30 January 2003 Media Statement

Dalziel welcomes ESOL resource for schools

Associate Education Minister Lianne Dalziel has welcomed distribution of a resource to help schools provide high-quality English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programmes for international students.

The resource, developed by the Ministry of Education with the support of primary and secondary schools with leading ESOL programmes, provides guidance for developing policies and plans, advice on teaching practice, and ways to ensure that school ESOL programmes are adequately and appropriately resourced.

Lianne Dalziel said many schools that took part last year in a survey of ESOL providers indicated they would like access to ESOL resources to enable them to better meet the needs of international students.

"This resource is a response to that need," she said.

"High-quality ESOL programmes are essential if international students are to participate successfully in the New Zealand school curriculum and interact socially with their fellow students and within the wider New Zealand community.

"Teaching English to international students is an important export education activity and central to the success of the whole industry, so it is vital that schools provide high-quality ESOL programmes in order to maintain the strong reputation that New Zealand enjoys in this area overseas," Lianne Dalziel said.

The resource highlights issues that need to be considered in developing and delivering ESOL programmes. As well as providing guidance on business planning, the resource offers good-practice advice for planning and teaching by drawing on many effective programmes already being run in New Zealand, and highlights ESOL resources already available to schools.

Lianne Dalziel said the resource included material that would be of particular value to schools with only a few international students or with limited ESOL experience, and also schools that were interested in developing ESOL programmes in conjunction with a number of other schools.

ENDS

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