Yesterday, the 29th December 2008, 177 teachers involved in teaching either Maths or Science in Independent Schools received Certificates of Participation for Phase 1 of the Academic English programme. This is an ambitious pilot project run by British Council trainers this year in a bid to help develop and improve the English ability, competence and confidence of selected Maths and Science teachers. The focus is on both the development of English language skills and the teaching of Maths and Science using English.

The excitement and sense of celebration at the Certificate Presentation event was high as teachers congratulated one another and farewelled most of the trainers who are moving on to other contracts. The General English focus of Phase 1 of the programme is based on courses currently offered to the general public by the British Council in Qatar. All of the teachers were given a Placement Test at the start of the course and have completed an English course according to their individual ability level.

Phase 2 of the programme, which will run from the 11th January – 16th April, introduces CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) methodology. Here, the emphasis will be on developing the teachers’ ability to use English to teach Maths/Science. It will cover questioning and summarizing skills, how to explain concepts, give instructions, structure lessons, create materials etc. This part of the programme is in fact the central element of the Academic English course.

The final phase of the programme will involve the trainers visiting teachers in their individual school contexts to observe classes, provide developmental feedback, run remedial workshops etc. It will be here that the fruits of the teachers’ commitment to the course will be obvious.

Thus far, the teachers’ dedication to their own professional development has been commendable. Congratulations to all of the teachers involved and thank you to the British Council trainers for their hard work!