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27 Public,
Private Sector English Teachers Complete Training
Was many as 27 teachers from public and private sectors were awarded
certificates at a ceremony that marked the completion of a training
course titled 'Teaching English as a Second Language' organised
by Aga Khan University (AKU) Centre of English Language (CEL).
The course was conducted for the Higher Education Commission (HEC)
which provided the fellowships for English teachers in public sector
colleges and universities, some of whom came from Hyderabad and
Sukkur. This was the first of a series of teacher training courses
to be conducted by the CEL for HEC over the next three years, including
a one-year Advanced Diploma Programme in TEFL in Higher Education.
The course was designed to strengthen the critical knowledge and
pedagogic training of college teachers, and to equip them with strategies
to develop interactive and dynamic classrooms and self-directed
learners. The modules aimed at raising teachers' awareness of sociolinguistic
perspectives of ELT, critical reading and writing skills, classroom
management skills, course design, testing and evaluation, and online
English language learning.
The Chief Guest, Professor Raees Alvi, Executive District Education
Officer, Sindh, expressed satisfaction at the course, and the desire
to see the collaboration continue between CEL and HEC for teacher
training and development of college teachers in Sindh. He said he
would try to ensure full and proper utilisation of the fellowships
made available by the HEC. Professor S. M. Iqbal, Regional Director,
HEC (Sindh) emphasised that just obtaining the fellowships was not
enough: "their proper utilisation was equally important." He also
revealed that the budget allocated for training and development
in higher education was much higher than it ever was in the past,
and would be enhanced by 15 per cent annually.
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Participants
of the CEL course at AKU's Centre of English Language. This
was the first of a series of courses to be conducted by the
Centre for HEC. |
Dr David Taylor, Acting
Provost of AKU congratulated the participants and distributed the
certificates. Dr Sabiha Mansoor, Head of CEL reiterated the Centre's
commitment to playing its role in raising the standard of English
language teaching in Pakistan. She also shared the overwhelming
response that CEL's courses have received from the public sector
teachers who have come not only from Karachi but also from interior
Sindh. One of the course participants, summing up the views of colleagues,
said that the TESL Course was "an excellent opportunity for
learning new skills and trends in English Language Teaching …
which would bring about a change in our teaching practices."
CEL
will begin its next course on May 21, 2005 titled 'Training in English
for Academic Purposes and Study Skills' for subject, as well as
English teachers in higher education for which fellowships have
been made available by the HEC. Fifteen fellowships are also available
for the Advanced Diploma Programme in TEFL in Higher Education being
offered by the Centre for which enrolments are presently open.
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