Author: Nicole

In February, a BBC news special for the show Panorama revealed “systematic fraud” at TOEIC test centres across the UK (incidents include “fake-sitters” writing the test on behalf of other people and an invigilator reading answers aloud to test-takers). Since then, the British government has removed TOEIC and TOEFL as approved tests for immigration purposes. A further move was recently taken, with approximately 60 higher education schools in the UK having their right to host foreign students suspended.

The government has also found that many students are working far more hours than their student visas allow.

The government has launched a criminal investigation into ETS Global.

Red more in the Times Higher Ed and Inside Higher Ed.

The Nova Scotia government recently announced a change to its Provincial Nominee Program –  a change that will make it easier for international students to immigrate to the province. Now international graduates who have received a job offer can apply for permanent residency under the province’s skilled worker program. Nova Scotia hopes that the change in policy will help it to retain skilled workers as well as attract more international students.

Read the Press Release

The 2012-2013 school year saw a record number of international students studying in British Columbia, according to new figures released by the BC government. There was a 20% increase in enrollment and a 28% increase in direct spending by international students. Of the 112,800 students, the largest increases were in students coming from India, China and Brazil.

Read the Ministry of Advanced Education Press Release.

In May, the winners of the annual ELTons awards were announced. Amongst the winners was the Academic Skills Series published by Collins. This is a six-book series for international students of all academic subjects who are studying, or preparing to study, at an English-speaking institution. Essential study skills and English language practice are combined to help students step up their performance from their IELTS or TOEFL score to achieve academic success on their course.

Each book stands alone, focusing on one skill required at university but they all follow an accessible series style which makes them easy to blend with other titles in the series. They work for self-study or classroom use.

“Now in their twelfth year, the annual awards, run by the British Council and sponsored by Cambridge English Language Assessment, are a celebration of innovation and excellence in English language teaching (ELT) from around the world.”

Visit the ELTons site.

In June, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the Multicultural Education Training and Advocacy (META) filed federal court papers over the poor quality of language instruction offered to English Language Learners in schools (particularly secondary) in Texas. The little advancement of ELLs in Texas schools is described as “alarming”, with tens of thousands of ELL students not acquiring the level of English language proficiency as required under the Federal Equal Education Opportunities Act. It is said that the programs are under-funded and poorly administered.

Read MALDEF’s press release.