Thailand ’off target’ with language teaching plans Ambitious plans to increase English language teaching in Thailand’s schoo

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问题     Thailand ’off target’ with language teaching plans
    Ambitious plans to increase English language teaching in Thailand’s schools are at risk because of a shortage of funds and qualified teachers, a senior education official has admitted.
    Watanaporn Ra-ngubtook, director of the English language teaching strategy within the education department responsible for primary education, told the Nation newspaper that a plan to increase the number of students studying in special English programmes in over 200 schools was at risk because schools were struggling to recruit qualified teachers.
    In July the Office of the Basic Education Commission announced that English language teaching hours would be increased and that an initiative in selected schools to teach maths and science in English, the English Bilingual Education programme, would be expanded.
    But Watanaporn said that a strategy to recruit native-English-speaking teachers from abroad to teach English and other curriculum subjects was at risk.
    "The schools cannot import only native English speakers, as it is difficult to find ones who have all the required qualifications. Some are good in English but not good in maths and science," she said.
    India’s job hunters get English skills by phone
    Job hunters in India will be able to improve their English skills and their chances of landing a job with help from a mobile phone app developed by the British Council and Indian company Avon Mobility Solutions.
    Jobseekers mobile phone app takes the form of a daily animated soap opera following the lives of four characters as they apply for jobs. The multimedia lessons include audio and vocabulary. Jobseekers is available on the Tata Docomo network through its Tutor on Mobile platform, and costs two cents a day.
    "If a picture speaks a thousand words, an animation speaks 10,000. It is situational and context-based, so the animation and audio will ensure better reach than static images," Rony Thomas Zachariah of Avon Mobility Solutions told the Times of India.
    No more special treatment for UK in ELT awards
    After 10 years of celebrating innovation in ELT the British Council will no longer make a distinction between the UK and the rest of the world in its annual "Eltons" awards.
    All teachers, publishers and developers will compete together in five new categories. The deadline for submissions is 2 December and the awards will be announced next May.
    Meanwhile, the London based English Speaking Union last week announced the winners of its annual ELT awards. Speakout, published by Pearson, won the Duke of Edinburgh ESU English Language Book Award, while the ESU President’s Award, for technology in ELT, went to Cambridge English Online’s Phonetics Focus. The Cambridge ESU New Writing Award, inaugurated this year, went to Turkish teacher Ozge Karaoglu Ergen for Bubble and Pebble, a digital game for six-year-olds.
    New Zealand to get tough on language standards
    Private training providers in New Zealand face tougher English language tests for international students under a crackdown on cheating announced by the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA).
    The Authority is concerned about poor English levels among international students, according to the New Zealand Herald newspaper. Schools could be forced to use standardised English language tests under a range of options being considered by NZQA.
    Twenty-six private training institutions are currently under investigation for a range of suspected problems including poor academic performance, student complaints and mismanagement of fees.
                                                From The Guardian, February 9, 2011
Which group of people will NOT compete for the ELT awards?

选项 A、teachers
B、headmasters
C、publishers
D、developers

答案B

解析 本题为细节题。根据第十段“All teachers,publishers and developers will compete together in five new categories”可知A、C、D正确,B未提及,故选B。
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