Feeding the TEFL golden goose

I have been following with keen interest the discussion about the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in The Times prompted by Carmelo Abela (August 17). This is a rapidly expanding sector which needs to be nurtured so that what has been achieved so far is built upon and sustained.

There seems to be a divergence of opinion in that there is a call for better controls by people from the industry (Francis Stivala, August 22), whereas the opinion of the chairman of the EFL Monitoring Board (Joseph Muscat, August 27) is that, at least in so far as the quality of the teaching of English goes, all is well and good. In the chairman's opinion, EFL teachers with a Pass in the Board's English Language Examination or an 'A' level certificate in English and a short induction course (usually about 60 hours) are "fully qualified". He states that "they are proving to be very good teachers". It is not clear on what evidence he bases such a categorical statement. There is no denying the enthusiasm of most of the young people who are involved in this sector. However, enthusiasm on its own does not constitute professional standards. They require on-going professional support and guidance.

I live in Sliema and I am in constant touch with foreign students. A number of them are satisfied with their tuition. However, quite a few of them describe situations where they are taught by inexperienced teachers, whose sessions are completely text-book led with no attempt at promoting communication in the classroom situation. Some of the teaching and learning materials and the language tasks set to students, I have been shown, are downright shoddy.

In some cases students have described courses which are incoherent and which demonstrate a complete lack of planning.

Of course I do not feel we should base our assumptions solely on what the students say about their courses, although this constitutes a very valid form of feedback, especially bearing in mind that they are our foremost means of marketing Malta as an EFL destination when they return to their home country.

Perhaps a cue should be taken from the Advisory Council for English Language Schools of Ireland which carries out thorough inspections of EFL schools in Ireland, covering General Management and Administration, Academic Management, Teaching Performance, Social Programme/Student Welfare/Student Accommodation and the Premises. With regard to Academic Management, issues like Course Design and Management of Resources, Management of teaching staff, Monitoring of students' progress and actual teaching performance are looked at closely. Provision is made to ensure that EFL teachers are well-supported and that there are opportunities for them to engage in continuing professional development.

I feel that in the long run such an inspection and advisory process will be of benefit to the sector as it will support and sustain those schools who are striving to achieve high teaching standards. I am aware that Feltom (Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations - Malta) has embarked on its own accreditation scheme. This is commendable. However, I feel that the state should have its own mechanism to promote continued high standards in such an important sector to the Maltese economy and to safeguard our international reputation in the field of education, beyond what is already being achieved.