John Knagg “Improving English Learning in National Education Systems”

Improving English Learning in National Education Systems John Knagg English for the Future Policy Dialogue Cartagena de Indias. October 2012. john.knagg@britishcouncil.org All images Š Mat Wright

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The Nature of Educational Reform

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British Council – National Projects

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English - one part of a big system Outperforming - underperforming

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Three Purposes of Public Education Systems

1.Competitiveness 2. National Identity 3. Equity (after Byram)

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Assessing the validity of the argument The country needs to operate internationally So it needs to be able to use the global lingua franca So it needs to speak English So the future citizens need to learn English

How many future citizens ?

How much English ? Other languages ?

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What is achievable ?

How to balance equity, resources,and need ?

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European Survey of Language Competences

Measures learner achievement around 14-15 y.o.

Compares contextual factors Matches achievement to contextual factors www.britishcouncil.org

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European Survey of Language Competences

Bulgaria Croatia Estonia France Greece Malta

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Netherlands Poland Portugal Slovenia Spain Sweden

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European Survey of Language Competences 13 Contextual Factors:

Early Learning

School FL Specialism

Diversity of FL offer

ICT use

Informal LL opportunity

Intercultural Exchange

Native-speaker staff

Methodology – approach

LL for Immigrants

Quality TT (Pre- and In-)

Teacher visits to TL country

Use of EC Assessment

Teacher Experience

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European Survey of Language Competences Contextual Conclusions

An earlier onset is related to higher proficiency Positive relation between proficiency and parents’ knowledge Positive relation between proficiency and exposure through media Students who think language is useful have higher proficiency Students who find language difficult show lower proficiency Greater use of language in lessons relates to higher proficiency

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Lesson 1: All the Stakeholders

Teachers – directly affected and others Teacher Managers – Principals, Inspectors…

Parents Policy-makers (who are they ?)

Students ?

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British Council Teacher CPD Framework

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Big Global Trends

Teacher Shortage Teacher Language Improvement Teacher Continuing Development Earlier Learning New Technology

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Lesson 2: All the elements

Good Teachers Good Curriculum and Materials Good Assessment Good Environment Good Quality Assurance

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Politicians vs Educationalists Understanding the different time-frames Activities vs Results

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Lesson 3: the Power of Piloting

Available resources focussed Competition to participate Faster results Risks contained – lessons learned

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Lesson 4: the Power of Decentralization

Ownership, Accountability Time to take decisions Contexts accounted for Central focus on high-level issues

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What makes B1 English learners ?

Healthy children

Helpful parents

Internet access

Comfortable classroom

Learner centred approach

Communicative methodology

Relevant curriculum

Range of materials

Appropriate assessment

Effective QA

Enthusiastic children

Amount of exposure

Well-trained teachers

Updated teachers

Learning not teaching

Teachers with good English

Supportive colleagues

Aware principals

English on TV

Sharing best practice

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British Council English Partnerships

Wisdom Ethics Adaptability Curiosity Integration

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Improving English Learning in National Education Systems John Knagg English for the Future Policy Dialogue Cartagena de Indias. October 2012. john.knagg@britishcouncil.org All images Š Mat Wright

www.britishcouncil.org

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