‘TMTE is the best opportunity to do something for our students and ourselves. There are many opportunities to update and upgrade, to learn many things and help students to learn and access quality education.’ - Samiul Haque, primary school teacher
Life cycle
2019 - 2022
Country/Region
Bangladesh
Client/Partner
Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
Vision
TMTE (Training of Master Trainers in English) aims to improve the English language and teaching skills of a large cohort of teachers in government primary schools. This is achieved through an intensive training programme focusing on language proficiency, teaching methodology, and mentoring.
Situation
TMTE is part of the wider objective of the Government of Bangladesh to attain middle-income status by 2021 (delayed due to pandemic) and developed country status by 2041, through improving the skills of its future workforce. Bangladesh requires an effective system of English language education which can contribute to turning this national aspiration into reality. Upgrading the English language proficiency and teaching skills of 130,000 teachers of English at primary level is considered a critical component. TMTE is the first step towards this ambition.
Implementation
TMTE started its English development programme using a blend of face-to-face training and live online tutorial events. The project has also established a primary teacher community of practice, the first time such a platform has been created in Bangladesh. It now has nearly 2,000 active members who participate in weekly live tutorials to discuss their professional development with colleagues and improve their English skills. These tutorials are delivered and moderated by British Council teacher educators.
The community of practice will continue to expand in parallel with engagement of participants in the training over the project lifecycle. The overall objectives are to increase engagement with the platform on a large scale, localise communities of practice amongst primary teachers at division and district level, and develop a select group of Bangladeshi primary teachers to be moderators (and eventually take platform ownership).
Impact
The key target of this phase of the project is to train over 2,000 primary teachers and improve their English language proficiency and the quality of their classroom English teaching. Due to the impact of Covid-19, training did not start until almost a year later than planned but in late January this year the project finally commenced delivery of its first cohort to 88 eager primary teachers.
This first cohort was not without its challenges. The introduction of government lockdown midway through the delivery cycle necessitated a pause to face-to-face delivery for several weeks. During this period, the project pivoted to remote delivery with a concentration on guided English proficiency self-study and teaching practice preparation. Eventually, face-to-face training was able to resume and this pioneering first cohort successfully completed training in June this year. Evaluation results are extremely positive. Twenty five per cent of the teachers improved by one whole level on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) scale with the majority of other teachers also showing measurable improvement across the four language skills (particularly speaking and listening). There was also marked improvement in their teaching practice, as evidenced through micro-teaching sessions, despite schools remaining closed since early last year.
Mutual benefit
Evidence shows that supporting teachers in their professional development can have a significant impact on learning outcomes. TMTE aims to deliver in this area as part of a long-term partnership between the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the British Council. Our renowned expertise in English language teaching and teacher development will ensure that we measurably improve the quality of teachers’ English proficiency and English language teaching in primary schools. This project has employed an innovative approach involving contextualised learning materials, learner-centred engagement and communities of practice in place of the cascade training method.
With successful implementation, this project will contribute to the UK’s reputation as a world leader in the field. TMTE has benefited from guidance from a UK monitoring and evaluation consultant and a supply of textbooks from a leading UK publisher. We envisage future opportunities to showcase the UK’s expertise in education and international development during the project’s lifecycle.