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NEWS

British Council boot camp boosts 1500 turn up

Thai teachers use of English for training

By Matt Salusbury exceeded expectations. Training Centres (RETCs) By Matt Salusbury
The programme was established and is known as RETC Boot
Over 15,000 Thai teachers are after a nationwide assessment Camp. It aims to promote Over 100 trainers ran 92
now using English more often in of 40,000 English teachers in ‘real communication with less workshops for 1500 public sector
their classes, following a three Thailand’s state primary and reliance on learning by rote,’ school teachers in a one-day
week ‘boot camp’ run by the secondary schools found that two as well as teaching students to event in Oklahoma.
British Council. Over 90 per thirds of them tested at A2 on ‘actually speak English’ rather The mass training day,
cent of attendees reported their the CEFR, an elementary level, than relying on the currently designed to help mainstream
‘subject knowledge’ of English had barely above that of some of their prevalent ‘grammar-vocabulary’ teachers to cope with the needs
improved. students. methodology. of English language learners
The results of the programme, This revelation led to the RETC Boot Camp has been (ELLs), took place at Putnam
which is run by the Council in project in which more than 30 running for two and a half years City North High School in
partnership with the Ministry Thai ‘master trainers’ with good now. Thomas Kral, Head of a suburb of the state capital,
of Education were released in English skills have been employed Academic Management at the Oklahoma City.
September. to mentor and upskill 17,000 of British Council’s RETC project The trainers were drawn
Andrew Glass, director of the nation’s state school English told the Gazette that these courses from the state’s specialist ELL
British Council Thailand, told instructors. were for many teachers ‘the first instructors, people like Sally
The Nation newspaper, ‘the The initiative is run via time they were exposed to English Diaz, an elementary teacher
outcome of the project has Thailand’s Regional English and communicative methodology who ‘specializing in teaching
in such an intensive way.’ children who are in the process
The Nation reported Thailand’s of learning English’, according
Minister of Education Teerakiat to local website News OK.
Jareonsettasin as saying the Just over ten per cent of the
development of Thai students’ population of the southwestern
English still needed serious state are now L1 Spanish
improvement. The inability speakers, according to the 2016
of most school leavers to census – an increase of 85 per
communicate in English after 12 cent since 2000. Two thirds of
years of study remains the biggest them were born in the USA.
obstacle to global competition. The state, which has been hit
by a spate of teacher activism
Thai English teachers fuelled by the low level of
on an RETC Boot Camp funding for education, has
course learn to use the revised its definition of English
‘communcative approach’ language learners in an effort to
in the classroom improve their outcomes.
BRITISH COUNCIL THAILAND REGIONAL ENGLISH TRAINING CENTRES PROJECT

Thousands of new Teflers being recruited for Taiwan

By Matt Salusbury William Lai to make English ‘an Mainland China is poised to Exam Centre told the paper.
official language.’ implement such tests ‘in the next ‘To maintain its international
Taiwan has announced The programme will also few years and Hong Kong has done competitiveness, Taiwan must not
scholarships for 1,000 Taiwanese involve recruiting and training so many years ago,’ Liu Meng-chi, fall behind in English proficiency,’
English teachers to study abroad 5,000 more Taiwanese English College Director of the Entrance he added.
as part of a major recruitment teachers and hiring some 4,600
drive which will see the English new ‘foreign’ English teachers for
language teaching force on the its schools.
island increase by nearly 10,000. English courses in primary JORGE CANCELA
The drive to increase the schools will be extended to three
number of teachers is one of a hours a week for grades three to
range of policies introduced to six. There are no plans to lower
meet the country’s needs, and the age at which English is started
follows the call by Prime Minister or to lift the ban on English
medium preschool.
PANK LU YIU the government is also proposing
The Taipei Times reports that
to phase in compulsory English
courses as part of all university
degree programmes.
There are also plans to introduce
compulsory spoken English tests
as part of the university entrance
School prizegiving in Taiwan exam within the next three years. Taipei cityscape

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