Page 3 - ELG1601 Aug-Sep Issue 439

August / September 2016 ELlanguage news Page 3

Thai test China tightens

troubles its teacher regs

Over 650,000 grade 9 students
of english in Thailand could A lABOur law that came into rience there and a newly acquired
have been affected by a mistake force in China on 1 May seems Tesol certificate, as he lacked a
in their middle school exit exam, to have closed the door to many degree from an ‘english-speak-
the Bangkok Post reports. non-native english-speaking eFl ing country’. The Global Times
The first to spot mistakes in teachers working legally on work quotes the State Administration
the O-Net, the english language visas in the People’s republic. as clarifying that ‘foreigners from
ordinary national educational Winston Sterzel, a South Afri- non-native english-speaking coun-
test, was the Australian eng- can medical english teacher tries can no longer teach english in
lish tutor and Tv personality and video blogger, claimed that China unless they have a bachelors
Andrew Biggs. Some questions Copyright Steve Pellerine among the staffrooms of eng- degree or above from an english-
had a wrong answer key, which lish language training centres speaking country plus two years’
may have led to exams being ‘the vast majority are non-native working experience in english lan-
marked incorrectly – potentially english speakers’ from ‘Poland, guage education’. Teaching is still
preventing students from being russia, ukraine’ in particular. open to non-natives with a degree
admitted into selective schools. The days when ‘if you’ve got a in education or any degree plus a
The National Institute of edu- Why every picture tells a story white face you can get a job’ are recognised Tefl certificate, plus
cation Testing Service (Niets) over, according to Sterzel. two years’ experience.
initially dismissed the claims. Canadian educator and photographer Steve Pellerine has researched how visual Those now not regarded as Sterzel reported that ‘more
However, a few days later the art can affect literacy and language learning, after noticing that his students in native speakers cannot get a For- enforcement’ was also expected.
director, Mr Sampan Panpruk, Dubai learned english faster when also taught photography. he has since worked eign expert Certificate (work Going to Hong Kong to renew
admitted to the mistake and with english language learners in the Middle east and ethiopia ‘to develop visa) or renew contracts. visas after switching teaching jobs
reassured students that their tran- alternative strategies for language and literacy education aimed at assisting It remains unclear which nation- is no longer possible as applicants
scripts would be fixed quickly. migrant and at risk populations’, he told the Gazette. this earned him an invitation als are regarded as native speakers need to return to Chinese embas-
The Bangkok Post reports Niets to continue his research at both oxford and Cambridge universities in the uK. by the Chinese State Administra- sies in their own country. Diplomas
director said the mistakes in Pellerine said that the above photo is a particularly significant example of his tion of Foreign experts Affairs. now have to be ‘apostled’ (attested)
the english exam had had little work, and at the same time a powerful reminder that ‘sometimes our research is Sources teaching in China tell the by approved lawyers.
impact on the overall scores. not a priority’. he told the Gazette, ‘i was piloting ideas with these ethiopian Gazette that some South African enforcement is reportedly
Mr Sampan reportedly tried women integrating visual arts to help foster literacy development. i had noticed teachers have been unable to renew less strict in the less well-known
to resign, but the education through several activities that the women were unable to carry out many of the contracts. The Global Times inter- provincial centres of China. The
minister rejected his resignation tasks. It was not a cognitive deficit – I felt it was a matter of vision. I contacted viewed a Filipino – identified by Gazette has heard reports of
saying that, although not too WGGA eye centre and they agreed to examine my subjects. ten out of ten of them the pseudonym ‘Marco’ – who’s Mexican nationals walking into
serious, such mistakes need to required visual corrective measures’. now barred from work in China eFl teaching jobs in Shaanxi
be prevented in the future. n despite five years’ teaching expe- and Jiangxi provinces in July. n
Fallout from failed

coup goes global

MAtt SAluSbury and far as the Gazette has been able supported the Zaman school
JoSh Devlin write to ascertain, most holders of group until Gülen’s falling-out
non-Turkish passports working with erdogan in 2013.
THe PurGe of civil servants as university elT/eAP instruc- So far 262 primary and sec-
following July’s failed military tors are technically not civil ondary schools have been closed
coup in Turkey seems to have servants and are free to travel in for alleged ties to Gülenists.
hit the education sector hardest. and out of Turkey. The Gazette The International Council
Travel bans and orders to return has heard of cases of expatri- for Science expressed ‘great
to work have been imposed on ate teachers going into work concern regarding the current
university teachers, with mass anyway in solidarity with their situation in Turkey’, imploring
sackings throughout the edu- Turkish national colleagues. the Turkish authorities to ‘exer-
cation sector. The Gazette has Al Fanar news agency reported cise restraint’ and ‘uphold civil
heard conflicting reports of how that ‘police have long held the liberties’ for their researchers
this purge has affected Turkish names of Gülen-linked academ- and educators.
nationals and native-speaker ics as they identified them over The voice of America (voA)
expatriates working in english the years’. earlier this year, some website reported that Turkey’s
language education. 2,000 academics were sacked foreign ministry had, via its
As of 3 August, purges seem after signing a petition con- ambassadors, requested that
to have abated, with no evident demning ‘security operations’ fifty countries ‘from Nigeria to
increase in dismissals. The govern- in southeastern Turkey and its Indonesia’ shut down schools
ment of President recep Tayyip impact on civilians. it claims have links to Gülen,
erdogan had suspended 15,200 Finland’s university rectors have including seventeen schools in
employees who fell under the decided they will not force Turkish Nigeria alone. The Jakarta Post
supervision of the Ministry of edu- researchers to return home while reported Indonesia’s Minister
cation, by far the biggest purge by Turkey is still in an uncertain state. of education Muhadjir effendy
government sector. Some 21,000 ‘We have agreed that when their as stating that Indonesia ‘will
school teachers had their licences contracts run out, they will [be] kept not close nine Indonesian edu-
revoked. The focus is on alleged on until the situation is evaluated,’ cational institutions accused of
members of the Gülen Movement said university of Turku rector being affiliated with Fethullah
– an Islamic social movement that Kalervo vaananen to Kaleva. Gülen, who has been labelled a
the Turkish government claims is a In Cambodia, Turkey’s ambas- terrorist by the Turkish govern-
terrorist organisation. sador petitioned to close Zaman ment’, via its Jakarta embassy.
All of Turkey’s university International Schools’ kinder- Turkey has asked Pakistan
deans and heads of department – garten, primary and secondary to ‘close institutions linked to
their total number given as 1,577 schools and Zaman university Fethullah Gülen’. The PakTurk
– were ‘invited’ to tender their for their alleged Gülenist con- Foundation, which sends teach-
resignation. A source told us that nections. Zaman chairman ejder ers from Turkey, has ‘about
most university deans and princi- Kilic said, ‘Gülen has never two dozen’ schools in Pakistan,
pals were expected to be reinstated had any official link, ownership according to voA. Beyond being
after a ‘credentials check’. or involvement in the school ‘inspired’ by Gülen’s example, it
In late July university staff administration,’ and noted that has no links to Gülen, a school
were ordered back to work. As Turkey’s diplomatic corps had group board member said. n

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