Off to a workshop this morning on the use of English as a content language (as opposed to a subject.) All classes here from grade 6 upwards are taught in English and it poses a lot of problems: the standard of English teaching in Grades 1 to 5 needs to be improved as the majority of students go into Grade 6 with only a smattering of English, certainly not enough to do all their schoolwork in. We’re currently rewriting the course books but there’s so much more involved – the standard of the teaching (not just down to the teachers as their working and living conditions leave a lot to be desired, those finishing off their national service get 140 Nakfa – 5 pounds a month, they’re doing the best they can.) Teacher training is far too short without enough resources, there’s not enough schools – in a lot of areas there are two school shifts a day, morning and afternoon and even with that only a small percentage of the children are getting regular schooling. And then on top of all that all classes suddenly get presented in English from Grade 6! It places a huge strain on students and teachers.
There needs to be much more involvement between English as a Subject and English for Content, the National Curriculum is committed to it but it’s a tough one. The workshop this morning is a starting point, trying to get a dialogue going between the different curriculum writers and educationalists. The tough bit, as always, is getting the changes at grass roots level.
Sorry if I‘m rambling on a bit. At the moment my life seems to be split between working and sleeping. I think I need another holiday, or at the very least an evening in the pub (dream on Caroline)
C
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