In the News Blog

Animosity against English teachers in Seoul

South Korea: As South Korea climbs the economic ladder, the presence of foreigners is growing — and so are complicated reactions to them. An upswing in animosity toward foreign English teachers followed some negative media coverage, during which the group, "Citizens of Right Education" was formed. Citizens of Right Education has taken it upon itself to rid the country of foreign, unqualified English teachers. The group now has more than 17,000 members.

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Teaching English to Colombian Police

Colombia: Professors Dr. Keith and Lisa Terry went to Colombia this past summer to teach English to members of the national police force. Their job was to teach English to about 100 members of the national police force for six weeks. Dr. Keith Terry, a UNK professor, said, "They're working more and more with the American military. When members of the American military go there and work on projects, they want to be able to have one-on-one conversations."

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Bill that allows schools to opt-out of ELL moves forward

Arizona: House committee, chaired by Mesa’s Rich Crandall, voted 9-0 to pass through committee a bill that would allow some schools to opt-out of the states ELL (English language learner) program; which was instituted in 2007 in order to comply with a federal law suit. Currently children who participate in Arizona’s ELL program are required to spend four hours a day in English immersion classes however some districts say the states model is a determent to ELL progression.

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English language is not neglected, says Muhyiddin

Malaysia: The Government’s decision not to continue teaching Science and Mathematics in English does not mean the language is being neglected, said Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Several new initiatives are being planned to upgrade the teaching of English in schools and to strengthen the command of English among students, he added.

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English Language Learner Charter Schools

United States: A rise in the Hispanic population in the United States has brought more charter schools focusing just on ELLs—some with great success. In districts with Hispanic populations, English language learning is a priority, particularly in the elementary grades, which many students enter still speaking Spanish as their primary language.

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British Council helps improve English teaching in Vietnam

Vietnam, United Kingdom: The British Council and the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam (MoET) will inaugurate a bilingual website www.teachingenglish.edu.vn on February 5. The website is part of the Access English project, which has been launched by the British Council in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to support changes in English language teaching.

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Help for English language learners

New York: Asian Americans for Equality and the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families have partnered with Flushing High School and Flushing International High School to launch Project Collegebound, part of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation’s College Ready Communities Initiative, designed to improve the educational experience of low-income ELLs and provide services that help them learn about various college options and federal and state student aid.

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Eight English schools won't reopen: E&Y

Australia: The voluntary administrators of eight English language schools say that the schools will not reopen because of the financial situation. Justin Walsh and Adam Nikitins of Ernst & Young say they are working with the federal department of education and state government departments to find arrangements for the 2300 international students.

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Sing for literacy . . . karaoke style

Canada: ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation and Family Literacy Day founding sponsor Honda Canada are encouraging Canadians to Sing for Literacy this Family Literacy Day, Jan. 27, by offering popular English and French songs as free karaoke videos in partnership with The KARAOKE Channel.

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Teaching English to the Bulgarian Army

Bulgaria: In February 2009, a English language teaching lab was opened in Bulgaria’s Haskovo where military officers from the land forces of the Bulgarian Army could study. It is the sixth English language center for the training of the Bulgarian armed forces sponsored by the Dutch government, and the first one for the land forces.

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Funding for immigrants settling into the South Okanagan

Canada: Immigrants settling in the South Okanagan will have a better access to English language training, thanks to a $2 million investment from the provincial government.

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Irish schools need not teach English to junior infants

Ireland: Irish language schools will no longer have to teach English to junior infants following the withdrawal yesterday of a controversial directive by the Department of Education. Circular 44, introduced by Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin in July 2007, directed all Irish language primary schools to teach English for a minimum of 30 minutes every day despite opposition from Irish language groups and educationalists. The directive in effect forced Irish-medium primary schools to abandon their preferred approach of total immersion as a means of teaching the language. Yesterday’s decision to withdraw the circular was announced by the office of Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe.

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AISD Plans Dual-Language Program

Texas: After years of calls from parents and community groups to take bilingualism more seriously, Austin Independent School District will launch its first dual-language program this fall. Around 200 students, both native English speakers and English-language learners, will join a pilot program across four elementary campuses.

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Cambodia's Minority Languages Face Bleak Future

Cambodia: More than 20 languages are spoken in Cambodia, but most are minority languages and face extinction in the coming decades. For Jean-Michel Filippi, recording the language is one way to preserve a cultural view of the world.

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Budget worries trump bilingual education plan

California: Growing budget concerns are prompting Belmont school officials to gauge interest in starting a Spanish immersion program through preregistration and further study on funding options before giving the go-ahead for a fall start.

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