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In this issue:
LEADERSHIP UPDATES
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WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS
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THE AFFILIATE NETWORK PROFESSIONAL COUNCIL: A GLOBAL CONNECTION
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LETTER FROM THE PAST CHAIR
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THE POWER OF EVENTS IN CONNECTING PEOPLE: AFFILIATE NETWORK WEBINARS IN 2021
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USING ONGOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO STAY CONNECTED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE
ARTICLES
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THE COSTA RICAN ASSOCIATION OF ENGLISH TEACHERS (ACPI) TESOL
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EDUCATING GLOBAL CITIZENS IN LOUISIANA
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NILETESOL: TEACHER DEVELOPMENT AND BEYOND
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PELLTA NEW DOORS: LEARNING TO ADAPT TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE NEW NORM HAS PROVEN TO BE A BLESSING TO AN ELT ASSOCIATION
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ELTAI AND ITS RECENT INITIATIVES
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CREATING PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND CHANGES
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TESL ONTARIO - BUILDING CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY IN A VIRTUAL WORLD
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CAMELTA IS ON THE MOVE
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NEPAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION (NELTA): NETWORKING, RESEARCHING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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THE TEXELT JOURNAL: A SERVICE TO MEMBERS AND THE PROFESSION
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NEPAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION (NELTA): NETWORKING, RESEARCHING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Bikas Rimal, National Programme Coordinator, Nepal English Language Teacher's Association (NELTA), Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) was founded in 1992 as a voluntary organization. The main objective behind its establishment was to set up a common platform for all the teachers of English in Nepal to support their professional development to enhance quality education through ELT in Nepal. NELTA has 57 Branches/Chapters and 7 Provincial Committees. It covers 65 districts out of 77. More than 5,500 life members ranging from primary English teachers to university professors, and vice-chancellors are also its members. NELTA has a strong network with ELT professional associations like IATEFL, TESOL, Africa TESOL, BELTA, ELTAI, MELTA, JALT, SPELT, various universities of home and abroad, and work in collaboration with the British Council, Nepal, and the US Embassy, Nepal in various projects.
We have been conducting the following activities:
- Stay at Home Continue to Learn Webinar: Every first Friday of the month, NELTA conducts a ‘Stay at home, continue to learn’ webinar series for the primary level teachers in partnership with the British Council. It is the continuation of the first phase. A total of 10 topics were finalized and 5 webinars have already been delivered, continuing up to March 2022. Topics are based on the ‘Teacher’s competency framework’ where two facilitators co-facilitate every episode, one from the NELTA and another from the British Council.
- Research in ‘ICT in Education’ with British Council: NELTA is researching on ‘How learning continued during pandemic especially in the lockdown and what could be the future of teaching and learning’. It consists of two sections: the first one is for case stories and the second one is for future possibilities. It is supported by the British Council (BC). BC will publish the research by December 2021 and NELTA will disseminate the findings among a wider group in January and February 2022.
- Research in partnership with Sunway University: NELTA in partnership with Sunway University, Malaysia researching on “Materials Design”. Various associations and universities from Malaysia, India, Nepal, and Indonesia are involved in the research project. The aim of the research is, how effective will it be if the students design their learning materials themselves. Three public schools of remote areas from each country were selected and students from grades 9 and 10 will be engaged to design their materials. Focal teachers from each school are already selected and they are oriented. Materials will be focused to see how language and culture can be taught through the student-designed materials.
- Asynchronous course: NELTA in partnership with an American institution named ‘OWL- Online Worldwide Learning’, is conducting 14 weeks asynchronous course. There are four mentors for each course: 2 mentors are from OWL and 2 from NELTA. Two courses have been successfully completed.
- NELTA Journal: NELTA is going to publish NELTA Journal in December 2021. To ensure quality articles are selected, NELTA Editorial Board has been conducting a 9 series of workshops for Journal Article Writing. A total of 33 participants are selected. The main objective of this workshop is to develop skilled human resources in the field of journal article writing. The participants are given home tasks after each session so that at the end of the workshop, they could prepare their articles based on their learning.
NELTA ELT Forum: The NELTA ELT Forum is an online magazine and it is publishing its issues regularly. It has recently published the August-September issue and preparing for the next issue. This is a professional platform for English teachers and teacher educators to disseminate the contextual and global issues of ELT.
- Recording of the listening script for grades 5-10: NELTA is working with the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) of the Government to record the listening script for grades 5 to 10 in the native speaker’s voice with the support of Peace Crops Nepal.
- English Access Microscholarship Program, Nepal: NELTA has been implementing the English Access Microscholarship Program since 2011 for underprivileged children with the support of the RELO, the US Embassy Nepal. At present, NELTA is running the Access in 4 districts Bajhang, Dolakha, Siraha and Tanahun. In each district, we have 40 students (20 girls and 20 boys). Their age ranged from 13-16 and they all are from public schools of Nepal. The program aims to enhance the various skills of the children such as leadership skills, communication skills, entrepreneurship skills, digital skills, understanding of democratic norms, values, principles, and cultural understanding of the USA and Nepal as well. The students are being instructed by the 4 Access Teachers (2 male and 2 female) and divided into two groups. Each group is led by two teachers in the respective districts.
Formally, the class of Access was started on April 29, 2021, through telephone calls due to the Covid-19 situation. Now, the mode of instruction has shifted to virtual mode, shifting from telephones to the Zoom platform, where 160 mobile sets were procured and handed over to the students. The mobile data pack is managed for them to take the virtual class through the Zoom platform. The Access class is run from Sunday to Friday from 4:30-5:30 pm. NELTA and the RELO, US Embassy have been supporting all the Access Teachers for their professional development through numerous workshops, webinars, and training.
Besides these regular programs, NELTA has focused its attention on the well-being of its members. Recently, it has conducted several webinars on wellbeing. Experts/ Wellbeing coaches were invited to provide practical tips to maintain wellbeing during this pandemic. On top of that, NELTA has established a ‘COVID Relief Fund’ where our members contributed voluntarily and we supported the needy members for their treatments and death rituals.
Upcoming programs:
- Workshop for Journal Editor: NELTA is going to conduct workshops for the journal editors with the support of RELO, the US Embassy, Nepal and it will start on 23 November 2021. 5 editors from 7 provinces in total 35 editors will be trained. Various topics will be addressed as such: selecting the appropriate topic for the article, coordination among editors, feedback to the writer, APA and technicalities, and simple designing. It is already in the process. The province presidents are asked to send the participants’ names. This workshop will be conducted in virtual mode.
- Journal Publishing: NELTA is going to support each province to publish their Journal after this training.
- Training to OPEN and Access Alumni: Training on Critical thinking and handling disinformation will be carried out to OPEN and Access Alumni from January 2022 with the support of RELO, the US Embassy, Nepal. NELTA is developing the participants’ database. This is also conducted in virtual mode. We are targeting 600 participants.
A few photographs of the current activities at NELTA:
Glimpses of 'Stay at Home continue to learn Webinar'
A glimpse of the inauguration of new branch i.e. Panchthar district
A glimpse of Teacher Orientation from Sunway University on Research Procedure
A glimpse of 'Access Teachers' Training' By RELO
ACCESS students taking their online class
Biodata:
Mr. Rimal has a decade-long experience in education project management. He started his career as a teacher trainer and then gradually moved into project management. Currently, he is working at NELTA as a National Program Coordinator. He is also working as a ‘Managing Editor’ for NELTA Journal.
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