SANA’A, Feb. 1 — A three-day training session for 100 English teachers in rural areas concluded its activities on Monday in Sana’a. Speaking about future plans for the nation, Yemen's Deputy Minister of Education said, “The ministry will be in need of 12,000 new English teachers nationwide.”

During the three-day session, teachers worked on writing and reading teaching skills in order to improve their ability to help students acquire the English language.

The training was held under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy, and in cooperation with the British Council, Ministry of Education,Yemen American Language Institute and the Community College.

Ahlam Ba Abad, a teacher at Aden's Al-Shab School for the past 10 years said, “This training is very important for English teachers. I have learned how to teach English rules in several ways, such as with activities and games...how to teach English in fun ways.”

Mohib Al-Magatari, a teacher at Al-Thawra School in Marib city said, "Real education is how to explain things to students in new ways and to get students to learn and improve their English skills.”

“This will enable our students to use the English language anywhere”, he added.

Al-Magatari criticized standard English language curricula, saying “It’s difficult for students to absorb and even the teachers can’t teach it.”

Abdullah Al-Gharbani, a trainer for the session and teacher at the Yemen American Language Institute, said, “I presented one lecture on children's critical thinking to drive students to think critically and ask questions.”

He explained that in this activity, trainers show teachers how to respond to students' psychologies and get their attention for language learning.

Huda Salim, representative and trainer at the British Council, said "Trainees were selected according to their skill levels and also because they hadn't had training opportunities in the past.”

“Trainers were selected after they received in-country training from the Ministry of Education,” she said.

Training materials were chosen by the British Council, in coordination with the Ministry of Education.

Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Abdullah Al-Hamdi highlighted the fact that acquiring English is a problem for Yemeni students because most students stop reading and using English when they finish secondary school.

He said that the ministry plans to teach English to Yemeni students from the fourth grade on.