TEFL blog

The teaching of core subjects such as Maths and Science in English in Vietnam’s primary schools is causing some concern for education experts and members of the public, according to this article.

The concern is the effect it will have on the Vietnamese language. One primary school teacher is quoted as saying “Currently, many young people cannot write a grammatically-correct sentence in Vietnamese… there should be careful consideration when deciding on what language to teach subjects at schools”.

Nguyen Gia Phong, an expert with the Education Science Institute is also concerned that teaching core subjects in English may spread to higher education, which could accelerate the Vietnamese language’s deterioration.

The importance of teaching foreign languages in Vietnam is not underestimated, but, as another primary school teacher points out, “the teaching of foreign languages, and using foreign languages to teach other subjects in the official curriculum, are two entirely different things.”

What do you think about this issue? Post your comments below…

Best Practices in English Language Teaching is the theme of this year’s TESOL Arabia Conference, which gets underway tomorrow in Dubai. The conference features 250 speakers and over 200 sessions, including “Students’ Attention Span- Where Has It Gone?”, “The Learner as “Customer”, What’s to Know?” and “A Bag of Tricks for Vocabulary Teaching”.

Have a look at the TESOL Arabia website for more.

Japan is the focus of today’s post. First, an article from the Japan Times discusses the pros and cons of working for large and small schools in Japan, with the article Bigger is not always better for Japan’s English teachers.

Salaries, the article points out, do not differ that much between large and small schools, but there are some other points worth considering.

According to the article, job and income security are higher in larger schools and chains such as Nova, ECC and GEOS. If a branch of a large chain closes down for financial reasons, teachers can be transferred to another branch - not so in smaller, family-run schools.

On the other hand, teachers may be more likely to face contractual problems with larger schools. According to Louis Carlet, deputy general secretary of the National Union of General Workers, quoted in the article, larger schools are “particularly adept at writing contracts which protect themselves”.

Teachers may also feel that they are working for a faceless company, rather than experiencing the family atmosphere of a smaller school. But this can have its downside too, with more pressure on teachers: “If a tiny cog in a huge machine breaks down it’s unlikely the whole thing will come to a shuddering halt. That’s not the case when the teacher is the machine.”

If you’ve had experience working for a small school or a large chain in Japan, or both, have a look at the full article and post a comment below - do you agree with the points raised?

The second article asks Why do the Japanese struggle with English?

The author, Steve Kaufmann, writes that most Japanese people he meets in business struggle with their English, compared to, say, Swedes. One of the main reasons for this, he says, is the “language or cultural ego”, the belief that Japanese language and culture is so unique that to become fluent in another language would cause a learner to lose that uniqueness. In part 2 of the article, the author points to other factors, including the differences in sentence structure, vocabulary and pronunciation, the Kana writing system and less exposure to English-speaking culture.

Do you agree with Steve? Post a comment below…

Our site review this week is Ask About English, where ESL students can ask questions about English language or British culture and see their answers posted online by Matt Ford.

Recent questions which Matt has answered include “Let me know the meanings of To kick up a row and its use” and “What’s the difference between as far as and as long as”.

The site also has extensive sections about British culture and humour, with information about everything from pubs to football, chips to the Royal Family, as well as some classic Monty Python sketches…

There are also speaking tips, phrases of the day and info about accents and dialects, including some cockney rhyming slang.

As well as providing some useful and informative ESL answers, this is a very useful resource for students - and teachers - interested in all things British.

A couple of interesting articles for you today.

Here’s one about teaching ESL in Colombia, where teaching English is a government priority, resulting in many job opportunities, according to the author. If you like this, you might also be interested in Larry Lynch’s article, Teach English in Colombia: Grappling with Grammar, Gold, Guns, and Guayaba

The second is a take on the current situation in Thailand, where the bureaucratic confusion over permits and qualifications for English teachers could, according to one source quoted in the article, lead to “fewer and fewer foreign teachers in Thailand”.

Should Asian women be required to speak English before being granted a UK visa?

Jack Straw thinks so. He is calling for a debate on the issue, focusing the discussion on Asian women because many stay at home and so do not get the chance to learn English in the workplace. Straw’s suggestion comes not long after government plans to restrict free English classes to the unemployed and those on income support.

This led Anjum Anwar, leader of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, to say “Of course Jack wants everyone to learn English but the government is about to demolish funding for ESOL classes. It’s all very well demanding something from the public but not supporting them”.

What do you think about this issue? Have a look at the article and post a comment below…