Gadi Bleicher is stepping down from a position that, over the past 10 years, has provided him a bird’s-eye view of how Israelis relate to the English language, and to how “Anglos” teach it here. After being Berlitz Israel’s district director from 1997 to 2002, and then its CEO for the past five years, he gives Israelis a grade of six out of 10 for their English proficiency.

His competitors in English language instruction, including the formal education system, fare much worse in his estimation: somewhere between 1 and 2.

Bleicher shoots in all directions, blaming the formal education system for only teaching children how to read and write in English, but not to speak, saying this hampers Israelis as they seek their fortunes overseas. He slams his main competitors (“Wall Street Institute’s gimmicks don’t impress”); and Hebrew ulpanim (“It’s very difficult to learn how to speak Hebrew in an ulpan these days”). Bleicher rejects accusations that Berlitz’s pay scale and working conditions are not good enough to attract high-quality new immigrants (“Show me one other organization that absorbs as many olim as we do”). Continue reading →