English for All Mumbai

This project aimed to address the needs of teachers and learners in the MCGM primary schools by providing effective teaching and learning of English. It aimed to provide MCGM with a coherent, high quality and sustainable model for teacher education, which would improve the quality of instruction and ultimately raise the level of English proficiency among both teachers and learners. 

• Baseline: classroom observations and focus group discussions were conducted and questionnaires administered to assess the current language levels, teaching practices and pedagogical needs 
• Teacher educator selection: over five years 46 teacher educators were selected based on language level, qualification and teaching experience 
• Face-to-face training: 60 days of intensive training was delivered to teacher educators. This was divided in one block of initial 30 days and subsequently in smaller blocks throughout the academic year 
• Teacher training: approximately 9600 teachers attended training which was delivered by teacher educators for 20 days per academic year through a day-release model.  Initially, this training focused on improving language proficiency and confidence amongst teachers and then focussed on teaching methodology for the primary classroom   
• Monitoring and Evaluation: conducted over two years of British Council’s direct intervention, this included a baseline, midline and endline study. This allowed tracking of progress of the teachers and teacher educators in relation to the objectives and outcomes of the project. 

The five-year project was structured to build systemic capacity with the British Council implementing the first two years and MCGM the remaining three. By the end of the project, MCGM had a permanent cadre of 46 teacher educators who: 

• demonstrated an understanding of the principles and practices underlying the National Curriculum Framework (2005) and how these could be applied in the primary classroom 
• were able effectively plan and conduct teacher training sessions for teachers from MCGM primary schools
• were able to conduct developmental observations of these teachers including facilitating reflection and giving constructive feedback.    

Teacher educators delivered 20 days of training to teachers over two years, at the end of which: 

• 91 per cent of teachers improved their English proficiency by at least one level on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
• 69 per cent of observed teachers met or exceeded expectations in implementing learner-centred methodology in teaching English in line with the principles of the National Curriculum Framework (2005)  
• Teachers used English appropriately in their lessons and provided opportunities for their students to use English in a variety of interactive and meaningful ways that are relevant to their needs and context. 

‘Before this training I hesitate to speak English. I have no confidence to speak and write in English. But after this training I became confident.’ -Tanuja (teacher) 

‘When I attend this programme, a lot of changes in my language as well as fluency in language.’ - Gajanan (teacher) 

‘Being a Teacher educator as a part of EfA was a very good experience for me I think in this education field … this has given me a very good experience as teaching adults was a bit different as what I was doing regularly in the schools. The training which we have provided to our teachers I think … it was good and it is effective because we have seen this in the observations we have done in the classrooms this week … I think the teachers are using the method and the classrooms is becoming more activity base…’ - Alka Upadhyay (Teacher Educator)