Case Studies
Teacher Training in Sylhet, Bangladesh
Since 2012, the St Giles Educational Trust has been helping to up-skill teachers in Sylhet, Bangladesh. The SGET works in partnership with the UK-Bangladesh Education Trust. From 2012-14, this work received additional support from the Teaching and Learning English (TaLE) European Integration Fund project led by Learning Unlimited. The Bangladeshi teachers have taken Cambridge TKT and ICELT exams. The creation of a pool of teacher trainers from this group has helped to build local capacity for English language teaching and the SGET’s work in Sylhet continues.
Teacher Training in lima, Peru
In autumn 2016, the SGET began to work with Fe y Alegria Peru on needs assessment and the design of a customised training programme for primary and secondary school teachers in Lima, Peru. The first course will be run from January to February 2017.
Teacher Training in Havana, Cuba
The Trust worked with the Manuel Fajardo Medical School, Havana and the International Department of the University of Havana to run a customised training course and workshops for teachers and workshops. The trainers also led a plenary session at the 2014 conference of the Association of Cuban Pedagogues ELT section (APC-ELI).
Teacher Training in Amman, JORDAN
Teacher trainers from the St Giles Educational Trust helped the British Council in Jordan to deliver action research, teacher training and other practical elements of the HOPES and LASER projects for teachers working with Syrian refugees both inside the camps and in Amman. The Trust hopes to work with the BC on further elements of the ‘Language for Resilience’ programme.
Training of School inspectors in Algeria
The St Giles Educational Trust assisted the British Council Algeria with the delivery of an assignment for the Ministry of Education. This involved training 120 school inspectors to raise their awareness of communicative methodologies for English language training. The inspectors were also prepared for Cambridge TKT assessment and for the cascading of their learning to colleagues across the regions of Algeria.
Teacher Training in Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The St Giles Educational Trust / IATEFL Teacher Training Placement Award 2015 was awarded to the Uzebekistan Teachers of English Association – UzTEA. Since the Presidential Decree of December 2012, educational institutions across Uzbekistan have been involved in the process of transforming the teaching and learning of foreign languages and adopting a communicative approach linked to international standards. One of the key challenges is the reform of learner assessment, to keep pace with this process.
SGET trainers helped UzTEA to train teachers in new principles and methodologies for assessment: this would provide a foundation for the establishment of a pool of assessors in each region who would in turn contribute significantly to the reform of assessment at national level.
Teacher Training in Tbilisi, Georgia
Working in partnership with IB MTHIEBI, a school of the European University in Tbilisi, Georgia, the SGET delivered a customised Teacher Education Course (TEC) for English language and vocational/academic subject teachers. For the partner organisation, this was a step towards establishing itself as a regional hub for teacher training on its journey and thus to play a role within wider capacity building.
Teacher Training in Nkwanta, Ghana
The SGET partnered with the Ghana Education Project (GEP) to organise and deliver training to teachers in three schools in the Nkwanta area of Ghana. Teachers in this area face particularly significant challenges in accessing professional development.
Teacher training in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
The Trust worked with Alchemy World Projects train to train secondary school teachers in Bahir Dar in the Amhar region of Ethiopia. The course, which focused on the use of interactive methodology for language teaching, built upon the digital literacy programme which Alchemy World had been delivering to local teachers during the previous two years.
Teacher training in Chisala, Malawi
In December 2008, the Build Malawi Project culminated in the opening of a new primary school. Three years later, the school has more than 520 students and a beautiful new library with a great Chichewa (national language), Tumbuka (local dialect) collection and an English book collection resulting from UK donations. A sports centre will open later this year, to which St Giles International has made a contribution. The Malawi Government has given the school a total of six qualified teachers, but many of the other local schools do not have such good facilities. St Giles Educational Trust is sponsoring a teacher trainer from St Giles International, to work with 40 teachers from the Chisala primary school as well as other schools across the Local Education Authority area. In August 2012, the teacher trainer will spend one month in Chisala, assisting the teachers in exploring, developing and testing new techniques to meet the needs of their pupils. The Trust is working in partnership with Expand the UK charity of which Build Malawi is now part.
English programme for girls in rural Bihar, north India
The Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital, Mastichak, Bihar state, north India launched its Football Academy (the AJFA) in October 2009. The Hospital had noted that many girls who were keen on football stopped playing at around 14 or 15 years of age when they were encouraged to marry by parents who could not afford the fees for secondary school. Due to the fact that girls seldom undertake secondary education, the eye hospital had no female staff members. The AJFA aims to break the cycle of poverty and child marriage and it has started a programme of education and training for the girls, which will help them to access the Degree Course in Optometry and to become the future staff members of the Hospital. The scheme has huge support from the local community. UK charity Second Sight is working closely with the AJFA. The UK Bangladesh Education Trust (UKBET) and the St Giles Educational Trust co-funded a teacher to scope the English language requirements of the degree programme and to devise a sustainable training programme as well as customized materials which would accommodate all levels of English as well as providing an infrastructure for continued development.
