53 different languages at a school – thesun.co.uk
Lingos range from Ghana’s Akan Twi-Fante to Russian at Nelson Primary in East Ham, East London.
The largest language group is Sri Lankan Tamil (127) with English second (115).
Head Tim Benson said: “It makes things more difficult. We aren’t on a level playing field with other schools.”
His school has a 30-year history of teaching non-English speaking pupils. They have teaching assistants with various language skills.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2327768.ece
Bid to enhance English teaching – google.com
The Government has said it is trying to “bring students weak in English up to speed” after it emerged that one in seven primary school pupils did not have English as their first language.
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said the increase in the number of pupils for whom English was a second language was making life difficult for teachers, parents and pupils and called for an annual limit on immigration.
But the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) said a “comprehensive support package” was available for new arrivals.
A DCSF spokesman said: “The language of instruction in English schools is and always has been English.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hRuj34HHqe5YDKJVkPP9QMH9iiWA
British Council launches portfolio of new English teaching and learning services at TESOL Arabia 2009 in Dubai – bi-me.com
The British Council, the world’s largest English language teaching organisation, launched a range of new global English teaching and learning services in the UAE at the TESOL Arabia 15th annual International Conference which concluded on 14 March.
The new services, most of which are free to users, aim to create very broad access to high quality teaching and learning materials through highly interactive Web 2.0 style online services for teachers, learners and parents.
The new services include teacher content on a single website. A fun learning zone in the teen-only area of Second Life helps facilitate the social-networking and intercultural dialogue that goes on in English as the lingua franca of the virtual environment. ‘LearnEnglish Family’ aims to help teachers and parents combine to support young student learning through online resources.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=33460&t=1&c=33&cg=4&mset=
Language teacher goes the extra mile – asiaone.com
WHEN cousins Yen Wei Shing and Lim Zhi Wei scored an A and a A* respectively for Chinese in the Primary School Leaving Examinations last year, teachers and pupils at Nan Chiau Primary School were stunned.
Their results were unexpected as the 13-year-olds were known to be struggling with the subject. As children from single-parent families, both were too poor to afford private tuition.
Wei Shing also has dyslexia, which had caused him to consistently fail the subject. Zhi Wei, although a good student, had been falling behind in school, distraught that his mother was dying from brain cancer.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090318-129279.html
A new language, a new outlook – wiscnews.com
Isias Tomas thought it was “cool” to hear a story told in his native language at South Elementary School.
As stories were told Wednesday, fifth-grade classmates unfamiliar with the Spanish language whispered questions to him about what was said.
A former Spanish teacher, Kay Elmsley-Weeden, spoke in partial English and used exaggerated movements to keep all of the kids involved in her story. Moving through the room in her traditional Spanish dress, she had students laughing, clapping their hands and figuring out the meaning of foreign words.
Read the complete news item here: http://www.wiscnews.com/bnr/news/443628
1 comment