This project was created for teachers from government primary schools, low-income private schools, Raman Munjal Vidya Mandir and from the RKM Foundation’s Asha centres. Teachers experienced high-quality training to develop their English language teaching skills and had access to opportunities to develop and practise English skills with their peers.

The project included an intensive 30-hour training to develop teachers’ confidence, focusing on improving their English for teaching purpose. Teachers underwent a 40-hour training in learner-centred pedagogy through short modules. They also participated in workshops on Special Education Needs, Child Protection and a workshop on 21st century skills. By the end of the trainings, teachers used English more confidently in the classroom and used more learner-centred approaches with their textbooks.

Objectives

The objective of the project was to build the capacity of teachers so that English language teaching at the primary level to be of a sufficient quality to improve English language learning experiences of primary school learners.

The main aims of this project included for primary teachers to develop their:

  • English proficiency so they are good language models for their learners and create an appropriate language-rich context for their learning
  • learner-centred pedagogy so they are better equipped to promote opportunities for meaningful and interactive (language) learning
  • pedagogical knowledge and tools to develop their students cognitive and intrapersonal skills.

Key activities

In the first block of training, that began in November 2019, 135 teachers received five days of face-to-face training, focusing on improving their English for teaching purposes.

In the second block of training, 135 teachers have undergone 40-hours of training in learner-centred pedagogy through short modules over a two-month period. They also participated in a digital community of practice, where they discussed successes and challenges in the classroom.

Two rounds of Core skills (21st-century skills) training have been conducted for 70 teachers.

Training focused on developing English confidence, increasing participants’ awareness of and ability to use learner-centred teaching skills and incorporating 21st century skills into their professional practice. The most significant change to the original project plans was the switch to an entirely online delivery mode for all training activities from November 2020. While some training modules were delivered as three-hour face-to-face sessions, 71 hours were delivered online. Interactive webinars were developed from the face-to-face material and delivered in 90-minute sessions through Microsoft Teams.

Impact

211 teachers trained over three phases in English language confidence and proficiency; learner-centred approaches and techniques; and 21st century skills.

Feedback was gained from participants on their experience of the training through feedback surveys and focus groups.

 As a result of the project, teachers reported feeling:

  • confident applying learner-centred teaching approaches in their classroom
  • more confident using English in their classroom
  • more aware of 21st century skills and how to incorporate them in their teaching
  • supported by the trainers, including on the WhatsApp groups
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