English Connects

As part of our English Connects strand of work, we have created a free digital resource for teachers called Get talking. The website was launched at the Teacher Connect Mela on 4 and 5 September 2021. 

This resource has been created for teachers (with lower English language levels), to enable them to use simple phrases in the English classroom. Using examples from real-world lessons where teachers use English for different lesson stages such as giving instructions, starting a lesson and saying goodbye, the interactive videos are also supported with examples from trainers. The downloadable language guides help teachers with more examples for teaching in a classroom. Participants receive a certificate when they complete 20 videos.

The content is mapped to the British Council’s Continuing Professional Development framework for teachers.

Register on the Get talking website now!

Started in April 2020 to support Indian teachers during the pandemic, this newsletter enables our audience to stay connected with us and provides them with ongoing professional development.

This resource showcases upcoming events such as webinars, shares articles on a variety of relevant topics such as online assessment and remote teaching and includes a fun quiz usually related to the theme of the newsletter. In August 2021, we introduced two new sections: one focuses on climate issues and the other features a personal story of development via a video or blog by one of our subscribers. 

If you would like to subscribe to the Teacher Connect newsletter, please sign up here or write to us at TeachEnglish.India@britishcouncil.org.

The Teacher Connect Mela, held on 4 and 5 September celebrated Teachers’ Day in India. Practical sessions ranged from blended learning, using visual routines and catering to a neuro-diverse classroom. The event had a total of 3,305 participants from across the country.

Feedback on the Mela was extremely positive with 53 per cent strongly agreeing that the workshops met their expectations, 48 per cent strongly agreeing that the workshops were high-quality events and 47 per cent strongly agreeing that they had acquired new knowledge and skills.

As one teacher said, ‘In the present online scenario, such a session was the need of the hour. Amazing tips and tricks to make the online classes stress-free were shared, all of which I would definitely put into use in my classroom.’ 

If you would like to view the recordings of the workshops, please visit this playlist on the British Council YouTube channel.

We invite you to join us at the Teacher Connect Time!

These monthly online sessions aim to provide a platform and opportunity for teachers and teacher educators to interact, share their experiences and engage in collaborative, sustained professional development.  

The presenters have a range of experiences from their own professional careers as well as teaching and training on a range of British Council projects and programmes. Join us as the presenters share their experience and useful tips. These sessions are aimed at English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners, teachers, school leaders, teacher educators, researchers and academics interested in ELT, particularly in the topics listed below.

Each session in this series will be 60 minutes long (including the time for Q&A) and will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. There is no registration fee. 

Registrations will close one day before each event. 

Certificates will be issued to participants who attend the session . 

Watch this space for our upcoming sessions!

*Please note: the attendance on Microsoft Teams is limited. The link will be shared with registered participants only hence admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Participants can use one of the three options – download the Windows app on a desktop/ open the Teams app directly if this is already downloaded on any device/ continue on the browser that will appear after opening the link (no download or installation required for this option). 

Please reach out to us at TeachEnglish.India@britishcouncil.org for any further clarification.

Between October and December 2021, we will be hosting live webinars on topical issues for teachers’ professional development. The six webinars are free and will be relevant for primary and secondary teachers.

You can see what webinars are scheduled in 2021 on our events page or register for upcoming webinars using the registration form.   

We connect with teachers across India through our social media channels. Join our community by liking our Facebook page and following us on Twitter.

We share relevant articles, useful classroom materials and interesting upcoming events. You can use these channels to connect with like-minded teachers across India and develop a bank of useful resources.

You will also find a wealth of resources on the TeachingEnglish website.