Israeli schoolchildren learn English through opera

среда, 6. февраля 2013 - 15:10

Amateur musical theater group, which is comprised mainly of immigrants from English-speaking countries, has been invited to perform its upcoming production of “Beauty and the Beast” in Yeruham.

In a bid to improve the English of its schoolchildren, the Negev town of Yeruham has invited an English-performing musical troupe to appear there next month. For the first time in its 30-plus year history, the Light Opera Group of the Negev will be bringing one of its shows to an Israeli development town.

The amateur musical theater group, which is comprised mainly of immigrants from English-speaking countries, has been invited to perform its upcoming production of “Beauty and the Beast” in Yeruham. Until a dramatic turnaround in recent years, the town was considered one of Israel’s most depressed municipalities.

LOGON performers rehearsing “Beauty and the Beast.” Photo by Myra Bennett

Amir Segev, director of the town’s education and culture department, said the decision to invite the group to perform the Broadway hit for the local community was part of a new initiative designed to provide Yeruham schoolchildren with an opportunity to experience English outside the classroom and improve their command of the language.

“We noticed over the years that one of our big failings was in preparing our children for their matriculation exams in English,” Segev said. “Because many of them could not complete the four units of English required for university acceptance, they could not get into universities. We decided this was a problem we needed to tackle.”

As part of the new emphasis being placed on English-language studies, Segev added, children in Yeruham are now being exposed to English from as early as preschool. They are also being monitored throughout their school years to make sure they don’t fall behind, and administrators are being encouraged to expose children to English outside the classroom.

“This year, as part of this experiential element, we decided to bring the Light Opera Group to our town,” he said. “We thought it would also provide an opportunity to expose the community to an element of culture we don’t usually get here.”

The performance, scheduled for March 7, will be open not only to schoolchildren but to their families as well, he said. The municipality has paid for all the tickets in advance and will be charging those attending only a small token fee.

The show will open in Be’er Sheva on February 14, and is also scheduled to play in Haifa, Modi’in, Netanya, Petah Tikva and Jerusalem.

LOGON typically performs its shows around the country in larger cities where there are concentrations of English-speaking residents.

By Judy Maltz

Источник:

www.haaretz.com

Тэги:

English