§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will arrange for the teaching of English as a foreign language to be given special emphasis in teacher training courses with the aim of providing teachers with this special training in areas where immigrants without the English language are concentrated.
§ Mr. CroslandSpecial training is best given to teachers in the areas concerned after they have taken their initial teacher training. Suitable short courses are organised by some local education authorities and university institutes of education. The University of London Institute also provides a one-year course in the teaching of English as a foreign language which is open to serving teachers, and is arranging next autumn an experimental one-year course specially for teachers of immigrant children.
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give local educational authorities additional funds to provide special facilities, in the schools and outside, for the teaching of English to school children and adults among those immigrants who have little or no English.
§ Mr. Denis HowellMy right hon. Friend hopes shortly to issue advice to local education authorities on the education of immigrants. Any special facilities required to teach them English are provided as part of the education service whose cost is aided by the Exchequer through the general and rate deficiency grants.
§ Sir G. Sinclairasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consult the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, the universities and the local educational authorities with a view to securing their collaboration in initiating 59W research into the educational problems in this country of children and adults from cultures different from our own.
§ Mr. CroslandThe Schools Council which includes representatives of universities, local education authorities and teachers is sponsoring a preliminary inquiry into the problems of teaching immigrant children which should indicate further openings for useful research. The National Foundation for Educational Research is making a study of the linguistic and other difficulties met by overseas students. A number of local education authorities and institutes of education are interested in this problem and I am sure that they will be ready to co-operate in any further research that is required.