National Geographic Learning and Educational Testing Service Collaborate to Develop ELTeach - an Online Training Program for English Language Teachers

BOSTON, Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- National Geographic Learning (NGL), part of Cengage Learning and a provider of quality educational materials for the PreK‐12, higher education, adult education and ELT markets, and Educational Testing Service (ETS), the global leader in providing fair and valid English language assessments, research and related services, today announced the launch of ELTeach, a curriculum, assessment and certificate program that provides professional development for English language teachers (ELT) worldwide.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070724/NYTU125 )

This new program provides thorough instruction and training to help ELT teachers learn to effectively teach English in English. Beginning in June 2012, NGL and ETS have collaborated on piloting ELTeach with over 4,200 teachers of English around the world. The teachers in the pilot represented 10 countries – including China, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil and Italy – and used both distance learning and blended learning models.

"ELTeach comes at an important time, as the need for students around the world to learn English is greater than ever," said Sean Wakely, Executive Vice President, Cengage Learning. "English has become a global language, and in many countries the demand to learn the language is greater than the number of teachers available to teach it. The ELTeach program is unique because it grants countries the ability to improve the skills and effectiveness of their own current teachers."

ELTeach's online curricula and assessments deliver a cost-effective and scalable way to train large numbers of English teachers. The aim is to improve the quality and consistency of English language teaching across an entire country.  The program is comprised of two components — English for Teaching and Professional Knowledge for English Language Teaching (ELT):

• English for Teaching helps teachers to gain the skills necessary to complete basic teaching tasks in English. This area of the program helps teachers to prepare for and take the Test of English for Teaching (TEFT™), which assesses those skills as teachers read, write, listen and speak. 

• Professional Knowledge for ELT provides teachers with increased knowledge of pedagogy and practices that are specific to English language teaching.  This component helps teachers to prepare for and take the integrated Test of Professional Knowledge (TPK™) for ELT, which assesses the teachers' knowledge of the curriculum.

"ELTeach is the first professional development product for ELT teachers that is truly designed for the reality of English as a 21^st Century global skill," said Dennis Hogan, Executive Director, National Geographic Learning. "The program gives non-native speaking teachers the tools and confidence to teach English in English, which has been proven as the best path to success."

"What's novel about this program is that it provides teachers with both a learning experience and assessment geared toward helping them improve how they teach the English language to their students," said David Hunt, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Global Division, ETS. "In recent years, an increasing number of ministries of education have focused on improving the skills and capabilities of their English Language teachers.  ELTeach helps teachers reach this goal by providing them with the opportunity to become more confident in their language ability and their understanding of teaching methods specific to their needs. "

ELTeach was designed by an international panel of ELT experts, led by Professors Donald Freeman and Ann Burns, and Dr. Ann Katz. Panelists spanning 13 countries shared their insights and experiences to help shape the course content and ensure that it is relevant both locally and globally.

For more information on ELTeach, or any other products available from National Geographic Learning, please visit ngl.cengage.com.

About Cengage Learning and National Geographic Learning

Cengage Learning is a leading educational content, software and services company for academic, professional and library markets worldwide. National Geographic Learning, part of Cengage Learning, is a provider of quality core and supplemental educational materials for the PreK‐12, higher education, adult education and ELT markets. Cengage Learning and National Geographic Learning also distribute a variety of content from the National Geographic Society, including images, maps, videos and articles, to the academic and library markets worldwide. The company's products and services are designed to foster academic excellence and professional development, increase student engagement, improve learning outcomes and deliver authoritative information to people whenever and wherever they need it.  For more information, visit www.cengage.com.  

About Educational Testing Service

At Educational Testing Service (ETS), we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English Language Learning, and elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a non-profit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually – including the TOEFL® and TOEIC® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org.

SOURCE Cengage Learning