FRIDAY, OCTOER 28, 1093
6
FIRST TEACHERS TO GET RSA DIPLOMAS
****
EIGHTEEN PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE HAVE TODAY BECOME THE FIRST GROUP IN HONG KONG TO RECEIVE THE DIPLOMA FOR OVERSEAS TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AWARDED BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS (RSA).
ALL OF THESE TEACHERS ARE FORMER COURSE MEMBERS OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S INSTITUTE OF LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION (ILE).
TO MARK THE OCCASION, A CEREMONY WAS HELD TODAY AT THE ILE, DURING WHICH THE TEACHERS WERE PRESENTED WITH THE DIPLOMAS BY THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR COLVYN HAYE.
SPEAKING AT THE CEREMONY, MR HAYE SAID THE DIPLOMA WAS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED TEACHING DIPLOMA WHICH WAS RAPIDLY GAINING MORE STATUS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD.
MANY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING INSTITUTIONS NOW DEMANDED THE DIPLOMA AS A PREREQUISITE FOR EMPLOYMENT, HE ADDED.
IN ORDER TO SIT FOR THE DIPLOMA EXAMINATION, TEACHERS MUST FOLLOW A COURSE WHICH HAS TO BE RECOGNISED AND VALIDATED BY RSA.
MR HAYE SAID THE ILE COURSE WAS OFFICIALLY APPROVED BY AN RSA ASSESSOR SOON AFTER IT STARTED LAST YEAR, AND SO ILE BECAME THE FIRST INSTITUTION IN HONG KONG TO OFFER THE RSA'S OVERSEAS TEACHERS' COURSE.
HE SAID IT WAS VERY RARE FOR 100 PER CENT OF THE CANDIDATES TO PASS ANY EXAMINATION, BUT IT HAPPENED TO THE 18 TEACHERS THIS TIME.
ONE TEACHER WAS AWARDED A DISTINCTION IN THE PRACTICAL TEST AND ONE A DISTINCTION IN THE WRITTEN EXAMINATION, HE SAID. HE PRAISED THE TEACHERS FOR THE REMARKABLE PERFORMANCE AND THEIR HARD WORK IN PREPARING FOR THE EXAMINATION, AND COMMENDED TUTORS AT THE ILE FOR ASSISTING THE CANDIDATES.
TURNING BACK TO THE ILE, MR HAYE SAID SINCE ITS INCEPTION, 100 TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE HAD COMPLETED THEIR REFRESHER COURSE AND WERE NOW BACK IN THEIR SCHOOLS TEACHING IN ENGLISH AND HELPING CHILDREN TO COMMUNICATE REAL MEANINGS IN THE LANGUAGE BY TEACHING ITS SOUNDS, WORDS AND GRAMMAR THROUGH CONTEXTUAL ISED AND MEANINGFUL LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES, TASKS AND GAMES.
+ IT IS VERY EXCITING TO REALISE THAT BY THE END OF THIS COURSE THE NUMBER OF THESE 'REFORMERS' WILL BE DOUBLED TO 200 AND BY THE SUMMER IT WILL BE TRIPLED TO 300, HE NOTED.
MR HAYE ADDED THAT REPORTS FROM ILE TUTORS WHO OBSERVED PAST COURSE MEMBERS' PERFORMANCE IN THE IR CLASSROOMS DURING FOLLOW-UP VISITS SHOWED AN ENORMOUS IMPROVEMENT IN TEACHING STANDARDS.
/+THOSE TEACHERS'