As a graduate of the London School of Economics and Birkbeck, I am very grateful for the opportunities that studying in English has afforded me. This was one of my principal motivations to establish both the European Azerbaijan School (EAS) and the Azerbaijan Teacher Development Centre (ATDC) in Baku. Today, while English is the preferred language of Azerbaijan’s youth, it continues to be taught and assessed more in terms of grammar and written ability rather than spoken competence throughout the public schools’ system. Additionally, there are many state schools still running Russian taught prospectus’. This is somewhat attributable to how the country and parents perceive the future and what languages or school they choose for their children. As high school students around the world prepare for the next chapter in their lives, however, whether that be undergraduate education or the world of work, they must be prepared to compete in a global marketplace where English is the main business language.
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