Page 1 - ELG1601 Jul Issue 438

Elgazette

£3.50 • US$6.50 • ¥700 • €5.50 The newspaper for English language and international education Issue 438 | July 2016

Suicide

shocks

Taiwan
Inside...

English tEachEr tyrel
Martin Marhanka, aged 41, died
in June after cutting his own throat
in a taiwanese courtroom. a Us
national, Marhanka was charged
with drug possession and was in
court for sentencing – his suicide
immediately followed him hear-
ing the news that he would receive
four years in prison.
his arrest came after police
Russell Boyce/Reuters in april 2015. the tefler lived
raided his changhua city house
with his taiwanese wife and two
children. Other than stating he
taught English in changhua – a

tal – taiwanese media has not
Page 3: Migrant ESL large industrial provincial capi-
students plug farming skills Sterling sell-off POUND PLUMMETS offered any other information
gap in Nova Scotia Traders in London’s financial centre at about Marhanka’s employment.
Canary Wharf react as stock markets
the
sentencing
shocked
softens Brexit opened early on June 24 after the UK Marhanka – ‘Four years?’ he
voted to leave the EU. The pound sterling
was heard repeating to his court-
appointed translator. Marhanka
currency dropped by over 10 per cent
against the dollar and the UK crashed out
don’t want to live any more!’ he
of the world’s top five economies before was agitated and cried out, ‘i
lunch. See our main story below for the slit his throat and was rushed to
With English UK, the association of for EU students are unlikely to be introduced. likely impact of Brexit on the UK hospital. Marhanka died that day
British language centres, demanding govern- Following Britain’s exit from the EU, which international education sector from immense blood loss. n
ment support, and British universities assuring will take at least two years, it is employment
European staff and students that nothing will rights and visa requirements that will take
change for now, the impact of the UK vote to centre stage. if the UK government was to
leave the EU is already causing reverberations. toughen the measures already taken against
in the short term, argues Gazette editor Mela- non-EU students by immigration minister
nie Butler, the survival of large swathes of the theresa May, a likely candidate for prime
industry depends on the continued weakness of minister, it would have a major impact on
Page 5: The best and the pound sterling, especially against the euro. both language schools and universities. EU
brightest from this year’s in the medium term, decisions regarding visas students make up 44 per cent of UK language
EdTechX conference for students and teachers will also be crucial. school enrolments, though most are short-stay
in the immediate aftermath of the vote, and unlikely to need full visas. although just
English UK called for government support 5 per cent of university students in Britain are
for the £1.2 billion industry, which has already Europeans they make up over 10 per cent of
declined 23 per cent in the last three years. the the enrolments on masters courses.
resignation of the prime minister together with some 15 per cent of university staff, however,
the prospect of a general election suggests that are EU citizens, while some private summer
any government action will be delayed. school organisers have grown increasingly reli-
the dramatic fall of sterling against both ant on cheap central European teachers. Both
the dollar and the euro will make the UK a could be severely affected by the introduction
more attractive destination both to EU and of a points-based visa system, promised by the
non-EU students, although it may already leave campaign. Meanwhile language schools
be too late to save the 2016 summer sea- across Europe could be hit as British graduates
son, which has seen booking levels freeze become subject to the blue card system of work
since the referendum campaign began. in a visas which requires EU citizens to be given
letter to its agents, Mark lindsay of British- first options on any vacancies.
owned language chain st giles international the combination of a rising currency and
Page 6: False freelance cited currency advantages, stating that ‘in stricter visa requirements could lead to an
fightback? Matt Salusbury the short-term there are likely to be positive industry collapse, according to researchers at
looks at dodgy contracts opportunities’. he also argued that during the georgetown University, who found this com-
Brexit negotiation period visa requirements bination can create a ‘perfect storm’. n

English ‘at risk’ of losing its status

WhilE BrExit gives rise to a never-end- les rosbifs, with a French mayor reportedly
ing series of neologisms in every European claiming that English has ‘lost its legitimacy
language, it seems that English could be at in Brussels’. Meanwhile in italy, a party in
risk of losing its official status in the EU. the region of trentino is proposing to scrap
English is one of the 24 official languages English clil programmes.
of the EU. But with the UK out of the game, What will the lingua franca be now? an
English would be only spoken in ireland and italian magazine wittily advised that, to avoid
Malta – and the fact that irish and Maltese further divisions, Europeans should all speak
are also among the official languages has latin, ‘the only true European language’.
given some people a reason to start a fight the irish Independent reported the Euro-
Free 4-page Latin against the English linguistic empire. pean commission has rejected claims English
America supplement: the French press are already feasting on would be dropped as an official language in
Latest news and reports the idea of getting rid of the language of the EU following the referendum vote. n

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