Come September 2014, 21 schools will be the beneficiaries of trained Portuguese teachers following the launch of a 12-week training programme for language educators.
The initiative was embarked upon by the Ministry of Education following the introduction of Portuguese curriculum guides into the 21 schools across Guyana.
The guides were initially launched in 6 Georgetown schools in October 2013 and will now be launched in an additional 15 schools, in regions 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10.
According to Deputy Chief Education Officer for Development Doodmattie Singh, the training will commence next week and will be implemented in three phases. The first phase, she said, will cover almost all topics while the second phase will focus on recap and revision. The third phase will encompass testing.
Singh further stated that the 24 afternoon sessions will be extensive and will include assignments, tests, and practical examinations.
The materials supplied to the participants will be those which are already in circulation following the launch of the subject last year and will be provided by the Ministry of Education.
The training sessions are scheduled to take place at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).
At yesterday’s launch at the Theatre Guild, facilitator for the training programme Coreen Jacobs-Chester noted the importance of the language’s introduction into the education system.
“We live in a global village where it is important that we learn the culture, and learn the language so that we can have not only educational ties but we can have other ties,” Jacobs-Chester said.
She continued, “If we look at the history of Guyana, we go a far way with Brazil. When we get to understand our neighbours… We get to understand that it’s very beneficial to get to know them, get to know the people. We need to understand that cultures are different; that people are different. But at the end of the day we’re one global community.”
Along with Jacobs-Chester, the programme will be facilitated by Malkia Payne, a language teacher at the Bishops’ High School.
