Page 5 - ELG2001 Jan Issue 468

El•Gazette 468.qxp_El•Gazette 468 08/01/2020 15:56 Page 5

WELCOME . EDITORS’ LETTER

Fakes, facts and

dodgy statistics

It’s not always easy to tell the genuine article, even in theteam .
education. But the job of a journalist is to try to do so, MELANIE BUTLER,
say Melanie Butler and Ron Ragsdale editor-in-chief,
started teaching EFL in
Iran in 1975. She worked
All that glitters is not gold. Here in the UK we have been floating in the sea of dodgy data and sloppy for the BBC World
statistics that is the modern parliamentary election. Service, Pearson/
Longman and MET
And now, no sooner has a new government taken power than they announce a whole new list of
magazine before taking over at the
Secure English Language Test providers in whose Secure English Language Centres migrants and Gazette in 1987 and also launching
students in search of a UK visa will be able to sit an authorised exam. Study Travel magazine. Educated in ten
SELTs, as the tests are called, were introduced following the revelation that several UK centres were schools in seven countries, she speaks
helping students cheat on their TOEIC tests. Around 50,000 international students had their visas fluent French and Spanish and rather
rusty Italian.
revoked and, despite a string of reports questioning the evidence, tens of thousands are still fighting to

clear their names. RON RAGSDALE,
Stories of fake test takers, fake (or illegal) teachers (see page 9 for news on continuing expulsions managing editor,
from China) and even fake universities have long filled the Gazette news pages. But in this issue, we gained his MA-TESOL at
Portland State University
report on a brand-new scam: fake agents. Human traffickers have been smuggling illegal migrants into in Oregon 25 years ago,
the UK via British boarding schools, unbeknownst to the schools involved (see page 6). Like all these and has worked in ELT
scams, it’s bound to turn up in other countries, too. publishing ever since,
Talking of British boarding schools, they with teaching stints in Istanbul and
have had their own case of Breaking Bad, Cairo. In addition to managing teams at
with the conviction, in Singapore, of one Like all these scams, Pearson and Cambridge ELT, including
as Publishing Director, Ron has worked
former headmaster found in possession of with Ministries and local partners in over
crystal meth. OK boomer, we’ve put you on it’s bound to turn up in 30 countries.
the naughty step on page 13.
It’s hard to know who to trust these days. other countries, too. MATT SALUSBURY, news
Even the august world of academic journals is editor and journalist, has
worked for EL Gazette
plagued by a plethora of pay-to-publish since 2007. He is an
publications. How can you spot the dodgy papers? Gillian Ragsdale gives you her top tips on pages 38- activist in the National
39. And Wayne Trotman reviews a new title on page 40 that aims to help English language learners Union of Journalists and
develop critical thinking skills, like assessing the validity of content on the internet. co-edits its newsletter,
And talking of dodgy data, try finding out the hourly cost of a UK language course! We started out The Freelance. He taught English for 15
years in the Netherlands, in Turkey, in a
with a list of nearly 90 accredited schools in London, but you can’t find the fees on half the school North London further education college
websites. They ask you to email, ring their salespeople or talk to a screen bot with a chirpy message, and now as an English for Academic
“Hello. My name is Maria, how can I help you today?” Purposes tutor at the London School of
But we persevered and can reveal, on pages 18-20, the best value schools in London, based on their Economics. He is a native English
price and their quality, as judged by the British Council inspectors. And, in our annual Masters listings speaker and is also fluent in Dutch.

supplement, we do our best to evaluate the evidence and help you choose the jewels. GILL RAGSDALE,
Botty box Maria, of course, is not a scam. But she is a mistake – not least because she only speaks research news reporter,
English, the language that the student is trying to book a course on in order to learn. has a PhD in
Evolutionary
And some mistakes we just have to live with. One such mistake may well be English as a Medium of
Anthropology from
Instruction in non-English medium countries, as Professor Ernesto Macaro explains on page 36. It may Cambridge, and teaches
not be a good idea to have academics who don’t speak very much English trying to teach Physics in Psychology with the
English to students who don’t speak it either, but we must find ways to help them. Open University, but also holds an RSA-
Needs must, as we say in the UK, when the devil drives. Cert TEFL. Gill has taught EFL in the UK,
Turkey, Egypt and to refugees in the
Calais ‘Jungle’ in France. She currently
MELANIE BUTLER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RON RAGSDALE, MANAGING EDITOR teaches English to refugees in the UK.

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