Cactus Language Blog

Non-English speaking pupils reaches record high

Posted by Lucy under Cactus Languages Abroad

A government report today shows that the share of pupils in England’s schools speaking English as a second language has reached a new high.  The latest figures translate to around 470,080 pupils in primary schools and 354,300 pupils in seconday schools.

It’s clear that this trend is putting extra demands on schools and teachers alike, who are struggling to cope with the numbers of children arriving from abroad with little or no English.   In fact, local authorities have been calling for emergency funds to help them respond to these demands on education and other services.

Currently, there’s no specific money designated to ESOL training (English to Speakers of other Languages)  in state schools.  The government  needs to make money available but this shouldn’t come out of individual school budgets, as some schools are obviously more in need than others, particuarly in urban areas.

What’s required is a coherent nationwide strategy for ESOL provision.  In particular, SENCOs (Special Educational Needs Coordinators) and EAL link teachers (English as Additional Language) need to be given proper advice and support about training provision.  There also needs to be more funding to help children adapt culturally at their new schools, enabling them to integrate and feel part of school life.

Cactus Opinion: Spanish in Pamplona

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Cactus Staff Opinion, Learning a language, Spanish

Senior Language Holiday Advisor Elvira Rodriguez tells us about her fam trip to Pamplona, Spain (April 08) 

Hemingway fell in love with Pamplona and wrote a few novels based on this proud and ancient capital of Navarra, especially its world-renowned festival of San Fermin (the running of the bulls). Beautiful novels came out of his experience under the titles of  A Dangerous Summer, Sun Also Rises and Death in the Afternoon. Despite Pamplona being widely known for this festival, it lasts just one week and the ”running” each day takes as little as 5 minutes! What do they do the rest of the year?

Cactus Opinion: TEFL in Vietnam

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Staff Opinion, Cactus TEFL

Laura Harrison, from Cactus TEFL, gives us her impressions on Vietnam

My first official ‘FAM’ trip for Cactus TEFL was, it’s fair to say, a good one.

I was told in autumn last year that I would have the opportunity to go to Vietnam, which gave me plenty of time to read up on this unknown and faraway land. In reality, however, no amount of literature could have prepared me for my experience in this hospitable, vibrant and fascinating country, that in all honestly I had never so much as considered visiting before.

New York Marathon raises £633 for the Suzanne Furstner Foundation

Posted by Sarah under Cactus TEFL, Language Courses New York, News

Friend of Cactus, Claire Dillon, runs the New York Marathon for the Suzanne Furstner Foundation

On 4th November 2007 Claire Dillon, a close friend of Cactus,  ran the New York marathon in a fantastic 5 hours and 17 mins, in support of the Suzanne Furstner Foundation. Suzanne was a much-loved friend and colleague at Cactus who we tragically lost in a road accident in Spain on 22nd May 2006. She was Head of Cactus TEFL and, outside work, a keen and talented runner herself.

Here are Claire’s reports before, and after, her marathon run…

Languages on the Job: Tips from photographer & author Steve Watkins

Posted by Sarah under Cactus Languages Abroad, Learning a language

Steve Watkins, photographer and author of the best-selling BBC ‘Unforgettable’ series, tells us about his experiences with language learning…

1. Tell us a bit about what you do…

I’m a professional travel photographer and author. I’ve been working as a freelancer for the past 13 years and I am fortunate that I get to travel extensively around the world, getting to shoot images of trips and places that I’ve always dreamt of visiting.

2. How many countries have you been to?

Good question! It was 64 but it would have gone up during my last project for BBC Books…it must be about 70 countries now.

3. What languages do you speak?

I speak a few languages with varying degrees of success. By far my best language is Spanish which I speak around intermediate level. I also speak conversational French, a few words of Italian and Arabic and ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in several other languages.