Page 8 - ELG1601 Mar Issue 434

ELmarket report
Page 8 March 2016
studying abroad gives Russia’s latest secret agent

our own background of
Yyou a particular view on
the British educational system.
How do you know it so well Juliana Gamouletskaia explains to Melanie Butler how her experience studying abroad
and how does that help your
clients? as a child has helped her build a unique service to allow others to follow in her footsteps
My first experience of educa-
tion in the UK was at a summer
language school. I then studied opposed to full-time education in There are some major differ- to develop their interests.
for seven years at Westonbirt the UK for their child, at the out- ences between the Russian and In terms of what confuses
School [an all-girls boarding set I find out as much as possible the British education systems. Russian parents, it is the some-
school in Gloucestershire, two about the child’s personality, Once this is known to the Rus- times seemingly rigid discipline
and a half hours from London their interests and strengths as sian families they look to the and strict rules that the children
by car] from the age of eleven well as meeting the child person- British educational system to must adhere to!
until eighteen. ally. This insight into the child fill certain gaps usually found in What explains the Russian
I obtained top grades upon then guides me in proposing a the Russian system. I describe passion for British education?
graduation, four A’s in my small number of best-possible below two clear examples, but For every family it is differ-
A-Level exams. This allowed options for the particular child. there are others. ent. Often our clients look for
me to successfully apply to one In my opinion, it is important The British system does not the personalised individual sup-
of the top universities in the UK, for the child to be involved in solely focus on maximising port where their child’s specific
the London School of Economics the decision-making process the academic knowledge and talents and strengths are cel-
(LSE), to study law for my degree. and to ensure that their concerns achievements of children, but ebrated and developed to their
My parents remained in Rus- are heard and addressed just just as importantly it focuses fullest at school. Put simply, it is
sia throughout so I have had to as much as the concerns of the on the development of their the all-encompassing approach
navigate and work out a lot of parents. I find that this approach personal qualities such as self- to their child’s education.
things in school and university goes a long way to building discipline, confidence, respect What is the one piece of
for myself, be it cultural dif- the right relationship from the Courtesy Svetlana Masterova and the ability to critically ana- advice that you would give a
ferences, social or academic start, providing clients with the lyse issues. The children are Russian family about UK edu-
goals. Thankfully, I was up to knowledge and individual guid- motivated to share their own cation and what would you tell
the challenge, in fact I thrived. ance that they can trust. thoughts and ideas and to be British schools about dealing
This invaluable experience now How did you first get able to critically support them. with Russians?
serves as the foundation for involved in this work? JOB SATISFACTION Juliana especially enjoys helping children The focus on these crucial For Russian families, my
advising clients and being able It was a lightbulb moment! settle into new schools and seeing them acheiving their goals aspects is often lacking in Rus- advice would be to bear in mind
to understand the process from Before setting up Artria London sian schools. the timeframes for register-
both the child’s and the parents’ with a school friend I worked in mer schools and finding tutors. my driving force. Providing ser- Most private British schools ing at top British schools and
points of view. the property sector, so initially I realised that my knowledge vices in the educational sphere have incredible infrastructure for the amount of time required to
My job does not end with a this was the main service I was and experience was not some- has complemented our other ser- the development of a multitude properly prepare the child for
successful placement of a child offering to our Russian clients. thing you can pick up – you had vices perfectly. Nowadays I only of children’s interests, be it in complex entrance exams and
in a British school. I stay in Most of them knew about my to have lived it. I found working ask myself, “Why did I not think sport, music, art or drama. This interviews. For British schools,
constant touch with the parents educational background and it with children incredibly emo- of doing this before?” all helps to identify and nourish I would recommend a lot of
and the child, offering ongoing was only a matter of time before tionally rewarding, helping them What do Russian families each child’s potential. In Russia, patience, especially when the
support and guidance. Even if I was being asked more and settle into their new schools and most want from the British this burden is often borne by the parents request extra lessons in
the parents are just considering more about various schools and seeing them happy and achieving educational system and what parents, who enrol the child in every subject, thinking that it is
a language school placement as the application processes, sum- their goals. To this day, it remains most confuses them? numerous external clubs in order completely normal! n

BC report provokes controversy

Wayne Trotman on how Turkish higher education is in the spotlight

een-eyed readers will in Turkish. At the end of the prep classroom’ and suggests all applications to teach at state
recall the Gazette’s year students’ scores will indi- teachers should undergo training universities, while the ‘more
Kintroductory coverage cate the medium of instruction to improve in this area. objective’ YÖK-administered
in the January issue of British they require. In response to the report, multiple-choice language exams
Council Turkey’s baseline study At the institutional level, it’s Washington Irving, an English are felt to reflect true ability.
The State of English in Higher revealed how students enter prep teacher in Turkey who preferred In the coming months Brit-
Education in Turkey, which programmes here with such a not to use his real name, sug- ish Council Turkey plan to
explores the challenges faced by low level of both English pro- gested that the YÖK – the visit all seven of Turkey’s
all involved in ELT in the higher ficiency and motivation to learn Ministry of Higher Education in regions in order to further dis-
education sector here. Hav- the language that classes should Turkey – should look into what seminate the report’s findings,
ing been present at the launch be voluntary and only avail- he described as the ‘poor qual- including support visits to uni-
in Ankara back in November, able to those wishing to pursue ity’ short-course teacher training versities requesting assistance
I was interviewed on the day faculty courses taught fully in delivered to far too many of with implementing some of the
for my initial comments, which English. those qualified, at least on paper, above recommendations. n
can be found at: https://vimeo. The main point noted at to teach English. He added
com/149866183. the departmental level is how that sadly the widely regarded Wayne Trotman is responsi-
I’ve now been able to digest teachers here ‘consistently miss Celta and Delta are completely ble for professional
the report in full. I can reveal opportunities to introduce stu- ignored by poorly informed development at Izmir Katip
that it’s currently being discussed dent–student interaction in the bureaucrats dealing with initial Çelebi University, Turkey.
at heated meetings of univer-
sity senates in several cities. As
the report is available online, The Council’s perspective
responses to its findings in
exchanges on social media reveal
the degree of angst felt by many Ayşen Güven gives another viewpoint on the report
classroom practitioners wishing
for better times ahead. Better
times, that is, than Turkey con- he report has generated have an impact on institutional are explored collectively on how to
sistently appearing at the bottom a lot of interest with the policy changes as well. overcome the challenges that teach-
of European rankings in terms of Tright stakeholders such British Council Turkey is aim- ers and students are facing with the
students’ ability in English. as rectors, deans of faculties, ing to reach all seven regions of current system.
The report outlines findings and teachers at schools of for- Turkey with face-to-face events We will soon host our second
and recommendations at sev- eign languages. YÖK has since to engage with policymakers in event. We are having one event
eral contextual levels. First up is put out a ‘call for recommenda- higher education, teachers and in Istanbul jointly with an Eng-
the international context, which tion’, inviting the academics and learners in Turkey. lish-medium instruction (EMI)
points out how, due largely to an related parties to comment on For each event, we aim to university to hear how rectors
English language deficit, half of the requirements of the ‘foreign interact with different stake- of leading EMI universities and
Turkey’s universities fall outside language competency levels of holders with a slightly different teachers respond to the issues
the top 200 ranked worldwide. teachers at higher education’. focus, to hear what these stake- we raise in the report. We con-
Looking next at the national We have received several holders have to say about our tinue to work closely with YÖK
context, the report suggests invitations from universities in recommendations. by sharing the feedback we have
that rather than continuing with Turkey to discuss the report and There may be differences in how received so far. n
instruction in both English and how to improve the quality of our stakeholders respond to the rec-
Turkish there are strong argu- English language. Rectors and ommendations, but the important Ayşen Güven is
ments for the establishment of the management boards of uni- issue is that these issues are dis- head of English at
more courses to be taught only versities have the potential to cussed, followed up and solutions British Council Turkey