Page 4 - ELG1601 Feb Issue 433

ELlanguage news
Page 4 February 2016

Ireland publishes list

of eligible EL courses

STRICTER REGULATION of fifty institutions apparently removed from it will be allowed
Ireland’s ELT and higher educa- offering English language to complete it.
tion providers came into effect courses among the 4,000 entries • Fakir Hossain, the former
in January with the publication on Ielp. Most providers listed managing director and benefi-
of the Irish Naturalisation and are universities – automatically cial owner of both Eden College
Immigration Service’s (INIS) included, along with language London and Eden College Dub-
new Interim List of Eligible Pro- school courses already accred- lin, both now in liquidation,
grammes (Ilep). Students from ited under the old Acels scheme. is one of three men ordered to
non-EU visa-eligible countries The other course providers listed attend the Irish High Court in
will only be admitted if their have been checked by the INIS the case of the liquidation of Courtesy St Edmund’s College
course is on the Ilep. More lan- with input from Quality & Qual- Irish Education and Research
guage schools are predicted to ifications Ireland. Limited, trading as the Irish
close as a result. The Irish Council for Interna- Business College.
Last year justice minister tional Students (Icos) maintains Hossain, believed to be from
Frances Fitzgerald announced that ‘Ilep is a list based on east London, has been called
reforms to crack down on ‘visa immigration checks, not quality along with Golam Shoahn and St Edmund’s offers free Trinity exam
factories’. Ilep follows the clo- assurance’, although INIS criteria Mehedi Hasan in an attempt to
sure of seventeen language include demonstrating that ‘teach- locate documents pertaining to To celebrate its twentieth anniversary the UK’s top-ranking accredited summer
schools in Ireland since April ing staff are properly qualified’. the failure of the Irish Business school, St Edmund’s College, Ware is offering every child at the summer school a free
2014. (See our interview with O’Grady told PIE that schools College in 2014. The registered preparation course for the Trinity Integrate Skills in English (ISE) test and a free exam.
Marketing English in Ireland’s heavily dependent on visa-eli- owners and shareholders of the Summer school director Caroline Hugo said, ‘We have chosen Trinity ISE to be our
David O’Grady on page 15 for gible students whose courses company claim they were hold- main summer school examination because it is a well-designed exam for young
background.) didn’t appear on the list would ing the shares in trust for Hossain. learners. I am very grateful to Trinity for recognising the importance of young learner
On arrival in Ireland, visa-eligi- have ‘no means of income’. The same claim was made exams to the summer school industry and for setting convenient examination dates.’
ble students will now need to show He told the Irish Independent when Eden College Dublin Sarah Kemp, CEO Trinity College London, said, ‘I am delighted that St
proof of funds, medical insurance he expected this would lead to collapsed, following a TV inves- Edmund’s College – one of the UK’s foremost summer schools – has chosen to
and enrolment on an Ilep-listed ‘more closures, maybe about tigation which revealed its sister offer Trinity exams.’
course. Non-visa-eligible interna- five or six from what I have college in London was running
tional students including Brazilians heard anecdotally’. a corrupt exam centre which
have three months to get a visa for Icos noted Ilep will be peri- helped international students
a longer stay. odically revised, and students obtain test results needed for
The Gazette identified over still on a course that has been visa purposes. n Ben Warren shortlist announced
This award of £2,000 is made by the Ben Warren–International House Trust, which
was set up as a memorial to the life of Ben Warren, a key figure in the International
House organisation. Because one of Ben’s principal areas of interest was language
teacher education it was decided the prize be awarded to the author, or authors, of an
outstanding work in this field.
The shortlist for the prize, which will be awarded on 6 February at the IH Barcelona
ELT conference, is:
• Exploring Psychology in Language Learning and Teaching (Marion Williams, Sarah
Mercer, Stephen Ryan; Oxford University Press)
• Key Issues in Language Teaching (Jack C. Richards; Cambridge University Press)
• Bringing online video into the classroom (Jamie Keddie; Oxford University Press)
• Language Learning with Digital Video (Ben Goldstein, Paul Driver; Cambridge Uni-
versity Press)

News in brief with Andrea Perez

Fiji needs teachers who ‘know English well’
FIJI’S EDUCATION minister Dr Mabendra Reddy has promised to look into the provision of
‘specialist teachers’ for rural schools after a school principal raised concerns about the shortage of
teachers who ‘know English well’. According to Fijivillage website, the request came during
Reddy’s visit to Penang Sangam High School in January. Reddy also pledged to address the lack of
accommodation for rural teachers. English is an ‘official language’ of the South Pacific island
republic, along with Fijian and Hindi.

‘Illegal’ early years English in Seoul
AN INVESTIGATION last November by South Korean advocacy group World Without Worries
ELT Summer About Private Education found 39 private-sector Seoul schools were breaking the law by teaching
English classes to students in the first two years of primary school. While classes at these schools
Schools 2016 were listed as ‘after-school’ activities, they had become mandatory, with regular report cards and
tests, reported Seoul News Net. Korean laws limit early-years English teaching and after-school
classes to reduce the burden of families’ ‘excessive’ spending on exam preparation.

Oxford Teachers’ Academy English Language Teachers’ US embassy trains madrasa teachers
Summer School Summer Seminar THE US embassy is now delivering training to teachers at madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in
17 – 29 July 24 July – 5 August the state of Maharashtra, north India, with the goal of making them more proficient in English. The
programme is run by the embassy’s Regional English Language Office in association with the
Week 1 (Choose any one course) Week 1 (Choose any two workshops) Tarraqui-i-Foundation, an organisation working to educate Muslim children. Both organisations
Raising the Bar: Challenging and Writing Classroom Materials; Exploring Grammar; want the proficiency of madrasa teachers to be reflected in their students’ future performance.
Inspiring Teenage Learners; The Creative Classroom; Integrating Pronunciation; ‘Today English language is a very important part of life,’ but madrasas don’t have adequate
Engaging, Challenging and Motivating the Unmotivated resources, foundation director Amir Abidi told the Pune Mirror.
Motivating Young Learners
Week 2 (Choose any two workshops)
Week 2 (Choose any one course) Teaching with Technology; Accessing the Full CNN launches English language service
Engaging Teenage & Adult Learners Potential of your Students; English as a Medium
beyond the Classroom; 21st Century of Instruction; Contemporary English: Teaching a CNN, THE US-based news channel, has entered the learning market with CNN Learn English, a new
Learning Skills for Primary Teachers Changing Language; Promoting Speaking Skills international language online learning service. With this new offering, CNN wants to target an
international audience of individuals and companies seeking to learn ‘business level’ English, CNN
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/X162-3 www.conted.ox.ac.uk/X162-2 itself reported. The television channel offers video content in the website to augment the subscription-
based digital service, which mainly focuses on material from the finance and business sectors.
Fees: From £2,200 (including all tuition, guest lectures,
accommodation, meals and full social programme)