Spanish Prime Minister announces plans to develop English education in Spain

Spanish Prime Minister announces plans to develop English education in Spain
larger | smaller
By h.b. - Feb 19, 2008 - 2:41 PM

Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero - Photo EFE

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero set a ten year target for students to dominate what the Spanish often refer to as 'the language of Shakespeare'

The Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has unveiled ambitious new plans for the teaching of English in Spain. He has given an undertaking that 15% of total classes given in Spanish schools will be in English within four years, with the intention that children who pass through the Spanish education system will be bilingual and dominate the language in ten years.

For the plan to be put into action some 12,000 native English teachers are to be employed, together with a further 8,000 native teachers assistants. 20,000 Spanish teachers of English will meanwhile be given a month’s course in an English speaking country.

Speaking at an institute in Fuenlabrada, Madrid, the Prime Minister said that Spain needed the move to complete economically, and that Spanish youngsters would benefit by being able to compete professionally.
‘There are families who can easily pay for their children to travel or study abroad’, he said, ‘but our priority is for those who cannot’.

Click here for related stories

mobile |

email this article | print

printer friendly page

More Spain News : National

Readers' comments:
Please keep to the subject. Opinions published here are of our visitors, not the Typically Spanish team. Comments which go against Spanish laws or which are libellous are not allowed. We reserve the right to delete any comment we wish. Placing a comment indicates you have read our terms and conditions and privacy policy.

Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema. Escribir un comentario indica que has leído nuestros condiciones de uso y politica de privacidad.