British Council launched new English and Education initiatives on 16th July.

Developed under a new strategy, British Council Nepal launched a portfolio of English and Education initiatives on 16th July 2012. The initiatives were launched by Kishor Thapa, Secretary at Ministry of Education. On the occasion he said that English has become an important language globally and emphasised the importance of “English” not only in academic qualification but also in vocational training. He also added that that the teacher training programs will also help teachers in community schools to learn more and reciprocate the same to the students.

The initiatives launched are as follows:

Connecting Classroom

Connecting Classrooms (CC) is a global education programme for Nepali schools. It is designed to help young people learn about global themes and become responsible global citizens, as well as giving them the skills to work in a worldwide economy. A joint venture between the British Council and the Department for International Development (DFID), this programme has been designed in response to an independent review of how best to teach young people about global themes. Connecting Classrooms is made up of four main parallel strands Partnership, Continuing professional development, Awards and accreditation and Policy dialogue. Find out more about this programme.

Learn English Mobile (LEM)

LEM is a unique and innovative initiative to support learners of English through mobile that is launched in partnership with a local company called Focusone. The SMS English service is available in two types; First type of subscription allows the learner to receive one exercise in a day and a final question on the seventh day. This service is aimed at those who want to learn on a daily basis. Second option available for those who are more pro-active in learning. A series of questions are sent with options of possible answers. The learner can send their answers and will receive a message confirming if their answers are correct or wrong. This is more interactive as the person will know the answer immediately. SMS “info” to 5555 to know more about this service.

Learn English Newspaper

We are publishing a Learn English article in The Himalayan Times and Annapurna Post every Tuesday. This deals with general issues of interest and includes a series of guided questions to promote understanding of the content and the language used.

Teach English Radio (TER)

TER is an introduction to teacher development and is a series of 12 episodes aimed at teachers of English working in schools with large classes, little resources and few training opportunities. The programme is on air every Friday at 9:30 in Radio Nepal and 50 other local stations. Find out more.

A Series of Master Training Workshops

The series of Master Training Workshops consist of numerous topics designed to be of particular relevance to Nepali teachers. These include the role of a teacher, how to make lessons interesting, how to teach with minimum resources and how to check that students’ have understood? The series of 12 workshops is currently live. Find out more.

Creativity: English and Education’

A monthly English and Education supplement in The Kathmandu Post that aims to become recognised as the point of contact for all educators and students working or studying with the English language in Nepal. A platform for information and ideas and comment related to English language learning and teaching. The first supplement was published on 9th July and second will be published on 6th August.

Creativity

we want to help people invent and develop original ideas, and use things in new ways that are interesting and unusual. For us this is what education is all about. We want to bring our expertise to help not only the level of English in Nepal but also the level of education in general by increasing that wonderful substance: ‘creativity’. A radio playwriting competition with accompanying workshops have just been launched, forthcoming events include story-telling for students and for teachers, literature events, dance and music fusion, environmental action projects and much more.