Solutions and issues in delivering large scale teacher development

Cambridge English Language Assessment attended the 22nd TESOL Arabia International Conference & Exhibition from 10 to 12 March 2016, in Dubai.

The conference attracted a large number of ELT professionals from within the UAE and across the region giving them a platform to exchange ideas and thoughts. During the conference, they interacted with the Cambridge English team to discuss areas of collaboration as well as how Cambridge English can be part of their plans for setting and achieving international benchmarks in English language.

A talk delivered by Andrea McKay, Head of Assessment MENAT, based on a review conducted for Cambridge English, focussing on the lessons learnt from large scale English teacher development projects, was attended by a number of delegates from within the region as well as the UAE. Andrea suggested and discussed guidelines for successful project implementation, and how Cambridge English supports its stakeholders.  

Referring to implementing large scale teacher development projects, Andrea said:  If you improve the teaching, you improve the learning, so teacher development is the first place to start in order to raise overall standards.  Institutions often know what the problem is and have a vision of what they want to achieve, but don’t know how to set realistic goals, and need support with international standards. The Cambridge approach emphasises partnership, flexibility, and above all, accessibility for the teachers.