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The English Teachers’ Association of Georgia (ETAG) was one of
the first professional organizations founded in Tbilisi, Georgia (which
is a small country situated in the South Caucasus, on the border of
Asia and Europe) 25 years ago in January 1995. Since then, ETAG has been
assisting teachers of English to become successful and grow
professionally. ETAG was developed in close cooperation with the
American Embassy in Georgia and the British Council of Georgia.
With the assistance of these lifelong partners, ETAG has
designed and developed 14 teacher training courses and many courses for
trainers of teachers. These courses ran in all nine branches of the
organization and situated in all the major cities of Georgia. The
courses focused on specific aspects of teaching English, and they
endeavor to improve English language teaching and learning standards by
introducing innovative approaches and methods.
ETAG is actively involved in organizing annual national and
several regional conferences. As well as this, over 30 of our members
have participated in TESOL, IATEFL, and other international conferences.
Over 100 of our members have won international exchange program awards
for English teachers funded by the Department of State. During 25 years
of existence, ETAG has implemented over 40 small and large-scale
projects supported by the US Embassy in Georgia, British Council, Hornby
Trust (4 times), Peace Corps, Project Harmony, the Black Sea
University,OSGF, Coalition-Education for All, Teachers’ House, etc.
The most recent and very successful project has been the
English Clubs' development and teacher training in 13 villages near to
the administrative borderlines (British Council, FCO, UK). These clubs
have reached 1,572 students and 84 regional teachers within 6 months.
Additionally, specialists invited by the American Embassy have assisted
ETAG in working with our teachers to design joint courses and conduct
training courses.
During the 2019-2020 academic year, ETAG conducted training in
brain-based strategies for teaching English. Five sessions were held so
far in different cities in Georgia. The training content emphasizes how
current neuroscience findings can be applied to teaching methods. The
biological activity driving the need for active engagement lesson
planning is explained in the training as well as the importance of the
use of essential questions, explicit learning targets, and formative
assessments. The training sessions also covered an explanation of memory
techniques for long-term memory storage and retrieval. Dr. Mary
Baldridge, English Language Fellow and ETAG/TESOL member, conducted the
workshops. In the Spring semester, ETAG will conduct training in
brain-based lesson planning for teachers of English for Special Purposes
(ESP). The spring training will include specific applications of active
learning techniques and backward design lesson planning for reading,
writing, and speaking classes.
ETAG celebrated an essential day in its life – its
25th anniversary this January. Many members who
have done a lot for the development of ETAG, as well as young members of
the association, gathered together on that day and remembered the first
days of ETAG. Rusudan, Tkemaladze, ETAG director, and co-founder spoke
about the achievements as well as ETAG's contribution to the development
of the ELT field in Georgia. This day confirmed again that we are ready
for future challenges and will continue to be the first to share new
ideas and approaches in ELT in Georgia. ETAG aspires to exemplify a
highly.
(The Board)
Manana Rusieshvili is the ETAG president. As well as this, she
is a Full Professor and Head of English Philology at Ivane
Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( TSU). Manana is a Teacher
Trainer and teaches English and Linguistics at TSU.
Rusiko Tkemaladze is one of the founders of ETAG and its first
President. Currently, she works at the National Examinations and
Assessment Centre of Georgia as the Head of the Foreign Languages Group.
Rusiko also teaches English to MA students at Tbilisi State
University.
(The Professional Development Sessions)
(25th Anniversary)
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