5 Oct 2018

Introduction 

This webinar introduces an ‘enhancement approach’ to teaching in low-resource classrooms.

It references TeachingEnglish online video materials and Hornby Regional School in Kathmandu, as well as the resulting publication, Teaching in low-resource classrooms: Voices of experience

The presenters provide concrete examples to demonstrate how teachers from various contexts collaborated successfully. By sharing success stories and exploratory action research, they devised appropriate strategies to deal with local difficulties.

Speakers

Dr Richard Smith has been a trustee of the A.S. Hornby Educational Trust since 2001 and is ‘Key Concepts’ Editor of the ELT Journal, and former co-ordinator of the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group. He is a Reader in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, UK. 

In 2008, Richard co-founded TELCnet (the Teaching English in Large Classes research and development network). More recently, he has been involved in projects with teachers from Chile, India, Peru and Nepal, and has produced open access books for teachers in difficult circumstances, including A Handbook for Exploratory Action Research (with Paula Rebolledo) and Teaching in Low-resource Classrooms: Voices of Experience (with Amol Padwad and Deborah Bullock).

Amol Padwad is the Secretary of Ainet Association of English Teachers (AINET-India). He is also Professor and Director at the Centre for English Language Education at Ambedkar University, Delhi. He pioneered English teachers’ clubs and self-help teacher development groups in rural towns of central India – some of which have been running for over 15 years. 

Amol has been actively engaged in promoting teacher development, teacher networking and associations, and teacher research, and has carried out studies in these areas. His recent publications include Continuing Professional Development (with Rod Bolitho – Cambridge University Press) and Teaching in Low-resource Classrooms: Voices of Experience (with Richard Smith and Deborah Bullock).

Deborah Bullock is a former publications manager of the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group, and has co-edited several teacher–research publications, including Teachers Research! (with Richard Smith), Champion Teachers: Stories of Exploratory Action Research (with Paula Rebolledo and Richard Smith), Teachers Engaging in Research (with Kenan Dikilitaş, Mark Wyatt and Judith Hanks) and Teaching in Low-resource Classrooms: Voices of Experience (with Richard Smith and Amol Padwad). 

Deborah is a freelance educational consultant and materials writer, specialising in primary and secondary English language teaching. She is especially interested in learner-centred approaches to assessment, and practitioner research and development.