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	<title>A unique Intensive English Course in India (AsiaTEFL.Net)</title>
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      <title><![CDATA[A unique Intensive English Course in India ]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[A unique Intensive English Course in India
by Ken and Visakha Kawasaki, Directors of Buddhist Relief Mission

 

Noel Coward sang that only Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun, so it may seem strange for English teachers to choose to spend one month of the hottest season in India, but for some, the experience is well worth the heat.


Mid-March to mid-April is the term for an exciting Intensive English Course sponsored by Buddhist Relief Mission and Young Buddhist Student Literacy Mission and is held at Bodhisukha School, which is in a monastery in Northern Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. The first course, with two teachers and 25 students was held in 2006. The second course, with four teachers and 45 students, was held in 2007. Enrollment in 2008 is expected to reach 65 students, so at least six teachers will be needed.


The syllabus, which covers all four ESL skills, is cooperatively developed by the teaching team, and each member is free to teach according to his or her own methods, incorporating favorite lessons from his or her professional dossier. Each student receives a grammar text book from which teachers plan lessons, but they are by no means restricted by this.


The students, most of whom are Buddhist monks (A few upperclass boys from Bodhisukha School and several lay devotees of the monastery participate, and in 2007 there was one Buddhist nun.), are so disciplined and so eager to learn that they spend almost 100% of the hours during the month in study and preparation. Even at the end of the fourth hour of instruction, they are ready for more. This has been a unique and exciting experience for all the teachers who have taken part in the first two courses.


Classes are held from Monday to Saturday, two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. Evening sessions are informal and include discussions on social issues and various videos. The evening sessions are led by the teachers on a rotating basis. (For the mos ..]]></description>
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