ELT World » singapore

Nine teachers receive ‘Inspiring Teacher of English’ award in Singapore

david — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 07:50:55 +0000

The Inspiring Teacher of the Year Award’s aim is to acknowledge teachers who have been instrumental in igniting a love for the English language in their students and are effective in helping their students speak and write better. It will also help share their teaching practices with fellow teachers.

Read the full Inspiring story…

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Singapore: English and the social fabric

david — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:08:11 +0000

If Singapore is set to become a rainbow spread of peoples in the future owing to continued significant immigration to the country to supplement falling birth rates, the fostering of a common “Singaporean Spirit” well into the 21st century may require the introduction of English language tests for immigrants.

Read the full details here.

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20% Job Quota for Indian English Graduates

david — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:01:04 +0000

India: 20% Job Quota for English Grads in Maharashtra Schools

There was a time when Maharashtra politicians flared up at the idea of introducing English in schools. What a sight that must have been. Finally, picking up on what parents and students actually want, the state has now been forced to woo (sounds a bit saucy) English D.Ed graduates, who otherwise join private schools.

Maharashtra produces close to 4,000 such graduates, who go on to teach in English-medium primary schools, most of them private. Now the state is setting aside a 20% quota in government schools for teachers who have completed their D.Ed in English.

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Singapore: These Courses Should Translate Well

Even a good interpreter can get lost in translation. As such, the Singapore Institute of Management University (UniSIM) hopes to raise the industry’s standards by launching the first national certification for interpreters. First to go to school in the pilot programme later this year will be diplomatic officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

Read the fully translated story…

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Asia Pacific in the Spotlight

david — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:19:45 +0000

I myself have never had the dubious pleasure of teaching English in Asia. For those of you who have, or are, or will, here’s the latest lowdown on TEFL in the Asia Pacific region:

Vietnam: Teaching English: TOEIC Suitable to Vietnam?

Many, ahem, ‘experts’ say that TOEIC (Test of English International Communication) will not be suitable to Vietnam, warning that the application of TOEIC on a large scale in Vietnam will repeat the bitter lessons of the A-B-C certificate-based English teaching movement several years ago. Sure that advice will be followed, then.

Read the full story…

Look where you’re going for God’s sake

Singapore: She Puts the Fun in English Lessons

Mrs Whiston, co-managing director and chairman of Lorna Whiston Schools, has come a long way since setting up the school in 1980.The Lorna Whiston English as an Acquired Language (EAL) School received a Singapore Education Award for Best Enrichment Programme. The EAL school was formed in 2005 for foreign students who do not speak English as their first language and are seeking to get into schools here. Since it started, it has seen over 200students pass through its doors. For Mrs Whiston, the school was formed simply because there was a need for it. It was the same reason she had set up her first study centre 28 years ago. Good old Mrs Whiston, eh.

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New Zealand: School Highlights Language Barriers

The happy sound of children in primary schools around Queenstown these days is beginning to resemble more of a United Nations assembly than a school one. About 30 percent of pupils at Queenstown’s 160-pupil St Joseph’s School do not speak English as their first language and at nearby Queenstown Primary School that figure is 77 out of 598 pupils.St Joseph’s School principal Phil O’Connell-Cooper said it was an increasing challenge to find the resources to help some of these children, who could arrive at the school speaking no English or a moderate amount. Welcome to the 21st century.

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Taiwan: The Best Time for Learning English

Taiwan has been awash with ‘English fever’, apparently. Sounds a bit painful if you ask me. Learning English as a foreign language (EFL) has been a national craze for years. Parents want their children to learn English as early as possible — preferably before elementary school — as evidenced by the ubiquity of language schools. More than 30 percent of all elementary school students study English at some form of language school.This phenomenon is largely based on the ‘assumption’ that kids naturally pick up languages more effortlessly than adults do. Although having children start to learn English at an early age seems to be the sole means of enhancing the nation’s English proficiency, many English teachers might still feel that younger learners do not necessarily perform better than others. Research has also shown no significant difference between the two groups in terms of final ability. I’m losing the will to live…

Read the full story…

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Asia Pacific TEFL Headlines

david — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:13:00 +0000

I myself have never had the dubious pleasure of teaching English in Asia. For those of you who have, or are, or will, here’s the latest lowdown on TEFL in the Asia Pacific region:

Vietnam: Teaching English: TOEIC Suitable to Vietnam?

Read the full story…

Look where you’re going for God’s sake

Singapore: She Puts the Fun in English Lessons

Read the full story…

New Zealand: School Highlights Language Barriers

St Joseph’s School principal Phil O’Connell-Cooper said it was an increasing challenge to find the resources to help some of these children, who could arrive at the school speaking no English or a moderate amount. Welcome to the 21st century.

Read the full story…

Taiwan: The Best Time for Learning English

This phenomenon is largely based on the ‘assumption’ that kids naturally pick up languages more effortlessly than adults do. Although having children start to learn English at an early age seems to be the sole means of enhancing the nation’s English proficiency, many English teachers might still feel that younger learners do not necessarily perform better than others. Research has also shown no significant difference between the two groups in terms of final ability. I’m losing the will to live…

Read the full story…

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