BRATISLAVA, October 4, (WEBNOVINY) — The Education Ministry is holding talks with British Council, which specializes in international educational and cultural opportunities, on a potential cooperation in training English language teachers for public schools in Slovakia. English will be compulsory from the third grade at primary schools as of September. However, some teachers lack required qualification and have to complete a special training. British Council offered the Slovak Education Ministry headed by Eugen Jurzyca (SDKU-DS) a training program Methodology and Didactics of Primary Education, which proved effective for example in the Czech Republic where it has been accredited. The program has not been officially accredited in Slovakia yet. “The Education Ministry is considering the possibility of accreditation of the training program as well as subsequent steps,” stated the Education Ministry.
Teachers’ interest is also an inevitable condition for start of the project. “Teachers should be able to teach English at a qualified level after completing the training program,” stated the ministry. At the moment, teachers who majored in English teaching and teachers who completed the national project Primary Language School Teachers Training can teach English. The national project will continue even if the training program of the British Council is accredited. No further details about program’s implementation have been released yet.
Representatives of the British Council and the Education Ministry should meet again at the beginning of November. The revision to the education law, which the Cabinet passed in September, introduces obligatory English as of September 2011. The ministry will anchor obligatory English language study from the third grade of primary schools in the training program. Education Minister Eugen Jurzyca originally wanted to have obligatory English from the first grade of primary schools but gave up after criticism about readiness of the program. When passing the education law, KDH objected. It questioned the ministry’s ability to prepare teachers for compulsory English at schools. The revision was approved in the end after KDH Vice Chairman Daniel Lipsic admitted that Jurzyca provided the coalition with sufficient guarantees.
Pupils learn the first foreign language from the third grade of primary school and select the second foreign language from the fifth grade. Iveta Radicova’s Cabinet undertook to introduce compulsory English at schools before the general election. The government believes that knowledge of English language will increase competitiveness of job applicants both in Slovakia and abroad. Slovaks joined thirteen of all 27 EU members where the English language is compulsory.
SITA