ELT World News

United Arab Emirates: Maths and science to be taught in English

All pupils in state high schools will be taught maths and science in English by the year 2012, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) said yesterday. At the launch of its 10-year strategic plan, Adec said it aimed to see pupils graduating with equal proficiency in English and Arabic.
The National reports how, in a [...]

United Arab Emirates: Language institute helping to bridge cultures

United Arab Emirates: The Polyglot Language Institute, located near Al Nassr Square, in the heart of Dubai’s commercial district, is where Russians shop for fur jackets, people lunch at Iranian restaurants and where you can purchase sleek but inexpensive Indian watches, notes GulfNews.
On the street you can hear myriad of languages being spoken. The [...]

British Council launches portfolio of newservices at TESOL Arabia 2009 – Dubai

United Kingdom and UAE: Those loveable rogues the British Council, the world’s infamously largest English language teaching organisation, has launched a range of new global English teaching and learning services, debuting the new services in the UAE, at the TESOL Arabia 15th annual International Conference which concluded on 14 March.
These new services, most of [...]

State pupils’ English skills are delaying degree programmes in the UAE

United Arab Emirates: According to The National, a substantial number of pupils in state schools applying to university do not have the English-language skills required to begin degree studies, college administrators say. Expressing concern over the time and money taken up by university preparatory courses, they are urging secondary schools to spend more time teaching [...]

A goal of one nation with two tongues

United Arab Emirates: The National notes that Arabic has been spoken in the lands that now constitute the UAE for more than a millennium. These days, though, it is as likely – if not more so – to hear English, the language of globalisation, in the corridors of commerce or the halls of education.
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British Council marks 10 years in Sharjah

United Arab Emirates & United Kingdom: The British Council has been present and active in Sharjah for 10 years, and has significantly increased the size of its teaching and support staff over this time, to meet local demand from an increasing number of students for English language courses, which is one of the main areas [...]

Dubai: Move to Introduce English in Arabic Nurseries Hailed

UAE: Children at a young age are more linguistically inclined in comparison to the later stages in their life, notes the Khaleej Times. Parents thus believe that if English is taught in state-run and Arabic nurseries and schools it will make their children more proficient when they make their transition into the English education system.
Recent [...]

United Arab Emirates: The Art and Science of Good English – Here Comes Help

The University of Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Examinations is planning to work with education councils and corporate sectors across the UAE to raise the standard of English among students, teachers and professionals in the country. While a number of students of private schools in the emirates are already writing the different [...]

United Arab Emirates and South Korea: Eager to Practice Together—Virtually

When learners in Dubai and South Korea met together to practise their Engish in the virtual world of Second Life they already had a lot to say to each other. Max de Lotbinière finds out how this innovative exchange project developed the two groups’ interest in each other and made them confident inhabitants of this [...]

United Arab Emirates: Educational Experts Encourage ‘Effective Communication’ in the Classroom

Educational experts across the Middle East are placing increasing importance on effective communication in the classrooms, says senior academic at the British University in Dubai, the region’s leading post-graduate university. Many educational associations have been reviewing the importance of encouraging proficiency in academic writing, especially with higher educational courses where non-native English language speaking students [...]