English teaching tries to get past ‘how are you?’ – Viet Nam News
HA NOI — Low efficiency in teaching English at universities is a thorny issue, especially since the State has invested money and resources in improving courses.
A first-year student at the Ha Noi National University summarised his English learning process from the sixth grade to university as a stretch of road where he had to learn to say “How are you?” at every education level.
He said the present curriculum did not interconnect these levels well, making teachers and students waste time.
Read the complete news here: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01EDU171208
7 Staten Island schools get grants to help ‘English Language Learners’ – Staten Island Advance
Seven Staten Island schools have been awarded grants to help non-native English speaking students overcome the hurdles of assimilation.
The six elementary schools and one high school were among 110 public schools citywide to receive a total of $7 million in grants for so-called “English Language Learners,” Department of Education officials said.
There are about 150,000 ELL students across city, or about 14 percent of the student population, officials said. About 250 schools applied for the grant, which required detailed plans on how the school would improve services to ELL students. In choosing schools, the DOE looked for programs that would expand support for recent immigrants and students with disabilities, create or enhance bilingual programs and improve teacher quality.
Read the complete news here: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/7_staten_island_schools_get_gr.html
Learning the Language – Education Week
Mary Ann Zehr is an assistant editor at Education Week. She has written about the schooling of English-language learners for more than eight years and understands through her own experience of studying Spanish that it takes a long time to learn another language well. Her blog will tackle difficult policy questions, explore learning innovations, and share stories about different cultural groups on her beat.
Arne Duncan and English-Language Learners
I have only one clue to offer about what kind of policies Arne Duncan, who has been nominated as the secretary of education for President-elect Barack Obama’s Cabinet, might favor for English-language learners. As the superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, he has argued that English-language learners should have a separate test other than the state’s regular reading and math tests for ELLs.
Read the complete news here: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2008/12/arne_duncan_and_englishlanguag.html
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