Regional English Language Office (RELO) U.S. Embassy, India

Teacher Development & Teachers Associations

The RELO office contributes to the professional development of English teachers through various programs. We organize workshops and seminars on various aspects of ELT towards achieving this aim. Adrian Palmer led a seminar on testing in 2006 and a national seminar on Young learners in 2007 was led by Mary Lou McLoskey.

This year a seminar on introducing new teacher training resources has been planned in August with Leslie Opp-Beckman as the US specialist. Shaping the way is a series of teacher training modules which could be used according to the requirements of any training program. This resource has been made available by the State Government's ECA department and was the result of a collaborative project run in various countries.

We support Teachers Associations to develop their role in sustaining the professional development of English teachers in the region by sponsoring ELT professionals to attend conferences in the US and those organized by the RELO offices in the region.

Each year key ELT specialists are invited to participate in the annual conferences of English Language Teachers Association of India (ELTAI) and other teachers associations in South Asia. Recently the President of TESOL, inaugurated the ELTAI conference in Chennai and congratulated the members of Forum for teachers of English Language and Literature (FORTELL) in Delhi for becoming the first TESOL affiliate in India.

Dr Lakshminarayana, Director, College Education, nominated by FORTELL has won the Global Advocacy Recognition Award by ESOL, an international teachers' association for his contribution to the cause of English Language Teaching. This award is given annually to a non English Language Teaching person who has contributed substantially to this field.