Research has shown that one in five of the world’s population speaks the language. More interestingly, 380 million people speak English as their first language and more than 375 million as their second language. It is also pertinent to note that nearly 80 per cent of information on the computer and 85 per cent of Internet home pages are in English.

Not only has the use of English changed in recent years, but its multifaceted applications in the global arena also makes it a language worthy of cognizance. It is in because of this that the demand for teachers specializing in the teaching of English as a second language, or TESL, cannot be underestimated.

Rising to the challenge is the Management & Science University (MSU), a specialized university providing courses leading to a diploma and degree in TESL under its Faculty of Business Management and Professional Studies (FBMP). (more…)

Local school districts are having mixed results with students who are learning English the same time they learn reading, writing and arithmetic. While all three valley districts have shown improvement with this group of students, Desert Sands Unified School District is the only one to satisfy federal standards under No Child Left Behind – and it might not be able to say that much longer.

Coachella Valley and Palm Springs unified school districts have failed to meet federal standards for five straight years. The state is cracking down on them and 95 other districts because they have failed to keep pace with those ever-increasing standards. “That’s typical across the country,” said Virginia Collier, a second-language researcher from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. “The expectations for English learners under No Child Left Behind guidelines are absurd; it’s just not possible what’s expected of them.” (more…)

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Advocates for English language learners nationally are keeping a wary eye on legislation in Florida that would significantly reduce the state’s tough training requirement for reading teachers who work with such students.

The bill, which has won approval from the Florida Senate and from a House committee, would cut to 60 the number of in-service hours in teaching English as a second language required of reading teachers who work with ELLs, down from the current requirement of 300. (more…)

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The Visiting International Faculty Program has named Marion Bish its International Education Advocate of the Year. As federal programs director with Cabarrus County Schools, Bish has been instrumental in ensuring the increasing Spanish-speaking student population has effective teachers who are also native Spanish speakers, according to the VIF program.

Bish said the system’s English as a Second Language program encompasses more children than those who speak Spanish, noting teachers hailing from Jamaica, Romania and Slovakia. “We have a very diverse student population,” Bish said. “Most of our ESL children are Hispanic, but we actually have 43 languages spoken in Cabarrus County Schools.” (more…)

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