gen priority, lecturers in other subjects who use English in their work would also be covered.
ESTIMATED COST OF THE PROPOSAL
4. Based on the unit cost of the UK immersion course for
in-service trainees at the Institute of Languages in Education (with which the British Council was involved in 1987 and 1988), the cost
of the proposal would be about £3,000, per place. This would cover
return air fare, board and lodging and tuition for six weeks.
5. It is proposed that a minimum of 300 places be available each year. This would be sufficient to provide for all first year students (based on the present capacity of the English departments at the Colleges) together with 30 to 40 lecturers. The total annual
cost would therefore be about £900,000.
LIKELY IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL
6. The proposal, if adopted and announced by June 1990, would have
an immediate impact in raising enrolment on the English elective courses at the Colleges. Enrolment has been dropping over the past four years, sharply so in 1989, as the following figures show:
1986: 254 students
1987: 241 students
1988: 235 students
1989: 156 students
If not checked, this trend will make the present shortage of
qualified English teachers more acute in the run-up to 1997.
7. The individual students concerned would be more highly motivated
to develop their language skills. Virtually all those eligible
would greatly welcome the chance to take part. The English courses at the Colleges would be modified to ensure that the overseas
immersion course became an integral element of the two or three year courses. The lecturers accompanying the students would also improve their English language skills. This would have a positive effect on