The 18th - 24th November marks International Education Week 2013 - focussing on promoting language learning worldwide.
International Education Week (IEW) is an opportunity to promote the importance of building an international dimension into the education of young people in the UK at primary and secondary levels. We know that familiarity with other cultures and modern foreign languages skills are an essential part of preparing young people to work in the increasingly globalised economy.
Lattitude supports this through its variety of programmes that see not only British volunteers working abroad, but also by hosting volunteers from all over the world in the UK.
Lattitude volunteers work in schools all over the UK; making use of their native languages such as Spanish or German working as specialist Language Assistants. Or, through supporting schools as Teaching Assistants, simply enable the school children to interact with people from a different culture and background from an early age.
This year IEW will support a major policy shift in UK schools. From September 2014 primary schools in England will be required to teach a foreign language to pupils at Key Stage 2 (upper primary). There is also increasing policy support in other UK countries for language learning at primary level.
International Education Week celebrates the value of international work in encouraging young people to:
- Become global citizens
- Develop language skills
- Improve their chances of employment in a global economy.
All of which are goals that tie in with Lattitude Global Volunteering’s mission in providing structured, educational overseas volunteering placements for young people worldwide.
In discussing the importance of developing language skills, the desire for many to learn to speak English and the subsequent demand for native English speakers cannot be ignored – over 1.5 billion people are actively learning English and British volunteers, with native language skills are in a position to be of real assistance. Find out more about how you can teach English overseas on our website:
You can also find out more about International Education Week on the British Council website
