Page 13 - ELG1704 Apr Issue 446
P. 13

NEWS                                                                                              NEWS



                      An ELT opportunity for
                      An ELT opportunity for                                                                            EL-TORO



                                    US deportees?
                                    US deportees?


























                                                                                              Mexico receives three flights
                                                                                               of US deportees every week



              By: Andrea Pérez                                                      first programme started at the end of March
                                                       The real challenge           with a capacity of 100 trainee teachers.
                      EXICANS who have been      is to create jobs,                   A new English language policy, launched
                      deported from the US are being                                by Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto,
                      given the opportunity to become   opportunities and good      will introduce English language classes in pre-
             MEnglish language teachers, who     quality of life, so no one         primary schools.
              are in short supply in the country. Mexico                               There is a shortfall of English language
              City Citizens’ Council has launched an   needs to leave               teachers in Mexico of 80,000 and 1,800 in
              initiative to help the deportees obtain English                       Mexico City alone, according to the Citizens’
              language and teaching qualifications. ‘Most             Luis Wertman  Council.
              of these people are born English speakers,                              The hope is that the people who apply for
              but they don’t have any official documents                            the programme will be perfect candidates to
              to prove it but if they do, they can get a   want to work as teachers, they then apply to a   fill these vacancies.
              better job opportunity or a better salary’, the   programme to certify them as English language   Mexico City receives at least three flights
              organisation’s president Luis Wertman told   teachers. The entire programme is free to take   of deportees from the US a week, Fox News
              the Gazette.                       part in. ‘We have to make it right this time   reported. Following Trump’s immigration
               ‘We send one or two generations of   providing them with the documents, services   policies, Mexico is expecting this number
              people to the US and now we are receiving   and options so they won’t need to leave again’,   to increase. ‘At the end of the day, the US
              them back with education, two languages,   Wertman told the Gazette.  president is not the problem – at least not the
              international experience and a high   Mexico City Citizens’ Council is running   only one or the biggest for Mexico, the real
              immigrant work ethic’, Wertman explained.   the project with support from the National   challenge is to create jobs, opportunities and
               The first step for the US deportees is to   Immigration Institute and Mexico City’s local   good quality of life, so no one needs to leave’
              take the TOEIC exam and after that, if they   government alongside various NGOs. The   Wertman added.



                 BECOMING BILINGUAL

                 Mexican president Enrique   1,000 English teachers will be
                 Peña Nieto is pushing an   hired for the next academic
                 ambitious plan to have all of   year. The government expects                                         Presidencia de la República Mexicana
                 the students in the country   to see the first results in ten
                 speak English as well as   years. Part of the education
                 Spanish within two decades,   sector has complained about
                 the Washington Post reported.   the new programme because
                 The education ministry plans   of the shortage of teachers
                 to introduce more hours of   and the lack of teacher
                 English instruction and around   training.



              14                                                                                             April 2017



        p14-15_ELG0417.indd   1                                                                                3/27/2017   11:15:35 PM
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