Page 23 - ELG1804 Apr Issue 456

IATEFL special .
SPECIAL FEATURE

BUFFETED BY CHANGE

The Gazette asks Esol experts Philida Schellekens and Jennie Turner about ‘After 40
good practice they have seen, and the bumpy ride that is teaching English to
newcomers in England years I still

rom a personal point of view, what per cent of the fees, which many just cannot all about and that of course feeds into my work
Esol provision, both nationally and afford. Not a happy story, especially when in the UK. don’t know
internationally, have you seen in the last many are well-qualified and have skills that are The Es(o)l Sig provides great opportunities
Fyear or so which most impressed you? in demand. Unfortunately, without the key of to make contact with teachers working in
Philida and Jennie: Overseas, the British English, they are stuck countries where English is spoken as the the answer to
Council is working on a new initiative in national language, e.g. Australia, Canada and
response to the crisis in Syria. This has sparked So how do Esol professionals feel? the USA. It is fascinating to see how different
the ‘Language for Resilience’ project to help We have been buffeted by all the changes, administrations manage what is essentially the
refugees who have had to flee to surrounding and the reduction in provision has led to many same provision in different ways. that question’
countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Greece. experienced colleagues being made redundant. Jennie: And of course at the national UK
The aim is to use language learning, including The government has just announced its level, there is Natecla, the teachers’ association
English, to improve social cohesion and access intention in the green paper to offer £40 for teachers of English to migrants and
to further education and employment. The million for provision. In itself this is positive, refugees, which Philida and I both belong to.
British Council has just launched a virtual but what we really need is continuity of Natecla has been lobbying hard for a national From humble Tefl beginnings to top of the tree at the British Council, John Knagg
exhibition and the next stage is to set up a funding and the chance to plan provision long Esol strategy in England, and if you are based
bank of research on the subject. in the UK it is well worth joining. tells Melanie Butler he stills wants to know the best way to teach English to children
Closer to home, in England, the state further Unfortunately the
education sector has got much better at taking n Philida Schellekens is an independent consultant in
the wider needs of migrants and refugees into teaching of English to language learning and teaching, and a member of the
account beyond language learning. migrants and refugees British Council’s English Language Advisory Group. was working at a fish restaurant in ‘What level of proficiency do teachers teachers and is fascinated by the emergence of
It’s been especially interesting to see the n Jennie Turner is group curriculum director for Esol Greece. It was the end of the season of primary English really need to have ?’ he English as a Lingua Franca.
impact of the new study programme for 16-18 has been a hot political at Tower Hamlets College. and I was looking for a way of not going replies, quick as a flash. He worries, however, about the pressure
year-olds. ‘I home. I met a girl called Felicity who On the eve of retirement, he can look back from governments and parents to start English
This includes A-levels and vocational potato for as long as we told me I could get a job teaching English at a Council career which has been nothing at an ever-younger age in public school
qualifications but also specialist provision for in Athens. I said I didn’t know anything if not global: assistant director of studies in systems. ‘We don’t really have evidence that
young students whose first language is not can remember Muhannad about teaching English, she told me it didn’t Kuwait, a stint as language centre manager in an earlier start is beneficial in itself though we
English. matter…’ Portugal and Singapore and then nearly nine do know there is a serious shortage of well-
In the past, these programmes consisted term. Working with our students remains great, This is a classic tale of a Tefl backpacker, years in Latin America as country director qualified local teachers to meet the growing
mainly of English language with maths and very rewarding, and on a good day it is the best perhaps, but John Knagg, global head of – first in Ecuador and then Chile. Ten years demand. There is a real danger we are seeing
IT thrown in. The new study programme job in the world, but the environment in which English for Education Systems at the British ago, John finally came back to the Council in more and more hours of teaching at school but
requires proper careers advice, work experience we function is extremely tough. Council and chair of Accreditation UK, is Manchester and moved with his family back not seeing the desired increase in children’s
and vocational tasters, which really benefit hardly your typical backpacker. home to Bury. With long experience running language levels.’
the students. The further education sector For you personally as Esol specialists, what Born in Bury in Greater Manchester, he large-scale projects overseas, he says that being This is the kind of question that led John
is starting to offer a much wider programme, is the biggest benefit of being a member of read classics at Oxford. And, like many of the chair of Accreditation UK, a scheme which to set up research on English as a Medium
which is really great to see! an association like Esol Sig? successful EFL figures from the late 1970s, his inspects and accredits over 500 schools, was one of Instruction(EMI). The study found that –
Philida: Iatefl is a great way to plug into teaching career has been interspersed with when it is started before children are ready or
Teaching English to migrants seems to major trends in ELT. I really enjoy the further studies. There is a real when teachers do not have sufficient English
have become a hot political issue. The UK conferences. The talks and exhibition make me After a couple of years teaching in Athens, a danger we are seeing language skills – EMI actually lowers the
government has just published a new paper, think and recalibrate what language learning is friendly boss took him aside and told him it was educational attainment of children in state
and an advisor has called for a date to be set time to decide if he wanted to become a real more and more hours schools.
for everyone in the country to speak English. teacher, so he took himself off to the University ‘Some people assume the British Council
How is all this impacting on Esol teachers? Muhannad of Bangor for a PGCE in EFL. of teaching but with less advocates the use of English in education in
Unfortunately the teaching of English to A job for the British Council in Barcelona any circumstance,’ he says.
migrants and refugees has been a hot political was followed by an MSc at Edinburgh. A and less well-qualified ‘That is not the case. Where we find that an
potato for as long as we can remember. Council post in London in 1990 led to a teachers approach is not working, we say so.’
Especially in England; Scotland for example diploma in business administration. Small After forty years in ELT, the question of the
has a different stance, policies and provision. wonder, then, that he champions EFL research. of the best professional experiences in his life. best way of teaching younger learners remains
Anyway, in England the political debate has He talks with fatherly pride of the ELT He thinks the biggest change he has seen in a preoccupation. ‘What I wanted to know
been closely linked to the number of people Research Awards (ELTRA) scheme which he his career is that ‘English has gone from being when I started out,’ he says, remembering
arriving in the UK, which has made it harder designed and which can be accessed free on- seen as a foreign language to being a basic his backpacking days, ‘was how to get the
to argue the case for those who are in the UK line. He brings me a bundle of British Council skill.’ That has led to a switch in emphasis from attention of an enthusiastic but ebullient group
legitimately and who, with better English, books to take home. We talk briefly about adults to children and to an understanding of of Greek teenagers. I am still asking the same
would be able to function in society and work. a title on young learners by Oxford’s Vicki the importance to the profession of non-native question.’
On top of that, the adult sector has lost 40 Murphy and Maria Evangelou – solving the speakers.
per cent of its state funding since 2010. Free problem of teaching English to young children Embarrassed that his only qualification for John Knagg is global head of
provision is now limited to the unemployed Students participating in the is a particular passion. If money was no object, getting his first EFL job was being a native- English for Education Systems at
‘Language for Resilience’
who are actively seeking work or earn less I ask, which research question would he most speaker of English, he welcomes the growing the British Council and chair of
than £330 per month. The others must pay 5 project like to see answered? recognition of the importance of local English Accreditation UK.
22 April 2018 editorial@elgazette.com 23