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Foundation year to be or not to be.
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peripatetic_soul



Joined: 20 Oct 2013
Posts: 303
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 1:05 pm    Post subject: Foundation year to be or not to be Reply with quote
To add another insight into Muscat Gary's post, I know my students in Foundations had told me their high school English exam consisted of COPYING a paragraph written on the board, and the teacher would walk around correcting the girls' exam papers! Case in point: There was one young lady who was miserably failing the Foundations level 1 courses. She could not decode the simplest words. It was obvious she had an LD. She would become upset with her assessment results, exclaiming that she had earned 90%+ in all of her high school English classes. As we also know, the college curriculum is too rigorous for the low competency of the students so they are set up failure from the start which is frustrating for all concerned. As teachers, we want them to be successful but it's hit or miss in most cases. In addition, the college has adopted a business model and the funding formula takes precedence. As such, we witnessed a wave of former students who were dismissed for various reasons (chronic absence, failing marks as repeaters) invited back to meet the funding quota the next semester. And so it goes......
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2buckets



Joined: 14 Dec 2010
Posts: 515
Location: Middle East
PostPosted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
"Bums on seats" has always been the model.
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Chuma



Joined: 21 May 2013
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Was the future of the Foundation Program discussed at the meeting on Sunday night? If so, what does the future hold in store for English teachers?
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Neutrino Girl



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 2:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
The meeting is on this coming Sunday night.
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D. Merit



Joined: 02 May 2008
Posts: 203
PostPosted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
veiledsentiments wrote:
Which is exactly what we have been saying since the mid-80s.

It certainly does seem like 30 years, but is that the 'royal' we?
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veiledsentiments



Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 1:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Royalty seems to be your hang-up, not mine.

It is from "we" TEFLers of whom both you and I are one of many...

VS
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Chuma



Joined: 21 May 2013
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Neutrino Girl wrote:
The meeting is on this coming Sunday night.


Updates, please.

Shocked
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MsRT



Joined: 25 Nov 2013
Posts: 20
PostPosted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yes, please!

Am keen to know......
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Neutrino Girl



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 128
PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
We were told that:

- The foundation program is safe for now, but may be downsized in the future assuming that more students will meet the IELTS requirements before entering the university;

- UAEU, ZU and HCT are planning on coming to an agreed salary and benefits scale (which many are assuming will mean an imminent pay cut);

- All coordinators will be teaching in addition to their normal duties (half of a normal teaching schedule);

- The foundations courses should be 'de-centralized,' allowing for every instructor to assess their own classes;

- The academic calendar for UAEU, ZU and HCT may change this coming academic year. There is a meeting next week to decide on one of four options, the likeliest being an early August start with a finish in May (don't buy your tickets for the summer just yet!).
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Chuma



Joined: 21 May 2013
Posts: 72
PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 9:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for posting the info!

Smile
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rdobbs98



Joined: 08 Oct 2010
Posts: 236
PostPosted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I wouldn't worry about cutting the foundation program because at the 'front lines' where I am at, 6th and 7th grade; the majority of the classes aren't prepared even for Secondary let alone University.

If you give a sample Cambridge exam, the results are unbelievable and the English skills are negligible. "Local" students are at the lowest ability, while those who h