English should become second language for Georgian children: Saakashvili

All school-age children living in Georgia should become English-speaking and English must be their second language, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said in Batumi at a meeting with volunteer English teachers, who have arrived in Georgia.

According to Mr Saakashvili that will be achieved within the next four years.

The President met with the second group of the English-speaking teachers, who came from the US, Canada, Poland and other countries and will be distributed on Georgian families in Guria, Samegrelo and Adjara. The English-speaking teachers arrived in Georgia within the framework of Teach and Learn for Georgia project.

According to him, English will be the second language after the Georgian language for future generations, and then Chinese, Arabic, Turkish and Russian languages will follow taking into account the region's needs, reports Azerbaijani news website Trend.

"But the main requirement is the fact that all children living in Georgia should be English-speaking," Saakashvili said.
Saakashvili called the process "education revolution" and believes that it is the biggest contribution, which will be made in the development of the country.

The third group of teachers is expected to arrive in the country Aug. 30. In total, 1,000 teachers will arrive in Georgia by late 2010.
President Saakashvili said that 10,000 English-speaking teachers will arrive in Georgia for four years, and they will be "Georgia's goodwill ambassadors" after leaving the country.