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S. Korean teachers going back to school

韩国:政府资助英语教师提高语言技能

TO prepare for the full implementation of English-only classes in 2012, many South Korean English teachers are improving their language proficiency at private institutes. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said it had raised the budget to cover hagwon (cram schools) fees for 444 primary and secondary English teachers in the city this year, up from 200 in 2008. Each teacher receives a 450,000-won ($352) subsidy for three months. Many other teachers are studying at hagwons without subsidies, and the number is expected to rise.

Limited literacy in US college students

美国:新研究揭示大学生读写技能水平

MORE than 50 percent of students at four-year colleges and more than 75 percent of students at community colleges across the US do not have sufficient literacy skills to “perform complex literacy tasks”, according to a study by the American Institutes for Research. In this context, “complex literacy tasks” include both basic reading literacy and numeracy, such as understanding and interpreting editorial arguments, interpreting surveys and short literature pieces, identifying bias (ie facts vs opinions) on the Internet and so on.

UK primary schools to miss language target

英国:小学外语课程教学能力难达标

BRITISH primary schools will struggle to meet the government’s target for all pupils to learn a language from next year, according to new research. The study by the UK National Foundation for Education Research, conducted for the Department for Children, Schools and Families, shows that 18 percent of all schools may not be able to offer the opportunity to learn a language to all those children that want to by 2010, while a quarter of schools may not be ready to offer the full entitlement by 2011. Staff blamed an “overcrowded curriculum”, lack of knowledge or expertise and budget constraints for failing to meet the requirement.