The ‘English Together’ project, implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, Teacher Training and Development General Directorate, the British Council, and the Sabancı Foundation, aims to support the professional and individual development of English language teachers in Turkey. A delegation of 22 people, including English language teachers and ministry officials, will participate in the IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) Conference, which will take place between 18-21 April 2023.
The objective of the project is to introduce new classroom practices and create classrooms where students feel comfortable speaking English and actively participate in the learning process. The project employs a community-based approach that encourages teachers to work together in Professional Development Communities (PDCs) to reflect on their teaching practices, understand their challenges, and find solutions together. PDCs aim to be a key tool in improving teachers' classroom performance and building their confidence in implementing new teaching methodologies.
Results of the project so far include:
- Training of almost 1,700 PDC facilitators.
- Participation of over 24,000 teachers from all 81 provinces in Turkey in the PDCs.
- Implementation of an incentive program, including participation in the IATEFL Conference for 17 teachers and CELT-S courses for 80 teachers.
The ‘English Together’ project, which started in 2019 with the goal of establishing a sustainable Continuous Professional Development system for English teachers in Turkey, aims to reach all English teachers in Turkey in the coming years.
IATEFL and English Together
The IATEFL Conference, one of the most important events in the field of English language teaching worldwide for over 50 years, will host a Turkish delegation for the second time. This year, for the first time, the Turkish delegation will deliver three presentations on different topics in the field of English language teaching and share their success and experiences in English language instruction in Turkey with all participants. Representatives from the British Council and the Ministry of National Education Teacher Training and Development General Directorate, as well as English language teachers who have demonstrated successfully how they implemented their learning points from the ‘English Together’ project in their classrooms, will participate in the conference.
Conference Programme:
As part of the project, English language teachers who are Professional Development Community (PDC) facilitators will participate in the conference, providing them with an opportunity to not only deliver their presentations but also to connect with their colleagues from the UK English language teaching sector and strengthen their relationships through the incentive program.
The presentations will focus on the following:
- 18 April 2023
How do we know that Communities of Practice work?
(Ayşen Güven, British Council, Head of English Programmes; Ceren Taş, Ministry of National Education, Research and Projects Department, Monitoring and Evaluation, Social Media Communications; Elçin Turgut, Ministry of National Education, Research and Projects Department, Face-to-Face Training Programmes Coordinator) - 19 April 2023
Creating and sustaining a large-scale continuing professional development model
(Ayşe Hande Günaydın, Ministry of National Education Research and Projects Department, Coordinator of PDC Executives Online Support Programme;Ebru Tiryaki, Ministry of National Education Research and Projects Department, Communication Officer for Bureaucratic Procedures and Regional Coordinators;Fatih Toy, Ministry of National Education Research and Projects Department, Coordinator of the Face-to-Face PDC Training Programmes) - 20 April 2023
Empowering the teacher: the growth from teacher to an ‘expert’
(Funda Demir Yalçıntaş, Education Projects Manager, British Council;Münevver Cesur, Ministry of National Education Research and Projects Department, Incentive Programmes and Social Media Communication Officer;Merve Nuran Sezer, English Language Teacher at the Ministry of National Education, PDC Facilitator)
