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Talking, teaching, learning, sharing and living English
Why do we need English medium education? Should subject teachers only teach their subjects when teaching in English or are they also responsible for English language development? How can subject teachers ensure that English language is not a barrier to subject development?

These and other thorny issues will be examined when some 60 teachers from local schools working in English, gather for a residential school organized by the British Council in association with A.S. Hornby Educational Trust and the Sri Lanka English Language Teachers’ Association (SLELTA) in mid-April.

With 'English medium-Bridging from education to the workplace' as its theme, the residential school will focus on how teachers can better equip their students for employment by not only improving their knowledge of English, but also helping them acquire the skills needed when they venture out into the workplace. As such, personnel from the private sector will address the teachers on the skills they are looking for from prospective employees.

"What we've learnt over the years is that there's a huge demand for education in English and a crying need for better teaching in schools," says course director Nirmali Hettiarachchi adding that they hope courses like these would give teachers more confidence and exposure.

This is the third such residential school in Sri Lanka funded by the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust, set up in memory of Albert Sydney Hornby whose contribution to the teaching of the English language will be long remembered for the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English he compiled. The Trust regularly funds summer schools all over the world and this latest one will be held from April 19-28 at Villa Ocean View Hotel, Wadduwa.

The residential school invited applications from teachers working in secondary and tertiary education levels and seeks to draw on their own experiences in teaching in the English medium and the difficulties they encounter in the process. The trainers themselves, Sri Lankans apart, are drawn from countries where similar problems have cropped up with the reintroduction of the English medium.

"We would ideally like to have an English teacher and a subject teacher from the same school so that they can see how they can help and complement each other's work," says Richard Lunt, Manager of the British Council's Language Centre expressing the hope that this will lead to a cascade effect where the teachers can go back to their own schools and share the benefits of their knowledge with their colleagues.

Core modules will thus include 'challenges facing language and subject teachers', 'designing and sourcing relevant English medium materials', 'testing and evaluation of subject content and language', 'subjects through English vs. English through subjects' and 'equipping students for the needs of the workplace'.

The organizers stress that teachers would be required to spend all ten days 'in residence' but say that the programme has been carefully drawn up to be very interactive with games and role-play.

"It's not all work and no play," says Marion Hughes, the British Council's Military Communication Skills Project Manager. The benefits they feel will also come from the teachers' sharing experiences and being able to network even after the course.

The Hornby school has the support of the Education Ministry which is nominating two teachers from each district to attend. With the course fee of Rs. 20,000 per participant, this too being heavily subsidized, sponsorship is crucial. Nirmali and Richard stress that there is a need for schools, old boys' unions and old girls' associations and the private sector to help teachers to attend.

"The people who talk about improving education, put your money where your mouth is," Richard urges. " If you want the teachers in your children's schools to do better in English medium teaching, then sponsor them to come to it.”

More details of the Hornby school could be had from the website http://www.britishcouncil.org/srilanka-learning-hornby-participants-applications.htm or from the Projects and Training Officer British Council, tel: 4521554 or on email projects@britishcouncil.lk

Gratiaen Prize 2004 shortlist
The Gratiaen Prize 2004 shortlist will be announced on March 29, at 6.00 p.m. at the British Council garden. Michael Ondaatje who won the Booker Prize for his novel "The English Patient" donated his prize money for what has become the premier award for creative writing in English in Sri Lanka, the Gratiaen prize.

The shortlist will be announced at the British Council from a variety of entries including novels, short stories, poetry and memoirs. Come and enjoy listening to the shortlisted writers read from and talk about their work. The judges this year are Ruwanthie de Chickera, Richard Boyle and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu.

The winners of both the Gratiaen Prize and the new H.A.I. Goonetileke prize for translation (into English) will be announced at the prize event on Saturday, April 2. The event is open to all.

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