As with the previous two PRELIM projects, PRELIM 3 matched 25 teaching associations around the world with EnglishUK member institutions to collaborate on a project to benefit teachers in that teaching association’s country or region. For PRELIM 3 the focus was on developing resource materials, and the projects ran from December 2022 until March 2024. Once again the projects were a partnership between the British Council, English UK and IATEFL, project managed by the Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE). PRELIM 1 (2020/21) and PRELIM 2 (2021/22) aimed to improve the English language competence of participating English teachers and increase their confidence in the classroom.
All 25 partnerships delivered the primary output for the project and, as a result, new resource packages for English language teachers are available in 25 countries. Each package was informed by a needs analysis of the context and designed with local relevance, feasibility and ease of use in mind. Although dissemination was ongoing at the end of the project, feedback from the Teaching Associations and their teachers on the value of the resources was very positive.
The UK-based institutions, along with their Teaching Association partners identified a wide range of benefits to them of participating in the project. Improvements were reported by both parties in knowledge and skills in relation to several areas of ELT materials design and evaluation, project management, international collaboration, working with remote partners, and (especially for the UK-based institutions) collecting and analysing feedback data. The Teaching Associations also noted how being part of the project had enhanced their local profile. They also felt that the project had confirmed or enhanced their views about the UK as a source of expertise in ELT.
In my very first teaching job in Italy, I had a dreadful experience. Do you remember the ‘make a piece of paper into a ball, throw the ball and the beginner student catches it and says their name’ activity? I can see the young woman’s face now. She let the piece of paper hit the floor and looked at me with such chilling pity in her eyes. I had no idea what to do. But the rest of the students took over and made it very clear to her that she ought to pick up the ball, say her name and throw it back to me. And she did. They had my back, and they usually do.
2. Be ready to show some of your weaknesses and a pinch of human frailty.
I think a lot of students think teachers come from another planet. But suppose you’re an EFL teacher who has learned English from scratch, or English is your native language and you’re learning another language, possibly your students’ home language. In that case, it can be tremendously reassuring for learners to understand that you too had problems either with learning English or with their language. They realise it’s not just them, but it’s also you. Be prepared to share little snippets of language learning difficulties with the students, but not of course to the extent that they see you as a bumbling failure with languages.
3. Course books are not carved in stone.
The orthodoxy around advice to new teachers is not to deviate from the course books in your first year of teaching. I’m not sure that’s good advice. If you see something that in terms of topic, for example, will just not be of interest to them, change it, find something else and fiddle around with the tasks to suit it. It’s not difficult with the Internet or (holding my nose) AI.
Of course, replacing a whole reading text is quite a big ask for a new teacher, but if the choice is an okayish comprehension activity around a text the learners really want to engage with, or a great activity around a text they find as exciting as watching paint dry, I know which I’d prefer.
And if the school management don’t know about it, they don’t have to worry about it.
4. Never be afraid to ask. There are no stupid questions. Well, one or two maybe, but…. .
I was a very overconfident new teacher. I knew everything. As a result, a number of my classes were complete carnage, because I didn’t have the humility to ask the Director of Studies for help. If you aren’t sure about something, ask. You kind of owe it to your students.
5. Try to understand your students’ motivations as quickly as possible.
Sometimes it’s easy to assume that your learners are homogeneous, not just in terms of language level, but in terms of aspirations and hopes for English. Even in a school setting where English is perhaps a compulsory subject, everybody has different reasons, different attitudes towards English and different things that they might want to achieve in life and English. Try to find out about this – do it in the first language if you have to. It’s invaluable information.
6. Never underestimate how stressed or anxious students might be.
Particularly with adults, but also with teenagers, learning a language requiring as it generally does some degree of public performance, can be an extraordinarily stressful thing to do. Don’t ever forget that. And don’t forget the hidden relationships between learners, and that there is often a little voice in the back of students’ heads telling them they will be teased or laughed at in class. Group them well, be gentle, and jump on any bullies.
7. Dispel the idea of the ‘sound like a native’ goal.
The idea of a group of insert name of non-native English-speaking country students ever sounding as if they were born in LA, Glasgow or Sydney is unachievable nonsense. Undesirable, even. And anyway, what do native speakers sound like? Learning aspirations should perhaps better revolve around comprehensibility and comprehension. Getting things done in the language, that’s what matters. The first school I taught in had a life-sized cardboard Beefeater in one corner, and that’s scarred me forever. Hopefully, that kind of stuff doesn’t go on any more. It’s a global language, remember.
8. Most of your students will probably never speak English to a native speaker.
Whether or not the course book does it, do your best to expose your learners to as many different accents in English as possible. And that means accents from so-called non-native speakers too. Anyone that ever says to you that only native speakers should be used as a model, should be referred to point 7 above.
9. Being able to construct a perfect third conditional in class has nothing whatsoever to do with your ability to communicate in English.
My early teaching jobs (a fair few years ago if I’m honest with you) seemed to revolve around endless written grammar manipulation exercises. Why students didn’t die of boredom is not clear to me. I used to be delighted when one of them got the form correct. I now realise this had zero positive impact on their ability to communicate in English on a day-to-day basis.
10. Reflection Reflection Reflection.
Show your students how to reflect, and do it yourself. That moment of silence, looking back at a part of a lesson or a series of lessons, in my view, is where a lot of learning happens. Where things are pieced together. Where connections are made. Where things that might otherwise have been forgotten are filed away for future reference.
This piece is called ‘A Foreign Country’ after a quote from the 1953 L P Hartley novel ‘The Go-Between’. The opening line is “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”. A nice sentiment to have in mind as you look back at your own teaching perhaps.
About Christopher Graham
Christopher is the current Vice President of IATEFL. You can read an interview with him from earlier this year here.
I am from the North of England and went to the University of Sussex in beautiful Brighton as well as later to Birmingham University where I did an MA in Applied Linguistics in the early 1980s (no Internet then!!). The defining factors in my personal life are, firstly, that my mother was from South India originally and my father from Wales and that I spent my childhood in Indonesia and Singapore as well as travelling the world with my parents. I later (in the late 1970s) went overland to India and probably all this travelling made me into something of a home lover. Secondly, my home and my workplace have been in Germany for the last 48 years and I am very happy here. I have been a teacher in adult education and universities as well as a teacher trainer and a language test developer. I retired from being Head of Languages at a university in Frankfurt a few years ago and still do freelance work in different areas of ELT. Thirdly, I have a multicultural family with German/English children and Spanish and Ethiopian children-in-law and grandchildren. And, of course, there is IATEFL, which has been my professional community for the last 44 years. I became a member in 1980 and a volunteer around 2005.
How was your experience as a trustee of IATEFL?
It was generally 100% positive but of course there are also sometimes downsides. Although I was a Trustee all the through the Covid-19 pandemic, the Board I worked with was a wonderful team, so this experience was absolutely positive as far as our teamwork and, in fact, continuing friendship was concerned, although it was of course very time-intensive, as we were meeting every week sometimes during the crisis! Of course, there are always disappointments in any work, but these were few and far between and usually concerned with individual members or other volunteers. They are all part of the job anyway, even if sometimes annoying or frustrating. The experience as a whole was wonderful though and I would definitely recommend it. I have only now, after three months, really got used to being on the outside.
What’s the role of SIGs for an organisation like IATEFL?
My role as a Trustee was SIG Representative. I did not have a committee as such but the group I worked most closely with was made up of SIG Coordinators and, to a lesser extent, SIG committees. I started as a volunteer for TEASIG and was discussion list moderator, newsletter Editor and SIG Coordinator (sometimes simultaneously). SIGs are vital to IATEFL, as they provide members with a smaller and manageable community and are definitely the place to go to start volunteering. IATEFL would definitely not be the same, and I doubt as successful, without its SIGs, but there are, nonetheless, some questions about SIGs which could be considered. These would include the number of SIGs, possible overlaps between the SIGs, the possible restrictions of joining or volunteering for more than one SIG as well as probably a few others I have not thought of. But, basically, IATEFL SIGs are vital and they rock!! For the SIG Rep on the Board of Trustees, it is not always easy working with all the SIG Coordinators. Not only are SIGs diverse in their interests, numbers, forms and levels of activities (all these are connected), but the Coordinators are all individuals with their own different personalities. In general all the Coordinators I worked with were great and definitely all doing their best for their own SIG as well as IATEFL. I would also like to give an enormous shout out to the team at Head Office, and especially the person responsible for supporting the SIGs. In my time this was Eleanor Baynham and Hazel Frost, both of whom were marvellous.
Would you like to share your plans for the future?
As far as my personal future is concerned, now that I am retired from full-time employment, I want to spend even more time with my family and friends as well as travel and do all the things I couldn’t do while I was working. That includes spending time on and for IATEFL but in a different way. I am looking forward to being an “ordinary” member at the Conference, spending time talking to people and doing things I didn’t have time for as a volunteer. I am also looking forward to representing my local Teachers’ Association at Associates Day, which I have never been able to attend.
About Judtih
Judith Mader has worked in number of academic positions, including as a full-time test developer and until recently, as Head of Languages at a German university. She is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. She has also published course material and tests and articles and books on teaching methodology and testing. Judith was a Trustee of IATEFL for 6 years, representing the sixteen IATEFL Special Interest Groups and was the Newsletter Editor and the TEASIG Coordinator of the Testing Evaluation and Assessment Special Interest Group (TEASIG).
Hello Beatrix and thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I work at the Department of Language Pedagogy at the Institute of English and American Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. I am Hungarian but I “borrowed” my surname from my English husband for this lifetime. We live and work in Hungary and have raised four children who are bilingual and multicultural. All four of them live abroad and they are true global citizens. My professional interests include language teaching methodology, creativity in education, the use of art in English classes, child development, teacher associations, teacher leadership, and teacher professional development and well-being. I have been a member of my national teacher association, IATEFL-Hungary, now TESOL Hungary, for about 15 years and became involved in it from the beginning, taking on different roles until later I became the president of the association. I quite enjoyed organising CPD events and I am especially proud of the monthly Creative Café events and the Silver Jubilee tree-planting project in 2015 that I initiated. I have presented at numerous conferences, have given workshops and webinars in Europe, North and South America, in Asia and Africa and delivered plenary talks in Croatia (HUPE), Germany (ELTAS), Moldova (META), Israel (ETAI), Kuwait (TEFL Kuwait) and at the IATEFL Associates’ online conference. I have been attending IATEFL conferences since 2014 and participated at the TESOL convention in 2023, where I was also invited to talk at the Affiliates’ day on the findings of my PhD research which was the role of English language teacher associations in providing professional development to EFL teachers.
How important for our growth as teachers is our wellbeing? How can we ensure we are on the right track?
If we think of the Latin proverb: ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ (Healthy mind in a healthy body), we can see the interrelatedness of the two but taking a holistic approach, not only in learning and teaching but also in teacher professional development, harmony should be attained between body, soul and spirit. It is no surprise that the ancient philosophers devoted a large part of their ‘work’ to the topic of human flourishing. In one of my plenary talks I referred to some of the great ones (Socrates, Plato, etc.) and connected their thoughts to modern teacher wellbeing. We can make sure that we are on the right track by developing appropriate self-knowledge, cultivating inner harmony, fostering virtue through habit, pursuing and appreciating true relationships and recognising the power of our limits. We EFL teachers and ELT educators tend to work a lot. While intrinsically motivated, loving our profession and generally wanting to do better, it is good to identify the various slices of our lives (our work, CPD opportunities, financial area, family, friends and colleagues, free time activities, exercise and “me time”). We should be conscious that devoting too much time, attention or energy to one slice means that there is a deficit in other areas. Thus, harmony again assures that with self-management and social awareness, we balance the areas in our personal and professional lives. In this way, we can live a balanced personal life and that is how we create safe environments in education where we find acceptance, respect and appreciation.
How can we create professional success? Why is it so important to do so?
EFL teachers are their own teacher leaders in their own classrooms. But eventually everyone runs out of ideas; and what is better than sharing resources with each other and trying out new things with our learners? All conference goers can affirm that returning back to their teaching contexts always guarantees renewed confidence and success. And the saying “success breeds success” is true. We do become better teachers by refreshing our teaching repertoire and our learners will appreciate that. Sharing our own expertise also means a boost in our self-confidence and getting familiar with new resources and trends results in more effective learning outcomes. There is nothing better than sharing our thoughts with like-minded colleagues in professional communities. Nonetheless we are all different and the principle “one size does not fit all” is relevant in this context as well.
In what ways can we benefit from volunteering in teacher associations?
Learning through volunteering is one reward which we would need to pay for in a corporate environment. Apart from the most obvious benefits (professional development in ELTAs and working with exceptional colleagues) as the main motivating factors in volunteering in teacher associations, skills development should also be mentioned. Because most ELTAs are volunteer-driven learning communities, there are no paid positions to execute the jobs, therefore teachers who volunteer have to learn and do everything. In these volunteer positions we learn very quickly how to create a budget, how to run meetings, how to negotiate with others (often with external stakeholders), how to keep the books, how to edit journals,the list is endless. So apart from these, volunteers also benefit from developing academic skills, how to write, how to get published, depending upon the stage of one’s career. Soft skills are another crucial area, for instance, being responsible, being dependable, delegating, sharing work, overseeing, making sure that things are done and being tactful. People skills or interpersonal skills can be another facet, as well as networking, social connections and the career opportunities that come along. Also, the process of leadership development which often comes supported by mentoring or coaching, or at turning points in educators’ trajectories, from learning to teaching, etc. Self-confidence should also be mentioned. If we look deep into ourselves and remember our very first attempts to present, to guide others, we recognise how much we have progressed over the years. This gives us confidence and enthusiasm to mentor or coach younger colleagues and help them become their best possible selves.
About Beatrix Price
Beatrix works as a teacher and a teacher trainer at the Language Pedagogy Department, School of English and American Studies, ELTE university, Budapest. She has extensive experience in teaching both children and adult learners. Her current PhD explored EFL teachers’ continuing professional development supported by teachers’ associations.
Vicky: First of all, I would like to thank you for agreeing to give this interview and I would also like to welcome you!
Christopher: So many thanks Vicky. I’m really looking forward to the role of Vice President (VP) and subsequently President, and to serving as a trustee and director of the company.
Vicky: Christopher, you are the new Vice President. Would you like to introduce yourself to the IATEFL members who do not know you?
Christopher: I live in rural Scotland, and I’ve worked in ELT for many years now, both in the UK and abroad. By fate, rather than by planning, I’ve worked in a number of different roles for different stakeholders, including teaching, as a director of studies, as a teacher educator, and in publishing and in assessment. I also owned and ran a small group of private language schools in three different countries.
For some years now, I’ve been working as a freelance consultant and author. Most of my current work is with teachers and school inspectors in their home contexts. I engage both in the writing and delivery of bespoke CPD, and undertake monitoring and evaluation work to help providers to gain an understanding of the efficacy of their ELT projects.
My main professional interests include trainer training, ELT and climate change, and teaching and learning in fragile environments particularly in conflict and post-conflict zones.
Vicky: Please share your experience and positions so far regarding IATEFL.
Christopher: I went to my first IATEFL conference in, I think, 1989 at the University of Warwick, my alma mater as it happens. I drove there in my Fiat Panda accompanied by someone who is still a very prominent stakeholder in ELT and who smoked about 60 cigarettes between London and Coventry, filling the small ashtray in my car.
I’ve attended numerous conferences over the years and spoken at several of them. As a freelancer, IATEFL is a remarkable way to network with colleagues and clients. More importantly, it’s great to catch up with friends!
I’ve recently been serving on the IATEFL Conference Committee and having a direct role in the selection of plenary speakers has been absolutely fascinating and an opportunity to help guide the direction, not just of the conference, but hopefully of the broader ELT community.
I also volunteer with EVE (around equity in ELT) and Green Action ELT (around climate change), and am a judge for the British Council ELTons awards.
Vicky: Would you like to share something about working on projects such as ELT Footprint? Why climate action, for example?
Christopher: My work on ELT and climate change has moved in several directions, including working with the British Council on writing, research, and dissemination projects, and writing a book about climate change education. I think I can say, with all modesty, that ELT Footprint has played a significant role in creating an awareness of both the responsibility that ELT has to reduce its carbon footprint, and also of the opportunity we have to engage with climate topics in classrooms. I think we need to ensure learners have at least some of the tools they need to drive the debate forward in both English and in other languages. There’s a long way to go, but I think we are beginning to understand the potential that we have to really make change happen.
Vicky: If I am not mistaken, you also have an interest in sustainability in ELT. Please share your thoughts with our readers.
Christopher: Yes, sustainability, and in some ways that’s part of the climate change piece. But for me, sustainability goes beyond the interaction between climate and ELT. It’s about capacity building, about self-sustaining and organic communities of teachers, it’s about the native speaker (and I hate the term) debate, it’s about CPD being provided locally by local teacher educators, and it’s about multilingualism. A lot of things fit under the sustainability banner.
Vicky: What are your vision and philosophy? What do you aim to achieve in your new position?
Christopher: I’m increasingly understanding the potential of a global community like ours to be a real force for good and for positive social change, especially in areas such as DEI, interculturalism and global issues including climate change. What I hope to achieve is to continue to develop IATEFL’s position as a thought leader in these fields as they interact with language education. And as part of this vision, I want to maintain and enhance IATEFL’s status as an organisation that respects and caters for a diverse range of opinions, contexts, and concerns. This does sometimes risk controversy and disagreement, and I see part of my role as determining how we can get the very best out of all these opinions and positions, ultimately for the benefit of students worldwide.
Vicky: What skills are needed to lead a big organisation like IATEFL? How can you ensure making a positive impact?
Christopher: I think there are a number of skill sets involved, one of them I think is the ability to create empathy with the various stakeholders so as to see things from their point of view and to understand their priorities. I also think some intercultural understanding is important with an organisation like ours, too. Equally, I think being in a leadership role does require you to, well, lead, albeit in a consultative way, but sometimes being prepared to step up and explain why certain things, in the context of IATEFL’s organisational status, need to be as they are.
Above all, and this is something immodestly I would say I’m quite good at, is listening. All member voices are equal, and I intend, and in fact have already started to listen to members. I may not agree with all of them, but that’s not relevant. I need to try to see these ideas are listened to and where appropriate, acted upon.
Christopher Graham is a freelance ELT consultant and author based in the UK. He has worked in the field since 1981 in over 30 countries for the British Council, ministries of education and international publishers. He is incoming Vice President of IATEFL, and was one of the founders of ELT Footprint, a 2020 British Council ELTons winner.
The poster presentations at the #iatefl Conference are a great way for ELT professionals to present their research and ideas. Each poster is on display for the duration of the event and presenters are available during break times to answer questions from delegates. Plus, we are able to upload the posters to our website after the event, so anyone unable to get to the conference can have a chance to browse them.
And if you are interested in presenting a poster at the 58th IATEFL International Conference in Edinburgh in 2025, proposal submissions for IATEFL members will open in July 2024.
The board of trustees were delighted to welcome a group of teacher educators from China to the recent IATEFL International Conference in Brighton, and also to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with 21st Century English Education in China. In keeping with IATEFL’s mission of linking, developing and supporting English language teaching professionals worldwide, the intention of this Memorandum is to facilitate knowledge exchange and foster international collaboration.
Aleksandra Popovski-Golubovikj, IATEFL President, emphasized the significance of global collaboration in advancing educational goals. She added:
“IATEFL is thrilled to collaborate with 21st Century to offer more opportunities and benefits to English teachers in China and beyond,” she stated. “We look forward to partnering with 21st Century English Education to raise teaching standards and enhance learning experiences globally.”
Zhang Haigang, deputy editor-in-chief at 21st Century, hailed the signing of the MoU as a milestone in global English language education collaboration. He expressed optimism about the prospects for increased dialogue, joint training projects, and resource sharing between the two organisations, believing that this partnership will enhance the quality of English language teaching in China and foster greater interaction and exchange among Chinese ELT professionals with their peers worldwide.
As part of the collaboration, Aleksandra and IATEFL Chief Executive, Jon Burton, are looking forward to attending the 2024 Global English Education China Assembly, held by 21st Century English Education from 25th to 28th July in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China.
On January 6th, I had the opportunity and pleasure to present the webinar ‘So…let’s debate’ as a part of the IATEFL monthly webinars. It was a fruitful experience as I got in touch with many colleagues around the world. In case you have missed it, there is the recording of this webinar available only for IATEFL members by logging in using your account.
This report aims to give a brief overview of the main ideas discussed during the webinar as well as to add some more ideas regarding how a debate class can be used in the EFL/ESL classrooms. At the end of this article, you will find a list of reading materials that might be found useful to you, should you decide to organize such classes.
Debate is mostly connected with two politicians talking about their ideology during the pre-election period and they are trying to convince their voters to vote for them. However, it is not often as simple as it might seem to be. And for sure, debating is not only about politics or politicians. Debating is everywhere in every aspect of our lives, from two people deciding what to have for lunch to two people deciding on the most effective way to combat racism.
If we have to define what debate is, we would say that it is the art of Persuasion as Aristotle pointed out in his Rhetoric (dating from the 4th century), or a way to argue productively as Julia Dhar stated in her insightful TED talk. You can watch it here. In her talk, Dhar introduced the idea of debating effectively. To do that, one needs to get rid of or reduce their biases and misconceptions and be open to the other viewpoint. Therefore, to find a common ground we need to minimize the strength of our thoughts and be genuinely open to the other person’s thoughts and ideas; a key skill for this century’s citizens but a difficult one to acquire. In this sense, debating connects what we are saying with what we are not saying (Mehrabian, 1969) as well as with our emotions (Nobrega et al., 2018, as cited in Hasan, 2020).
Going back to the politicians, debating is not what it looks like when two politicians are debating, at least in the place where I live. It is not screaming or shouting at each other, interrupting constantly, or imposing your opinion because you ‘know better’. These are better avoided and do not constitute productive and effective debating.
How can these be implemented in an EFL/ESL classroom? There are some steps to be taken in order to do it.
1st step: set a goal (think about the reasons why you need such a class, e.g. to boost students’ confidence, to help students develop collaboration skills, critical thinking skills, etc.), set the time-frame, how you will get some feedback, any logistics, the management.
2nd step: after having clarified all or most of the above, it is time to structure the class by identifying what topics to use, the tools (videos/materials), how you will group your students
3rd step: structure your class by setting a time-frame and organizing the materials and the activities that need to be used or created
4th step: organize a debate contest with other classes either from the same school or not
Some fruitful activities that can be used during the class are:
You can use any controversial topics that are age and level-appropriate that you can find in your coursebooks, online papers and magazines, but you can also use Ted talks, videos from YouTube or visit Oxplore: www.oxplore.org
Through persuasion techniques/exercises (these appeal to logic/emotions, images, videos and research findings) the students will be more confident to build a strong argumentation.
Apart from the linguistic features (use of opinion language), it is a good idea for them to use their voice effectively. You can try warm-up your voice activities a. take some deep breaths for 2 minutes, b. begin by taking a deep inhale and expelling while making a hissing sound (S). Hold this hissing sound for 5 seconds and then repeat.
Use of intonation and speech rhythm to make the other person listen to you.
Activities on how to politely interrupt someone and most importantly to actively listen to someone.
I am sure that you have already thought of some reasons why creating a debate class but it is worth referring to some more here. Debating is all about respecting the other person, it builds empathy and negotiation skills and it fosters collaboration and motivation. It is also a great opportunity to address current issues and learn how to resolve conflicts effectively. Finally, it can be used with any age and level group regardless of where they come from.
So…it’s ok if we disagree but in a constructive way!
About Tanya Livarda
Tanya Livarda (BA/ MA in TESOL, DELTA) is an EFL teacher, a teacher trainer, a content writer, and an oral examiner. She has completed several courses and has attended a plethora of workshops. She has also presented at several conferences in Greece and abroad. She is a board member of TESOL Macedonia Thrace Northern Greece, a member of TESOL Greece and of IATEFL, and a committee member of LAMSIG.
IATEFL received five excellent nominations from members to be the next Vice President, and then President of IATEFL. As a consequence an election was held, including an online hustings, for members to decide on their chosen candidate.
Christopher Graham received the highest number of votes and so is the successful candidate.
We would like to thank all five of our strong candidates for putting themselves forward for this election, for participating in an excellent online hustings, sharing their thoughtful ideas and visions, and demonstrating their support for IATEFL. We would also like to thank so many of you for participating in, or viewing, the hustings and for voting.
Chistopher will take up his new role at the IATEFL Annual General Meeting to be held in April.
Other members to join the Board of IATEFL trustees in April are Andy Hockley as in-coming SIG Representative, and Georgia Papamichailidou as in-coming Chair of the Digital Committee.
With the awful increase in global conflicts, and in particular the terrible humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, we felt it was important to be open and clear on IATEFL’s position, the reasons behind it, and our desire to best support the English language teaching profession around the world.
Perhaps the best starting point is to say that, as with all of our members, we abhor the use of violence and the human suffering of peoples for whatever reason, wherever they take place in the world, whatever their race, nationality, religion, creed, gender or other characteristic. This is clearly something we can all agree on.
Each circumstance and tragedy raises understandable outrage from members, often with varying views on the events, and often with a sense of helplessness and a question of ‘what can I do?’ As a board of trustees we have all been affected by these feelings ourselves as individuals, but then there is a question of whether we can speak for the entirety of our membership in a constructive and consistent way in every conflict, and which all members feel they can associate themselves with. Do we have the knowledge and understanding of each global event in order to say anything other than that we abhor violence? This challenge has been tested more than ever with the current situation in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and we have received heartfelt, emotional and at times angry comments from members from a range of perspectives. These, of course, make us continually reflect on what is the right thing to do, whether we have taken the right path, what more we can or should do, whilst being faithful to our guiding principles and aims for all our members. We have done this with the best intentions, and have aimed to draw a line between our own feelings and what the association should do and say. We are sorry if some feel we should have taken a different path, and sincerely hope that this article can shine a light on our intentions and actions.
As trustees the foundation for our actions, or inactions as some might claim, are the association’s published policies, which have been carefully drafted over many years. The most pertinent of these is our ‘Mission, goals and practices’. It states that:
We feel strongly that all ELT professionals should be respected and that everyone has the right to be treated fairly. We aim to be an inclusive association which welcomes diversity and respectful debate. In our own practices and policies, we act in ways that encourage this diversity and professional discussion. We oppose discrimination of any kind in ELT, as outlined in our Code of Conduct. We do not, however, get involved in specific campaigns, issues, or politics, at a local, national or international level, and do not favour or prioritise the needs of one group of teachers over another. Our aim, therefore, is to provide a forum where educators from anywhere in the world can come together to learn from each other and to offer mutual professional support.
Resulting from this, IATEFL has seen its role as being focused on issues specifically relating to, or affecting, the English language teaching profession, with an aim of being as inclusive of all views, perspectives and circumstances as possible, and within a community founded on respect of others. It has not historically made statements on global events, including conflicts and wars.
At the start of 2022 IATEFL did, however, issue a statement on Ukraine when it was invaded.
IATEFL’s thoughts are with all those caught up in the current war in Ukraine We wish to stand in support of all IATEFL members, as well as IATEFL Associate teaching associations, who oppose and condemn this conflict not of their own making, wherever they are located. IATEFL is a global association dedicated to international cooperation, education, exchange and understanding. We believe now, as much as ever, these values are vitally important.
Following this, IATEFL has continued to be an inclusive association, working with teachers and teaching associations in Ukraine, and also in Russia and Belarus where teachers might not have influence over the actions of their country, and might not agree with the stance of their country’s leadership, but with our focus being on supporting English teachers wherever they are.
We are, sadly, very much aware of current conflicts in many parts of the world such as Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, Congo to name but a few, as well as in and around Gaza. We are sure we speak for all of our members around the world when we reiterate our abhorrence of violence, war and human suffering in each and all of these conflicts. Our hearts go out to those affected directly, and indirectly. We have, and will continue to, support teachers and teaching associations in every part of the world, and this includes our IATEFL Associate teaching associations PATEFL and ETAI.
We would therefore like to reiterate and extend the sentiments expressed in the above statement, originally made in 2022 relating to Ukraine, that we unreservedly oppose and condemn violence against others for whatever reason, and remain dedicated to international cooperation, education, exchange and understanding. This includes all those caught up in current conflicts around the world. We consider this a timeless statement that reflects our position on all armed conflicts, regardless of who is involved. We also ask all members to continue to treat each other with respect, which is surely the basis for, not only our global community, but for the world as a whole.
