If you can read this, thank a teacher
TESOL
Teaching is among the most difficult jobs, especially in the current climate of budget cuts and test scores, but it is also among the most rewarding. During Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States, May 2-6, we pause to remember the teachers who made a difference in our lives, the teachers who encouraged us, who did not give up on us when we struggled and who challenged us and helped us realize our potential. If you are a teacher, thank you for all that you do to support your students and the profession. If you are a student, please take the time to appreciate your teachers' commitment and hard work. They do it for you. For information about Teachers' Days around the world, click here.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offers his appreciation in a recent blog post, "In Honor of Teacher Appreciation Week: An Open Letter from Arne Duncan to America's Teachers."More

Saudi Arabia government approves teaching of English language from fourth-grade
The Saudi Gazette
Saudi Arabia: The Saudi Arabia government has approved starting teaching of English language from fourth-grade in boys and girls primary government schools effective from the new academic year 2011-2012. The teaching staff should be trained in teaching English language and tasked a committee specialized in the field at the ministry to probe the competency of the teachers.More

Grant rules push for common criteria for ELL pupils
Education Week
States that join together to apply for federal funding to create English language proficiency tests as part of the Common Core State Standards Initiative will have to agree on a common definition for English language learners and criteria to determine when such students must leave special programs to learn English. More

Latino education crisis detailed in White House report
The Huffington Post
The largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States is also chronically underserved by the nation's public schools. A report released by the White House and the U.S. Department of Education details the current crisis in Latino education. While 1 in 4 American children is Latino, according to the document, the demographic has "the lowest education attainment levels" in the country.More

Poor white pupils perform even worse than children who have English as a second language
The Daily Mail
Great Britain: Poor white schoolchildren perform even more poorly than pupils who have English as their second language, an analysis of exam results has found. Pakistani, Bangladeshi and black youngsters all outperform their white English classmates from deprived backgrounds.More

Colorado district earns award for work with English language programs
The Colorado Springs Gazette
Carol Pollard is watching a first grader at Oak Creek Elementary School in Colorado write a sentence about a flamingo. "What are you writing?" she asks. "Estan Comiendo," he answers. "How do you say that in English?" Pollard asks. "They are eating," he replies. And so it goes in the beginning English Language Learners class where all subjects are taught only in English, but where beginners occasionally slip into their native language.More

Empowering Brazil's language learners
The Guardian
Brazil: Bruno Cesar has been an English language teacher in his native Brazil for 13 years and currently works in a state secondary school in Rio de Janeiro.More

Study: City charters don't take enough English language learners
WNYC News
For years, education advocates have been complaining that charter schools aren't serving all children equally because they take a disproportionately low share of English language learners. That allegation has caused critics to raise questions whenever charters post higher test scores than regular public schools. In a study published in the Journal of School Choice, researchers from New York University found that the schools do serve fewer English language learners.More

70,000 to learn English for the Olympics
The Moscow Times
Russia: The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee hired EF English First to teach the language to an astounding 70,000 people as part of preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Under the contract, the international firm will educate athletes, Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee staff, service providers — including taxi drivers and hotel maids — judges and volunteers. Most of the training will be carried out online.More