Thailand – English Language and Teacher Training Courses for Primary and Secondary school teachers (online)

In November 2021, Edinburgh College started work on a new project in partnership with Thailand TESOL, an English Teachers Association in Thailand. The project saw the College’s English Language and Teacher Training team design and deliver a bespoke online programme for 51 teachers of English at different stages in their career from across Thailand.

The partnership project was part of the wider Partnered Remote Language Improvement (PRELIM) project, which was conceived and funded by the British Council, and developed in partnership with IATEFL and English UK, who represent the UK’s English Language teaching sector. The wider project aims were not only to increase the language proficiency and professional confidence in using English in the classroom but also to foster and support partnerships between teachers, English Teacher Associations and UK language centres.

Working closely with Thailand TESOL and the British Council Thailand, Edinburgh College supported the participant selection process and conducted a thorough needs analysis to feed into course design. Two specialist English Language Development and Teaching Methodology courses were designed and delivered online over a 12-week period from January to March 2022 for 26 Primary school and 25 Secondary school teachers of English from diverse urban and rural locations across Thailand.

Sarah Gore, International Business Manager at Edinburgh College said: “We’re very excited to have been part of this project. Despite the challenges during the Coronavirus pandemic period, we have continued to expand the range of English Language and Teacher Training projects we are involved in across the world and this new project in Thailand is part of a growing portfolio of remote English Language and Teacher Training courses we are delivering internationally.”

One of the key strengths of the project was the community building aspects of the course design and delivery, contributing to the long-term sustainability of the project’s impact. Thanks are due to the commitment and enthusiasm of Edinburgh College’s trainers and all course participants as well as our collaborators in Thailand TESOL and British Council Thailand for laying the groundwork that keeps this new professional learning community active long after the end of the course itself.