Following the announcement of the University of Cambridge to launch a new course[38] and qualification for non-native speaker teachers, a survey was carried out in February 2006,[39] with the collaboration of the University of Cambridge as part of a field trial, by one of the country's largest groups of independent schools of its 400 or so teachers of English.
The project reported that in over 60% of the teachers, the knowledge of the language and teaching methodology was below that of the syllabus level which they were teaching. Some teachers for age group 11, or lower, in the language were attempting to teach age groups 15, 16, and even 17. Of the remaining top 40%, only 3% had a reasonable level of fluency and only 20% were teaching grades for which they were qualified and competent.
Within the group of over 40 schools representing nearly 80,000 students in elementary and secondary education, random parallel test groups of elementary school pupils often scored higher in some tests than many of the teachers in other schools of the same group. The schools resisted the initiative of the central governing body to provide intensive upgrading programmes for the teachers. In spite of the evidence, the schools doubted the results and, to save face, argued that their teachers had qualified through their universities and colleges and either had nothing more to learn or could not afford the time.
In the government schools the standards are similar and many elementary teachers freely admit that they are forced to teach English although they have little or no knowledge of the language. A debate began in academic circles as to whether teaching English badly during the most influential years is better than not teaching it at elementary level. Whatever results that any formal research may provide, there clearly exists room for much improvement.
The situation is further exacerbated by a curriculum, which in its endeavour to improve standards and facilitate learning, is subject to frequent change, and thus misinterpreted into syllabuses by the teachers themselves at levels often far too advanced for the cognitive development of the students.