Israel Education Ministry Invests in Nationwide Program for English Teachers
Source: Jerusalem Post
In an attempt to remedy the problem with Israelis and their ability to speak English, the Education Ministry recently approved a tuition-free English teaching course to be implemented throughout the country and help better train future English teachers. Starting this upcoming school year, all Israeli colleges are invited to apply for a part of the NIS 12 million budget and offer this free government-run course to native English speakers who are interested in learning how to teach English to local children.
Headed by the ministry’s teacher- training division, the program is designed to train qualified teachers to teach English from elementary school level to junior high school.
To enroll, the applicant must have bachelor’s degree which is recognized by the Education Ministry and also has to pass a 15-20 minute interview conducted by the college director in English.
The course takes two years and classes are for one and a half days a week. One full day is dedicated to learning how to teach English while the half day is spent gaining practical experience at a local elementary or junior high school. This way, people who are interested in learning do not have to rearrange their schedules too much in order to complete the course.
One of the schools hoping to move forward with this new program is Hemdat Hadarom College in Netivot.