Incubated and started in a small room of the British Council Nepal, NELTA now owns its office building to operate its headquarters, has a small library, and two halls that accommodate 40 people to conduct workshops, training sessions, and hold meetings. NELTA bought the house with the fund saved from the life membership fees, the contribution from life members, and the donation from its well-wishers from home and abroad. It was not easy; it took almost 21 years to own the permanent shelter. NELTA strived, with its utmost efforts, for its sustainability and recognition to earn collaborative partners. At present, it works with Regional English Language Office (RELO) US Embassy, the British Council, Embassy of India, Publication Houses from home and abroad, Educational Institutions and Teachers’ Associations from abroad professionally.

As a collaborative partner, British Council has been providing NELTA one renowned ELT professional as a Key Note Speaker every year in the International Conference of NELTA since the inception. With the British Council, NELTA has worked on projects like the ELT Survey Tools Preparation and Piloting among the students and teachers of Primary, Lower Secondary, Secondary, and Higher School schools. Under a collaborative project, EnglishforTeaching: Teaching for English (ETTE), NELTA trained 150 primary level teachers of the English language to improve their language and teaching skills. The second project, (ETTE)+ helped school teachers improve their performance in the classroom by using printed, electronic, and online services, enhancing their access to materials, methods, and opportunities for their professional training and development.

The most significant role of collaboration with the British Council is Human Resource Development. With its partial and full support, two NELTA life members attend IATEFL Conference in the UK every year. With its moral support, one member gets a Hornby Scholarship. Lately, two first time presenters from seven provinces using a gender-balanced mode get sponsored to attend and present their paper in the International or National Conferences of NELTA.

Another collaborative partner, the US Embassy, provided multiple levels of support. The US Embassy also provides one Key Note speaker for the NELTA International Conference every year. Additionally, with the support of US Embassy NELTA has been running the English Access Microscholarship Program successfully. This two-year project aims to develop the capacity of 13-18 years old public school students from disadvantaged communities. These students learn the English language, IT skills, personality development, and intercultural communication. So far, 960 students have graduated from 29 centers since 2012. A program supported by the US Embassy is English by Radio which was aired via 5 F.M. radio stations in different regions in three phases. The radio scripts are printed as a booklet, the voices are recorded in pen drives, and 5,000 sets have been distributed. Also, since 2009, the US Embassy, Kathmandu has been providing 1-3 English Language Fellows for 10 months each year, who work for one of the partner university and NELTA and its branches across the country. NELTA assisted the USEF (Full Bright Commission), to identify the location, home-stay, and placement of English Teachers’ Assistants in public school of remote locations.

The US Embassy, Kathmandu is another source for the Human Resource Development of NELTA. With their support, NELTA life members have gotten the opportunity to attend prestigious programs like; SUSI, IVLP, TEA, and TESOL Conferences with full and partial support. With the support of the US Embassy, NELTA distributed books related to ELT to 100 public schools, Tribhuvan University, and it's constituent and affiliated colleges, Kathmandu University and 30 NELTA branches.

Other collaborative partners are The Embassy of India, Nepal Merchant Banking, Kathmandu, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge Tylor & Francis Group, and local publishers. The Embassy of India is another partner to provide NELTA with one Key Note speaker and Plenary Speakers from India. The international publishers sponsor for the printing of the Journal of NELTA and the Conference Proceedings. Nepal Merchant Banking offers financial support during the conference. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge Tylor & Francis Group, and local publishers offer publication of NELTA Journal, Conference Proceedings, training, and sponsor stationery in the conference.

NELTA is affiliated with the International Teachers’ Associations like TESOL, IATEFL, JALT, SPELT, BELTA, ELTAI, EAU, Universities outside Nepal; Andalas University Indonesia, Hansraj Mahila Mahavidyalaya, India, and the Universities of Nepal. Working with these national and international associations, NELTA has learned to expand its vision and horizon in not only ELT but also the idea of sustainability, transparency and good governance leading and motivating its 55 branches, as well as giving policy input to the government.

NELTA has finished the projects like; International House (IH) IATEFL training 2016 in four locations covering hills and Terai of Nepal, Hornby Trust IATEFL Associate Project 2018: Professional Development and Networking in the Himalayan Region in Mustang. Recently NELTA has organized Communicative English training for Specific Purpose to the staff of the Attorney General’s Office, in two categories; Two Basic and Two Advanced levels. For one advanced level training, an English Language Specialist was organized by the US Embassy.

Opening Ceremony of English and Communication Skills Training for Government Attorneys.
Participants include the Attorney General Agni Prasad Kharel, NELTA President Ms. Motikala Subba Dewan, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy Michael C. Gonzales, Advisors; Prof. Dr. Jai Raj Awasthi, Mr. Hemanta Raj Dahal, IPP Ms. Meera Shrestha, Deputy General Khagaraj Poudel, English Language Specialist Dr. Donna B Butler, other dignitaries, NELTA members and staff of Office of Attorney General Attorney.

Publishing is part and parcel of NELTA; it publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of NELTA, NELTA Proceedings, NELTA ELT Forum (selected articles from its online E-zine https://neltaeltforum.wordpress.com), and the NELTA Newsletter every year. The NELTA Journal has been uploaded in the Tribhuvan University online library website (https://www.nepjol.info/) and NELTA Website (http://www.nelta.org.np).

NELTA Leadership
NELTA president Ms. Motikala Subba Dewan with the Key Note Speakers from the U.S, Dr. Maggie Sokolik, Dr. Richard Smith from the U.K, Dr. S. Mohanraj from India with Dr. Lava Deo Awasthi, Dr. Yogendra Yadav, and Mr. Gangaram Gautam from Nepal during the Silver Jubilee Year Conference 2018.

The vision of NELTA is to enhance the quality of English language Teaching and learning in Nepal, promote professionalism among ELT professionals, and to become a resource for all English Language teachers. It has been working selflessly and voluntarily to achieve those goals since its inception. It celebrated its Silver Jubilee Year 2018 and has created a history in the field of ELT, yet another milestone is going to be established in 2019 by organizing TESOL-NELTA Conference and Symposium 2019, Nepal.

It is rightly said, You can achieve anything if you really want to. The sky is the limit.

Ms. Motikala Subba Dewan, President, NELTA, is a professional translator, rapporteur, and interpreter, teacher educator, syllabus designer, trainer, a member of Asian Creative Writing Group. She has published reference books, poems collections, stories, and research papers on ELT and Law, and has been a plenary speaker at national and international workshops, seminars, and conferences. PhD scholar in Law and English both.