Meeting with the Minister of Education, Japan
With education reform high on the agenda for the Japanese Government, Cambridge ESOL had the opportunity to meet with Kenji Kosaka, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in Tokyo in April.
Simon Lebus, Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment, Mickey Bonin (Regional Manager for East Asia and Australasia) and Local Representative – Japan, Martin Nuttall briefed the Minister on the work of Cambridge ESOL.
This includes a growing offering in Japan, and the rapid development of the Business Language Testing System alongside Japan’s STEP (Society for Testing English Proficiency).
The Minister showed particular interest in the TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) as a means of testing standards among new English language teachers.
It is hoped future opportunities will be created for sharing assessment knowledge and expertise.
From Romania
A visit to Cambridge, co-sponsored by British Council Bucharest, by school heads and directors from the state school sector and also private language schools in Romania in April was very successful. It was a chance for representatives of schools preparing candidates for the examinations to meet Cambridge ESOL staff. The purpose of the visit was to share information on exam updates, enhancements to administration, issues around exam security and other operational activities.
Awards for Japanese Young Learners
JB Academic Eiken Centre in Kyushu, Japan, held its second Presentation Ceremony recently. Local Secretary Cynthia Keith, Local Representative - Japan, Martin Nuttall, the Oral Examiners and the Board of Kyushu were pleased to see the young candidates as they stepped up on to the stage to receive their certificates in the presence of their parents, grandparents and teachers.
The buzz in Business English in Spain
Cambridge ESOL recently reached an agreement with the ESIC Business & Marketing School to collaborate in the promotion of BULATS and BEC to the corporate sector to support business people in their language learning needs.
ESIC Business & Marketing School was the first higher education school to be established in Spain, and today has campuses in Madrid, Valencia, Pamplona, Zaragoza, Seville and Murcia. The collaboration began with a joint promotion at the Expomanagement annual meeting in Madrid in May, attended by 20,000 executives from around the world.