Aggressive recruiting for teaching English in Georgia

Author: Ketevan Natsvlichvili

The Republic of Georgia has been undergoing many reforms the past couple of years, “educational revolution” being the latest development. The president of Georgia, not too long ago announced that English language is to become a second language and is to foster a new generation who will play a role on the global arena.

To put theory into practice, the ”teach and learn for Georgia” project was launched and the first phase of foreign English teachers arrived in the July 2010. A total of 1000 are scheduled to the land on Georgian soil by the end of 2010-2011 school year, and 10, 000 over the next four years.

Most foreign teachers sign up directly from the source, administered by the Georgian Ministry of Education. However, there is increasing number of organizations such as footprints recruiting and cci-exchange offering native English speakers to venture out to Georgia as well.

One of the advantages of the program is that the volunteers are introduced to Georgia, and are encouraged to learn its language and customs. That’s why they will be called “Georgia’s goodwill ambassadors” after leaving the county, as they will automatically raise awareness of often unknown country to the general public in the west. And will serve as liaison if you will. To emphasize the important role the teachers are to play in the future of Georgia, the president personally welcomed the first arrivals and you can read about their reactions in some of the blogs listed below.

This subject has been in the news casts for quite some time stirring up some discussion for all parties involved.

The reactions from the general public seem positive, although I can’t help but speculate that such a strong and sudden movement must be a little overwhelming. The learning curve is definitely needed for this non-traditional approach. However, this might just be thing that Georgia needs.

Together with the language proficiency, the undertaking is also to result in adaptation of western values and culture. This is one of the items that drew my attention while researching this topic, because I am not a believer of adaptation of other cultures but innovation or advancement of our own. The western culture, as superior as it seems, has very many flows of its own. This of course is an issue on its own and I will not get into it just yet.

The challenge in my opinion will be in perseverance, as learning a language is an ongoing long term process which cannot be haltered. As well, the recruits are not trained teachers and although they speak English at a high level, teaching is not a given.

Before I turn into a sceptic and an optimist at the same time, what are some of your thoughts, suggestions, and comment? How close to home is this to you?

Sources used in this post: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]