Sunday, November 6, 2011

Conference Report: ‘Embracing Glocal English’

ELT@I RAJASTHAN: JAIPUR CHAPTER

2nd International Conference –4th -5th November 2011

A Report


Jaipur was yet again the center of attraction for the English language teaching fraternity as Rajasthan: Jaipur Chapter organized its 2nd International conference. The theme of the conference ‘Embracing Glocal English’ was very pertinent to the educational scenario in our country. ELT professionals contributed a great deal to make it a huge success. We had ELT specialists from U.S and various parts of our country, thereby embracing the local ,national and International in the true spirit.

The Inaugural Ceremony was graced by the benevolent presence of the minister of Higher Education, Rajasthan, Madam Joelle Uzarski and Key note Speaker Prof Makhan Tickoo. Dr.Bandana Chakrabarty apprised the august gathering about the association’s activities right from its inception. Madam Joelle Uzarski rendered the inaugural speech in characteristic style which was truly inspiring and laden with the promise of more support from RELO in such academic fiesta in the future. The key-note address by Prof Makhan Tickoo was very inspiring. He touched upon the relevance of the theme in the present day context expressed the need for organizing programs to promote the learning and teaching of English to enable our youth to further their prospects of success in the Global Scenario. Honorable Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh appreciated the whole endeavor of organizing such thought provoking forums to underline the necessity of promoting English for our youth. The highlight of the ceremony was the release of a book edited by Dr Shaila Mahan which largely contains contributions from participants of our last conference.

The first Plenary was conducted by Ms Michelle Stabler Havener in which she touched upon the Role of Assessment in International English while Dr Rajni Badlani stressed upon the processes and strategies involved in Critical Thinking.and demonstrated ways of enhancing learners’ skills of interpreting information and enable them to go beyond the surface of the texts to the real world in the second Plenary.

The panel Discussion on ‘Limits of Glocal English’ feature eminent ELT specialist like Prof V.D.Singh, Dr Rajul Bhargava, Dr.Rekha Tiwari, Dr,Mukti Sanyal and Dr.Iqbal Judge who offered valuable insights into the theme.

The day was a treat to the Teaching fraternity as the post lunch session featured highly interactive workshops by Ms.Agnieszka Alboszta,, Ms.Michelle Stabler Havener, Dr.Hema Ramanathan, Dr,Mukti Sanyal and Dr.Iqbal Judge,Dr Sami Rafiq and Dr.Sanjay Arora.

The papers presented were of high standard which convinces the academic world that the spirit to continue to strive for discussions in ELT will never cease. We had paper presenters from as distant places as Iran, Jammu, Assam and Andhra Pradesh The Chair persons gently guided the presenters amicably with their valuable inputs.
The valedictory address was delivered by the veteran ELT specialist and Patron ELT@I Jaipur Chapter Prof R.P.Bhatnagar. The hospitality offered by the host institution was commendable and the weather Gods were kind to make it a truly memorable event.

- Dr S Asha, Vice-President, Rajasthan: Jaipur Chapter

Monday, September 12, 2011

Course Director, Hornby Regional School, sought by British Council, Bangladesh

Course Director, Hornby Regional School, sought by British Council, Bangladesh

British Council South Asia region are looking for an experienced Course Director with considerable training expertise to work with Teachers’ Association representatives from this region during their Hornby School - ‘Sharing Best Practice: Strengthening and Extending Teachers’ Associations in South Asia.’

Please read through the specification below, and if you meet all requirements and are interested, submit your cv and other documents by the deadline of 23 September 2011.

The Teachers’ Association course is expected to run from 6-12 December in Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Friday 9th December is a social weekend break.) During this period, the Course Director will be required to deliver relevant and focused professional development training and capacity-building workshops, and to supervise sessions delivered by participants.

Background
The British Council has been strengthening its collaboration with, and support for, the global network of Teachers’ Associations over the past decades, and has strong links with a number of the TAs in South Asia region, providing expertise and developmental support at national, regional and international conferences. Discussions with regional TA representatives in May 2011, following the BELTA conference, confirmed the need to share best practices, to learn from one other to build strong, viable TAs and programmes.

Context
Teachers’ Associations in the South Asia region work towards similar objectives, and face many of the same challenges, issues and setbacks that other TAs have worldwide. They need to maintain momentum, vibrancy and a regular flow of new members from which to select the next generation of committee members and leaders. How should they lead and build up their Teachers’ Associations? What should they offer their membership? How can they identify and develop members’ skills and levels of professionalism to enable them to take on positions of responsibility? Other challenges include financial budget management, winning regular sponsorship support, making best use of (online) communications & media to inform, update and recruit in current, and new, members. These TAs want to become better at planning, managing and delivering high-quality activities and events, and promoting transparent leadership succession planning. Knowing their members and what they expect/want from the TA is critically important to encourage more members to get actively involved in running a regional group or chapter. The SA region associations recognise the need to resolve these challenges in order to evolve, grow and enhance their national/regional reputation and presence.
Further information about TAs can be found in two British Council publications on the Teach English website (i) Developing an Association for Language Teachers-an Introduction and (ii) Running an Association for Language Teachers –Directions and Opportunities. (Both of these can be found at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/transform).
Terms
The post-holder will receive a fee of £1,200 for the course preparation, delivery and reports. British Council Bangladesh will provide international economy class return air travel to Dhaka, and all local arrangements for delivery of the training will be provided by the British Council in Dhaka.

Qualifications & Experience
(candidates will be expected to reflect their ability to meet these criteria in their applications)
• minimum of five years’ experience of designing and delivering training programmes, ideally in developing contexts with leaders, managers, trainers (in ELT or other professions)
• proven ability to design and deliver a highly professional course to fit the course description
• an understanding of developing country educational context and / or experience of working in the South Asia region
• excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to build teams, and a willingness to work as part of a team (both academic and administrative)
• good marketing/communication skills, and leadership/ management skills

Expressions of interest

Interested applicants should contact Sheilagh Neilson, wider South Asia Regional ELT Manager at sheilagh.neilson@britishcouncl.org or and Mirza Beg, Country Project Manager, Bangladesh at mirza.beg@bd.britishcouncil.org by 23 September 2011 with an up-to-date CV and covering letter, stating how they meet the criteria required for this post, and giving their availability for end of November / early December 2011. In addition, applicants should send a brief statement (up to 300 words) of how they envisage the course contents for this school.