ALC Newsletter - 02/17/2017 (Plain Text Version)
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NATE RUSSIA: GET ACQUAINTED WITH THIS OLD AND YOUNG TESOL AFFILIATE
The Founding of the National Association of Teachers of English in Russia The National Association of Teachers of English (NATE), the TESOL affiliate in Russia, though underrepresented at TESOL conventions recently, is neither small nor passive. NATE Russia was inspired by Professor Svetlana Ter-Minasova, who was invited to be the first international keynote speaker at the TESOL convention in 1997. The idea to start a national association coincided with major changes in Russia—perestroika (a political movement for reformation in the Soviet political and economic system), which affected all spheres of life. This development resonated well with the beginning of democratic changes in the country and gave birth to one more TESOL international affiliate. It was a grass-roots movement; teachers recognized a bottom-up approach to problem-solving for the first time. The motto “every voice must be heard” was an eye-opener, and it still keeps the association alive and appreciated. NATE Russia was founded by outstanding professors of Lomonosov Moscow State University who were famous for their research in linguistics. Their legendary discoveries and achievements were the pillars and models to follow for the teachers and professors of the whole country. Unfortunately, due to dozens of years of isolation, very little is known to people from other countries about the glorious history of teaching foreign languages in Russia. NATE’s Goals The main aims of the association were to unite Russian EFL teachers and to enhance their professional development on a continuous basis. NATE was hosted by the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and for the first few years all activities were based in Moscow. It took years to spread the idea of the association, but with time regional organisations started springing up all over the country. The success of the first ones inspired ELT professionals from various regions of Russia to join and/or create local associations in order to share their experiences with colleagues. One of the new goals of NATE Russia was to unite regional affiliates and to influence state policy in EFL teaching in the Russian Federation. NATE strives to strengthen partnerships with international organizations and represent interests of Russian EFL teachers all over the world. NATE Russia holds annual conferences and organizes seminars, workshops, and master-classes for teachers of English in Russia. It is a tradition to convene annual NATE conferences in different parts of the country. This helps boost the interest of local teachers in becoming members of local associations and helps those local associations grow membership. About 300–500 teachers participate in annual conferences, where leading foreign and Russian specialists make outstanding plenary and keynote presentations. NATE keeps teachers up-to-date about current trends in EFL teaching and professional development, providing access to important information about upcoming events, both national and international, via its website. NATE Russia provides unique opportunities for English language teachers to meet with colleagues and become a part of the national and international community. The association supports efficient EFL teaching and enables every teacher to be heard at a national level. After 25 years of glorious history, NATE was forced to close. New government regulations demanded full compliance with new rules. The rebirth of the association took more than a year of intense work from many dedicated association leaders, and this rebirth has brought many new ideas—one of them is the need to undergo a rebranding campaign. Now NATE Russia is officially and legally registered as an NGO with 1,000 members and more than 40 professional groups in all regions of Russia. NATE Russia is also a TESOL and IATEFL affiliate. NATE’s Know-How: The Umbrella The first regional NATE affiliates appeared in the end of 90s. It was a pre-email period when even phone connections between cities were too expensive and, as a result, rare. Affiliates, scattered around 9 time zones, had to figure out how to keep in touch with scarce resources and limited funding. The Umbrella meetings were to be convened once a year! At the beginning of the academic year, thought leaders from regional associations are invited to meet in a friendly atmosphere and present the results of their work. They are tasked with brainstorming and developing a list of most important projects that would unite most affiliates. The Umbrella motto is: “Human mind is like an umbrella—it works only when it is open!” (Kulinich, 2010) Many ideas have been brought up at these meetings, and many projects that have benefited the professional lives of teachers all over the country have been discussed during the Umbrellas. Moreover, the local community that hosts the Umbrella meeting benefits from it, because leading experts in the EFL teaching field come to the city and hold professional development workshops. Local teachers and educators from the nearest towns eagerly take part in these events, so local conferences often precede or coincide with the NATE event. The Umbrella meetings and the decisions made there have had a huge impact on the EFL teaching methodology and professional development of EFL teachers and educational policies in Russia. NATE Russia and State Authorities Continuous assessment has always been a cornerstone of the Russian education system. Russian EFL teachers knew what to do and how to do it, but they lacked a systematic approach to an objective assessment. Most exams were held in a face-to-face interview form with no scoring rubrics and no transparent criteria. As a result, there was quite a number of students who managed to struggle through exams knowing next to nothing, but getting the highest grade simply because they were skilled in—let’s put it nicely—charming examiners with their eloquent stream-of-consciousness speech. However, it wasn’t to last long. The Russian educational system needed a unified approach to subject assessment in general and language assessment in particular. So, a high stakes examination, the Unified National Exam, came into being. It replaced entrance exams developed and administered locally by state universities; gave children from all over Russia equal opportunities in entering the best colleges and universities; eliminated corruption from authorities; and, what is more important, has been objective and transparent for students and their parents ever since. As a result, teachers needed knowledge on how to prepare students for the National Examination and how to construct test items to make additional practice tasks. Among one of the first projects that aimed at familiarizing school and university teachers with test development strategies was the All-Russia Testing Institute. The idea of this project came across during one of the Umbrella meetings and was immediately implemented by the thought leaders. Supported by local associations and coordinated by NATE Russia, this project helped to promote testing and educational assessment in Russia in the time when high-stakes university entrance exams (Russian National Exams in various subjects) were coming into being. NATE Russia and EFL Teaching Methodology NATE Russia has a huge impact on the methodology of teaching English in Russia and, in its turn, on the textbooks that are used at schools and universities. Teachers, who are at the front line, know best what is most needed and what is often missing in the teaching materials. At one of the Umbrella meetings, participants raised the crucial issue of teaching Russian area studies through EFL classes with the focus on the diversity. Teachers were devastated that their students were able to talk about British and American geography, history, sights, and so on, but couldn’t say a word in English about their own homeland. This issue resulted in the Appreciating Diversity project, which was launched in 2014. The Appreciating Diversity project gave birth to digital and paper-based teaching materials, which are being used now to teach about the ethnic and cultural diversity of Russia in EFL classes; for instance, “English Lessons for Teaching Russian Culture and Cultural Diversity in Russia”(Khodakova & Nadtocheva, 2015), and “Yamalia – the Back of Beyond” (Kolyadin, Gorshkova, Kolyadina, & Sokolenko, 2015). More than 600 teachers from 30 regions of the Russian Federation collaborated on the project, strengthening the ELT alumni community in Russia and providing an opportunity for ELT teachers of a particular region to share their expertise and knowledge of the region with others. The project provided EFL teachers and students with plenty of opportunities to raise general awareness of the problems of ethnic and cultural diversity and to empower students to be cultural ambassadors of Russia, developing a positive image of the country in the global community. Moreover, this project has brought a significant change in students, who are becoming more autonomous and more motivated to acquire English than before. The results of the project were presented on a website, where teachers could take part in webinars and find materials about geography and the people and culture of various regions of Russia. Among other breakthrough projects that were structured and launched in a similar way are:
Different associations worked together to establish interregional contacts, which led to new ideas and projects. About 40 affiliates took part in various projects and involved thousands of school and university teachers in meaningful research and practical creative work. Conclusion The feeling that there are buddies all over the world and that they can give you a helping hand is very heart-warming. How do you find like-minded people? How do you keep up good work and share the gained knowledge? You are not alone, just look around and decide for yourself if it’s worth being a member of your local association or NATE, a TESOL affiliate in Russia. We welcome you! References Khodakova, A., & Nadtocheva, E. (2015). English lessons for teaching Russian culture and cultural diversity in Russia. Location: Tula, Russia. Retrieved from https://rucont.ru/file.ashx?guid=7494a513-de47-4e81-b30e-42e0277dd2c6 Kolyadin, E., Gorshkova, E., Kolyadina, I., Sokolenko, O. (Eds.). (2015). Yamalia – the back of beyond. A series of English lessons in Yamalia studies. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug: Gubkinskiy. Retrieved from http://www.yamelta.ru/resources/YAMALIA.pdf Kulinich, M. (2010, August). ELT professionals in Russia as agents of change. Paper presented at the ESSE 10 Conference, Torino, Italy. Retrieved from http://www.eltrussia.ru/articles_62.html Aida Rodomanchenko is a member of the NATE Coordination Council and an associate professor at National Research University Higher School of Economics in Moscow. Elena Lubnina is a NATE Honorary Member, TESOL member, ELO specialist (1998–2016), and true moving spirit of the association. |
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