority projects like the universal public kindergarten.

Luistro said that the public kindergarten program is part of the department’s Education For All campaign in a bid to meet the country’s Millennium Development Goal on education.

“For the first quarter of 2011, we will focus on providing for universal kindergarten facilities for five-year olds. I am confident that we will be able to do that especially with the help of many committed stakeholders," Luistro said.

Also a part of the long-term program to improve the quality of Philippine education is the 12-year basic education system, which adds two more years in basic education to ensure that students are ready for higher education.

“A good headstart will give our young learners the boost to embrace learning and finish schooling,” Luisto said.

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Two Filipino lawmakers press for enhanced use of English

MANILA, December 28, 2010—With the growing demands of the competitive global environment, Visayan lawmakers have pushed for more enhanced and strengthened use of English language as the medium of instruction in all schools.

In separate bills, Cebu Reps. Eduardo Gullas and Rachel Marguerite B. Del Mar, and Bacolod Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. called for the immediate passage of their measure that seeks the continued and persistent use of English in all levels of education.

Gullas filed House Bill 93, along with Golez as co-author. Del Mar, meanwhile, filed similar measure, HB 191.

During the 14th Congress, HB 93 was approved by Committee of Higher Education at the Lower Chamber. While, Del Mar bill was passed on third and final reading in the House of Representatives during the 13th and 14th Congresses, but was not approved by the Senate, for lack of time upon congressional adjournment.

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For this professor, tracking Tamil words in English is a passion

CHENNAI, January 21, 2011—How many Tamil words are there in the recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)? Gregory James, a professor with the Language Centre of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, puts it at 107. But it could be more, he says.

Finding the history and origin of Tamil words that have appeared in English dictionaries, according to James, is a difficult but challenging task. He has studied the origins of more than 80 Tamil words found in English dictionaries and feels there are a number of Tamil words and usages in British colonial English that have not appeared in any dictionary. Even in the case of those that have appeared, citation and dating are wrong in most cases. "The Oxford Dictionary says the word Kavadi' first appeared in English 1954 but I have seen the word used in a missionary magazine of 1837. There are a number of words that have not found a place in any dictionaries. Even though the OED claims that it is a definitive record of the English language, it misses a lot when it comes to citation and localisation of words," he says.

It's passion for Tamil that drives James to trace the root of many words in this classical language. "I was working in the department of dictionaries in England when I got a chance to teach English in Tamil Nadu. I landed in Madras in 1971, and after that I kept contact with the people and the language," he says, adding that "it was surprising to see words like ‘mulligatawny’ (rasam), ‘pongal,’ ‘catamaran,’ and ‘conjee’ in English dictionaries."

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Publishers get a measure of India's booming English book market
By Samanth Subramanian, National AE News

January 17, 2011—Dubbed "Chills and Thrills," the campaign promoted the works of 16 writers for four weeks. It worked, raising the combined sales of the authors by almost two thirds.

But HarperCollins did not learn about its success until six months later. "That's when unsold copies started to come back in from distributors and shops," recalled Lipika Bhushan, marketing manager at HarperCollins India. "That was the only way to figure out what we'd sold."

Even though publishing in India is an established and growing industry, it has proven difficult to quantify. No comprehensive estimate is available of the size of its English and vernacular language markets because of the huge number of "unorganised" publishers and retailers. Precise sales figures for individual titles are often difficult to obtain.

The quiet launch, two months ago, of Nielsen's Bookscan system will attempt to change that. Bookscan is already used in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. It pulls retail data from sales counters throughout the country and produces compiled sales figures that are visible across the industry.

As India's literacy rate improves (it rose from 52 per cent to 68 per cent between 1991 and 2008), publishers predict that India will become the world's largest market for English books within the next 10 years.

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English classes mostly in Japanese

January 22, 2011 (Kyodo News)—Only 20 percent of teachers of English oral communications at public high schools were giving classes in the language in 2010, despite the "100 percent" target three years from now, a governmental survey showed Friday.

The ratio was also low among teachers for cross-cultural understanding classes included in English language courses, with only 35 percent of them found to be using English, the survey by the education ministry indicated.

As new high school education guidelines will start in the academic year beginning in April 2013 that basically require all teachers of English classes to use the language, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said it intends to instruct schools to raise the level for a smooth transition.

The survey was conducted in August, targeting all full-time public high schools. The teachers polled did not include special aides such as foreign assistant language teachers, according to the ministry.

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Japan far behind in global language of business
By Mizuho Aoki, Japan Times

Keiko Suezaki in October began sending her 7-year-old daughter to an English school in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, once a week, hoping to give her more exposure to the de facto international language.

Although her daughter, Rina, has a 45-minute English activity class at her elementary school once every two weeks, Suezaki didn't think it was enough.

"If you live in Europe, or maybe in India, you become conscious of the necessity of learning English, but it's different in Japan. So I just want my daughter to know that there is an important language called English and it's fun (to learn)," said Suezaki, a 38-year-old Tokyo resident. "Besides, I think there will be more chances to use English in business situations (in the future). When such a time comes, it's better if one can use English."

With the economy expected to shrink due to the low birthrate, Japan has no choice but to seek markets outside the country, which will mean working more with non-Japanese, experts say.

For a country without much in the way of natural resources, manpower will be key to future survival. Japan, however, appears to be falling behind its neighbors in nurturing personnel who can compete in a globalizing world.

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More Saudi youngsters increasingly speaking English
By Renad Ghanem, Arab News

JEDDAH, January 21, 2011—In spite of Arabic being their mother tongue, there is a growing trend among Saudi youths, particularly those at high school and in university, to talk to one another in English. The tendency to speak English is borne from an urge to look professional and seem modern.

English is much in vogue nowadays, particularly since many employers consider the language a must when recruiting staff. The trend is such that many people are seen substituting common Arabic greetings, such as Assalam alaykum, with hellos and good mornings. However, many, particularly traditionalists, view the trend negatively, saying it is a threat to the Arabic language and the Kingdom’s Arab identity.

“My family often criticizes me for talking English and demand I speak Arabic since we are in Saudi Arabia,” said Dina Jamil, a 21-year-old university student who speaks English all the time with her friends.

Jamil speaks English in spite of criticism for not speaking Arabic because she wants to improve fluency in the language. “Many of my friends who work tell me that speaking English at work is an indication that the person is a professional and that is why I want to be fluent in it,” she said.

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Urdu press should project India’s growth story

NEW DELHI, January 16, 2011—Noted mediapersons and parliamentarians today made a strong pitch for projecting India's growth story in the Urdu press to broaden its reach and appeal across the country.

They said Urdu journalists should not shy away from English language, which is global now. Urdu press should also make full use of Information Technology (IT) revolution and hone the technical skills of the youth to compete in the rapidly-changing world.

They made these observations while interacting with upcoming Urdu journalists at an orientation course organised by the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language here.

The programme was held with the objective to exposing Urdu journalists to modern techniques of reporting, editing and communication.

Stating that Urdu press commands a robust readership of 20 million people in the country, Rajya Sabha member Saifuddin Soz asked the Council to do content analysis of the Urdu press to find out why stories of helplessness and depression dominate it.

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Northern Territory schools stick to English despite attendance falls

January 18, 2011—The Northern Territory government has defended its policy of requiring all schools to teach the first four hours of each day in English, despite figures showing a decline in attendance among indigenous students since its introduction.

Advocates of bilingual education have linked the slide in attendance rates to the policy, introduced in January 2009 in a bid to lift numeracy and English literacy.

Two schools that had used bilingual approaches have recorded some of the largest drops in attendance. At Lajamanu, 550 kilometres south-west of Katherine, attendance rates have slipped from 60 per cent in November 2008, before the ''First Four Hours'' policy was introduced, to 47 per cent in November last year. At Yuendumu, 300 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, attendance rates have fallen from 59 per cent to 34 per cent over the same period.

Before 2009 both schools used the Warlpiri language as the predominant language of instruction for beginning students, gradually increasing the proportion of English-language instruction until it was the primary language of teaching.

Greg Dickson, a linguist who has researched the impact of the policy in Warlpiri schools, said while the First Four Hours policy was not the only cause for the decline in attendance rates, it appeared to have been a factor.

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Employer call for English fluency
By Jill Rowbotham, The Australian

January 12, 2011—Mismatched expectations between Australian employers and international graduates centre on English language proficiency.

An Australian Education International survey, conducted between February and May 2009 and released in December last year, canvassed 8,600 higher education and vocational education and training graduates, international and domestic, and 101 domestic employers. The graduates completed qualifications in Australia between 2004 and 2008.

The survey found while a large majority of Australian employers of international graduates nominated competence in English as an important attribute, only 19 per cent of international higher education graduates and 21 per cent of international VET graduates did so.

"The graduates need to understand how important English language skills are; this is sometimes not clearly understood and leads to frustration," one Australian employer is quoted as saying.

However, 74 per cent of Australian employers thought the English competence of the international graduates they employed was acceptable or better, while 21 per cent felt it was poor.

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Quebec study answers, “Why is English so popular?”

OTTAWA (AFP)—A study commissioned by Quebec's teachers union released on Thursday found that students in Canada's French-speaking province are increasingly choosing to study in English in hopes of landing better jobs.

The results come as Quebec lawmakers debate whether to extend a 30-year-old law aimed at bolstering the French language in primary and secondary schools to junior colleges.

"It is indubitable that access to the English job market (both locally and abroad) is a major factor in students' choice of pursuing studies in English," the study concluded.

Francophone students enrolled in English-language junior colleges in Montreal told the researchers they "considered English to be key to their upward mobility, and fluency in English was perceived as being key to landing a good job," it said.

Post-secondary school admissions in English over the past three years have grown three times faster than in French, even though the proportion of Anglophones in the province has been steadily declining since the 1990s.

More than 3,200 students were surveyed for the study commissioned by the Quebec House of Labour, the province's third largest union.

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2B or nt 2B, Tht is the FAQ: Is texting ruining the English language?
By Aprill Brandon, Victoria Advocate

January 6, 2011—In addition to being one of the greatest writers of all time, William Shakespeare was also well-known for another trait. The playwright was notorious for making up words and phrases. In fact, he's credited with inventing thousands of them, many of which are still used today.

While Shakespeare's impact on the English language was huge, probably even he would be shocked to see the impact the Internet and texting have had on it in only a few short decades.

As the popularity of texting and social networking sites like Twitter have grown, so has text language, or textese, which uses abbreviations, slang, numbers and phonetic spelling to produce ultra-concise words.

This unique way of writing is particularly popular with younger generations, who played a big part in developing the language, Dr. Uppinder Mehan, associate director of the Society for Critical Exchange and assistant professor of English at the University of Houston-Victoria, said.

"The technology came first and then people adapted the language. With Twitter only allowing 140 characters at a time and text messages 160 characters, to get something meaningful across calls for creativity," he said. "But there is also a desire for young people to have a language they can call their own; one that is different from their parents and teachers."

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After Tucson, journalists try avoiding violent political clichés

January 19, 2011—With the debate over political rhetoric dominating the post-Tucson media conversation, some journalists have begun pausing before reaching for violent clichés that have long been common in political coverage.

CNN host John King took a moment on air Tuesday night to acknowledge that a guest had just used the term "in the cross hairs" during a discussion about the Chicago mayoral race. "We're trying, we're trying to get away from that language," King told viewers.

The Washington Examiner's Byron York took issue with King's statement and pointed out on Wednesday that CNN has used battle-ready terms such as "in the cross hairs" numerous times in the past. He questioned whether King's decision to avoid the word is because Sarah Palin's infamous "target" map created an uproar after the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. (Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, had placed Giffords' Arizona district under the cross hairs of a gun in a fundraising appeal.)

"Just for the record, CNN anchors, reporters and guests did absolutely nothing wrong with their use of the word in the last month and before," York wrote. "It would be impossible, at least for any reasonable person, to argue that the network's use of 'cross hairs' in any of the various contexts it was used, was an incitement to violence by anyone, anywhere…”

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Sign language: Don’t legislate it

NEW HAMPSHIRE, January 15, 2011—Rep. Jordan Ulery, R-Hudson, doesn't think businesses should use signs to cater to customers who don't speak English. So he is proposing legislation to do away with them. As the French Canadians who used to dominate these parts might have said, "C'est une idee terrible."

Rather than ban multi-lingual signs, Ulery proposes making them too expensive for any business to buy. He wants to require that any multilingual sign be printed in every official language of the United Nations.

"The idea is that you can do the complicated thing and put it up in the official languages of the United Nations, or you can put it up in the official language of New Hampshire," he said.

Ulery says he wants to prevent the balkanization of New Hampshire. He needn't worry. New Hampshire has always assimilated its immigrants without such a mandate. Manchester used to be packed with Greek-speaking and French-speaking households. Berlin had Scandanavians, French-Canadians and Italians, who all spoke their old-world languages at home. Today their children speak English, just as the children of Hispanic immigrants will.

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At local elementary school, Spanish-speaking parents begin to learn English

DELAWARE, January 15, 2011—Tutor Rebecca Penix-Tadsen wrote sentences typically spoken in a classroom on the blackboard in English, including "I have a question" and "I don't understand," asking her class of Spanish-speaking parents if they could translate that last one.

"No comprende," some of them responded.

The parents easily could have been talking about their comprehension of the English language. But the after-school class at Mote Elementary School in Marshallton provided them with a chance to do something about that. Principal Aaron Selekman started it last year to better involve the school's parents, and he already has seen one set of graduates.

"The benefit is these parents have now become more active in our school," Selekman said. "They are more apt to come to PTA meetings. They are more apt to come to a parent-teacher conference because there is a level of comfort that wasn't there before.

"We're hoping that by beginning to learn the language -- and because all of the work that comes home is in English -- they will be better able to support their children's schoolwork than they are now," he said.

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Linguistic freedom for CEGEP students
 
MONTREAL, January 15, 2011—While Quebec's language hardliners are busily opening a new front in the war against English, the province's young people are moving ahead with their lives.

Those who decide their career or educational prospects would be improved by learning English are switching out of the French school system and into English at the first legal opportunity available, the CEGEP system.

Unhappy hardliners want to put a stop to this freedom of choice. Last fall, the Parti Quebecois brought in a proposal calling for Bill 101 to be extended to CEGEPs. The proposal is to be debated at the party's policy convention in April.

In preparation for the convention, the province's biggest teachers' union, the Centrale des syndicats du Quebec, commissioned a study on why francophone and allophone youths are choosing English CEGEPs.

While warning of impending doom for French as the "common language of Quebec society," the study more usefully acknowledged that the students who switched were making a conscious, motivated choice to learn English to get better jobs.

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More young Singaporeans speak English at home
             
SINGAPORE, January 17, 2011—The latest census has shown that more younger Singaporeans speak English at home compared to 10 years ago.

This has raised concerns about the impact on learning mother tongue language in schools.

Mr. Naim Daipi is a retired Malay teacher who has taught for some 40 years. He concurs with the census that there has been a significant shift, with more Malay families using English at home.

Among Malays aged between 5 and 14 years, 26 per cent use English now compared to 9.4 per cent 10 years ago.

Mr. Naim said it is clear that teachers have their work cut out for them to ensure standards in the Malay language do not deteriorate.

The retired teacher, who is a member of the Malay Language Council, said: "The students will find it difficult to learn the Malay language and the teachers also difficult to teach Malay language to them because their vocabulary is very weak ... and they are not confident ... (of the) language."

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Newspaper-in-education program in Malaysia now on 14th year

January 16, 2011—This year, The Star’s NiE (Newspaper-in-Education) programme turns 14 and we have an exciting line up for teachers, students and parents.

The Star-NiE programme consists of a wide range of activities, including English language pullouts, workshops, contests, books and more.

Along with our partner in NiE, Pizza Hut, we’ve revamped our programme to make learning English an upbeat and interactive experience for both students and teachers.

Star-NiE is now open to school subscription, with two effective reference books on offer with the purchase of the pullouts. The New First Aid in English and Chambers School Grammar are comprehensive and practical guides for students with numerous exercises and tips to enhance knowledge and language skills.

With a subscription, students will receive 33 issues of the NiE pullout every Wednesday, four times a month at a discounted price.

The NiE pullouts, which focus on essential components of the English language — grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and reading — aim to solidify students’ language foundation and instil a passion for the language.

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Looking for a job? Mind your language

January 10, 2011—In China, an English examination is attracting more and more job-hunting graduates and white-collar workers who intend to climb the career ladder, according to ATA Co, the largest professional services provider of testing, assessment and related services in China.

"In 2008, 100,000 people took the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). The figure tripled to 300,000 in 2010, and it is likely to reach 500,000 in 2011. Within the next three to five years, the number is expected to exceed 5 million," said Wang Lin, president of the company.

Developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization, TOEIC is an English language test designed to measure the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment—in other words, it measures how competent you are as an English user in the workplace.

China will become TOEIC's biggest market in the near future because of the rapid development of Chinese enterprises and their desire to share the global market, said Feng Yu, director of TOEIC Global Management Education Testing Service, in a visit to Beijing in December.

"The more global a company is, the higher its requirements in management and communication skills," he said. "Though Chinese companies have not yet been well-aware of the TOEIC's value in evaluating business English, they will catch up very soon as the demand for increased competitiveness grows."

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China bars English words

December 27, 2010—Chinese newspapers, books and websites will no longer be allowed to use English words and phrases, the country's publishing body has announced, saying the "purity" of the Chinese language is in peril.

The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), which announced the new rule on Monday, said the increasing use of English words and abbreviations in Chinese texts had caused confusion and was a means of "abusing the language."

Such practices "severely damaged the standard and purity of the Chinese language and disrupted the harmonious and healthy language and cultural environment, causing negative social impacts," the body said on its website.

"It is banned to mix at will foreign language phrases such as English words or abbreviations with Chinese publications, creating words of vague meaning that are not exactly Chinese or of any foreign language," it said.

"Publishing houses and the media must further strengthen the regulated use of foreign languages and respect the structure, glossary and grammar of the Chinese and foreign languages."

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Government to heed concerns on the use of English

MACAU, December 30, 2010—Legal Reform Office director Chu Lam Lam promised it will “take into consideration” foreign investor’s concerns over the lack of information available in English language.

“We know there are already many foreign investors operating in Macau,” she told Macau Daily Times. “Some laws, including a few on investment, are already translated [into English], while others are not,” the official added.

For instance, the Government Printing Bureau released an English-translation of Macau’s Trade Code in 2003. The Basic Law, banking and insurance supervision laws and intellectual property legislation – currently being revised – have also been translated into English.
However, as University of Macau professor Jorge Godinho stressed in an article published by Macau Business, all these translations are unofficial and suffer from “a clear lack of consistency in legal terminology”, which means investors still need professional legal advice.

Last August the British Consul General to Hong Kong and Macau, Andrew Seaton, told MDTimes the main concern of British companies operating in the territory is the use of English language in a territory where Cantonese and Portuguese are the official languages.

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English is vital for an international city, English professor says

December 20, 2010—While Chinese and Portuguese remain as Macau’s official languages, the importance of using English has gained greater significance since the handover, particularly with the liberalization of the gaming industry and with the plan to transform the SAR into an international tourist destination.

But for that to be successfully accomplished, more effort should be put in place to better promote the English language across the city, said Glenn Henry Timmermans, associate professor from the English Department of the University of Macau.

“Given that English is the ‘lingua franca’, I think that if tourism is the focus when we speak of diversification, then English is vital,” he said.

“As a tourist when you go to a new country one thing that crosses your mind is: ‘Am I going to be understood?’ Tourists always look for a certain level of ease when travelling,” the scholar said on last weekend’s TDM Talk Show. Nonetheless, he added, “The English language actually has a very long history in Macau”.

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Common entrance exam for secondary education could go online

January 4, 2011—Plans are being drawn up to put the Common Entrance exam online in an attempt to make it less stressful for young pupils, according to the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS)

First introduced in 1904, Common Entrance is an exam taken by children applying to private secondary schools, including top institutions like Eton College, at age 11 and 13.

Pupils are entered for the exam if they have been offered a place at a school, subject to passing it, and the papers are then marked by the relevant school.

All pupils take Common Entrance in English, maths and science, and at age 13+ they can also take French, geography, German, Greek, history, Latin, religious studies and Spanish.
Secondary schools choose which options they require from pupils, which means youngsters applying to more than one school could have to sit several subjects.

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Comedian inspires language learners
By Lee Sun-min, Joongang Daily

January 04, 2011—After comedian Kim Young-cheol appeared in a stand-up comedy competition in Toronto in 2003, he had an unexpected interview with an English-language media outlet in Korea when he returned home.

The reporter assumed that he would be fluent in English. But during the interview he got his tenses mixed up and became flustered trying to express himself.

“I had wanted to say that I went to Vancouver before visiting Toronto, but the tenses came out all wrong and I confused the reporter,” Kim said.

As soon as he came back to Korea, English became his obsession.

“I started studying on Sept. 1, 2003,” he said in a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily, recalling the exact date of his first class. “Ten months later, I could understand things that were being said in English and I became more confident.”

He soon became as famous for his English skills as he was for his comedic talents. He was a guest on the Arirang Radio show “Beat” for a year in 2005, taught English at Kaywon High School of Arts for a year in 2006 and published two English study guides in 2007 and 2009. He has also appeared in a segment called “Young-cheol’s English” on MBC Radio’s program “Hopeful Songs at Noon” every day since 2005 and frequently gives lectures at universities around the nation.

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To check mass failure, Nigeria to replace English language with English studies

ABUJA, January 5, 2011—With the mass failure of Nigerian students in public examinations, especially in English language and mathematics, the Federal Government on Wednesday disclosed that it has concluded plans to introduce English Studies to replace English language in the secondary school curriculum.

The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqqayatu Rufai who disclosed this in Abuja at a meeting with heads of parastatals and agencies in in the Ministry of Education, said it would not only help to reduce the incidence of mass failure but also encourage reading culture among students.

He was full of optimism that the initiative would yield desired results, saying, “come 2011 academic session, English language as taught in schools will now include some portions of literature and will now be called English studies.

“The move when properly articulated will check mass failure in among students in English language and will go a long way to encourage students to read more.”

Prof. Rufai also disclosed that Federal Government was intensifying effort at introducing security measures in schools following recent attacks and blasts across country.

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UBA rekindles reading culture with “Read Africa” project

December 26, 2010—Concerned by the dwindling reading habits among youths in Africa especially in secondary schools, United Bank forAfrica (UBA) plc, the pan African banking group has introduced the“Read Africa Project”, an initiative to rekindle reading culture amongAfrican students in post primary institutions.

The Read Africa Project is packaged by UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the bank, as part of its interventions in promoting education, learning and development. The project, “Read Africa”, initiative will involve the provision of recommended English language and English literature text books for students in some junior and senior secondary schools across Africa.

Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, Executive Director, Resources UBA Plc said that the Read Africa project is formulated to encourage learning through reading. “A lot of young people these days are more comfortable with digital devices than reading and this is manifesting in the quality of education.
UBA recognizes the need to improve learning, imagination and knowledge through reading and this initiative is one of our areas of intervention in the sector” he said.

Mr. Uzoka said that the exercise which began early in December 2010 will run till the end of first quarter, 2011…

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Surge in demand for TEFL courses

December 28, 2010—There has been a surge in demand for courses offering English-language teaching qualifications, with record numbers of people leaving Ireland to seek jobs in education abroad.

Waterford-based “voluntourism” specialist i-to-i said the demand for TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses had increased 30 per cent as a result of excessive demand for college places and a lack of jobs.

Ian O’Sullivan, manager of i-to-i Ireland said the company had seen a surge of people undertaking TEFL courses in the last year, adding: “We can’t keep up with demand”.

He said a growing number of graduates were looking overseas for work, discouraged by a tight job market as unemployment rates continue to soar, adding that even long-time workers who have recently been made redundant are opting for teaching jobs abroad, 20,000 of which are advertised each month.

“We’re getting people of all ages coming to us for internships, paid jobs abroad and volunteering work. Previously we dealt with students, now it’s everyone.”

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