Date:06/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/06/stories/2006110614940400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

English teachers learn how to go beyond the textbooks

Staff Reporter

40 middle school teachers attend seminar on innovating in the classroom

FUN SESSION: Chris Gibson, director, British Council South India, addresses participants at the inauguration of a seminar for English language teachers on Sunday. — Photo: S.S. Kumar

CHENNAI : More than 40 middle school English language teachers from all over south India sat in small groups on Sunday morning, clutching their books and keenly listening to trainer Olha Madylus.

The occasion was the inaugural session of `Beyond the Text Book: Developing Materials to Supplement Course Texts' seminar organised by the British Council and Ratna Sagar publishing group at Hotel Raintree.

Ms. Madylus promised fun-filled sessions to help participants remember how to address the needs of today's students while taking them through the regular examination-oriented system. She will be partnered by English Language Teaching consultant Nirmala Raghavan in the five-day effort to make teaching of English more student-oriented and up to date.

In order to prepare students for a fast-changing world, the participants will be encouraged to select a unit from their course book, plan supplementary materials as well as tasks for students and make presentations.

Ms. Madylus said the ideas and plans generated would be collated at the end of the seminar for creating a new set of resource materials for teachers. Chris Gibson, director south India of British Council, inaugurated the seminar.

The 45 participants come from schools in all the south Indian states.