The final report has been released on the trial of our English learning program in Tripoli, Libya. I'm pleased to report that both sections running ELT Tiger outperformed the control group. There are three particularly exciting points about these results.
First, the testing system used for both in- and out-tests was the British Council's Aptis test. The control group was taught using the British Council curriculum, so one would expect better results on a British Council styled examination. I have seen samples of the examination and it does not touch many of the pieces covered in the ELT Tiger program.
Second, this trial was the first time we had run the full program, so there were a number of bugs to work out and additions to make. Students were unable to benefit from most of these improvements during the trial. The course has been improved substantially since the completion of the trial.
Third, and most importantly, the section that performed the best was the one run by the Libyan instructor using the ELT Tiger program. The results from his section prove the program can be delivered effectively by local instructors. The Libyan facilitator learned all of his English in Libya, only spending 10 days in England this past summer for an official visit. That is the only time he has been to an English-speaking country.
ELT Tiger provides a full out-of-the-box English language training program centred around video instruction subtitled in the students' native language. It is designed to bring native speaker instruction into classrooms around the world, particularly in areas where native English speakers cannot easily go. With subtitles in the local language and a local facilitator, the program allows students to gain access quickly to the complexities of the language in a way they can understand. The fact that the best results came from the section run by a Libyan instructor (beating two native speakers) suggests not only can ELT Tiger be delivered effectively by local English speakers, but also it's probably better that way.