Close the language gap
The Jerusalem Post - May 28, 2008
One of the major issues discussed at Shimon Peres's recent Presidential
Conference on the future of Israel was this country's need to be
competitive
in an increasingly global economy. As the event clearly showed, knowledge
of
English is a vital element in such competition. Indeed, the Presidential
Conference was conducted more in English than in Hebrew - the major
plenary
session speakers and the majority of panel speakers addressed their
audiences in English. Announcements were made in English before being
repeated in Hebrew, and at times it was easy to forget that the event was
taking place in Jerusalem and not Manhattan or London.
WHY, THEN, are Israel's leaders allowing English education in Israeli
schools to suffer, and what can be done about it?
Last week's Comptroller's Report cited significant gaps in English
education
between different sectors of society. In particular, students in state
secular schools scored higher than those in state religious schools.
Even within the secular school system, however, English education faces
major obstacles. As a volunteer English teacher in schools and
after-school
programs in Haifa with the OTZMA post-graduate volunteer program, I saw
firsthand the shortcomings in the Israeli approach to English education.
(To read the whole article, go to -
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872839028&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
