British Council and INTO University Partnerships collaborate on 'NILE Initiative' to provide English language tuition to thousands of Rwandan teachers
The program has supported 2500 local secondary school teachers in Rwanda, who received comprehensive English language teacher training from Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE), a division of the INTO Group.
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Mike Riley, the Deputy Director of NILE, stated: "Working with teachers throughout Rwanda and supporting efforts to achieve a sustainable change in the Rwandan education system has been inspiring." Language consultants from NILE, one of the largest global providers of professional development courses for English language instruction, virtually taught the programme to students in partnership with British Council.
August 2023 saw the first group of teachers enlist in the programme, and they immediately started virtual coursework on the digital tablets that were lent to them for the duration of the initiative. In addition to participating in regular virtual classes with their e-Teacher moderators, participating learners completed self-study modules in English vocabulary and grammar, including end-of-module evaluations, using the Rwandan Education Board (REB) learning platform.
The 20-week language development program forms part of the wider STELIR (Secondary Teachers English Language Improvement Rwanda) project. STELIR is delivered in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation and implemented by British Council in partnership with Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB). STELIR aims to improve the English language proficiency of Lower Secondary Teachers in the Rwandan state education system to at least intermediate level, reaching 6,000 in-service teachers across 14 districts, plus 1,000 Lower Secondary Pre-Service teachers in training at the University of Rwanda College of Education (URCE), with the ultimate goal of improving learning opportunities for lower secondary pupils.
"Throughout the project, both learning participants and e-Teacher moderators grew in confidence," stated Rose Aylett, NILE Consultant Trainer. "By the end of the session, those teachers who had spoken very little in the first few weeks were confidently and enthusiastically speaking English with their colleagues. In a similar vein, the e-Teacher moderators I had the good fortune to collaborate with also advanced their technology skills and learned a great deal of new, practical teaching methods."
Rwandan education has experienced significant expansion and transformation in recent years, and it is now thought to be the most important investment in the country's economic future. The current education system is nearing the conclusion of a seven-year strategic plan, the primary objectives of which are to enhance education's relevance, quality, and accessibility.
"It's been an extremely productive experience engaging in live sessions with our e-Trainer throughout the training programme, enhancing our skills to deliver English language lessons effectively as teachers," stated Jean, an English language programme graduate.
"We've made great progress in our grammar, communication, and writing skills through group projects, brainstorming sessions, and conversations." Along with the participating teachers, there was a small group of local English teacher trainers who have completed the programme and gained the skills needed to support Rwandan teachers with continued English language training after the first cohorts have finished.
"They were organised, communicative, and student-centred throughout the six months I worked with the NILE team," stated Ruth Bath, Senior Trainer and STELIR Project Coordinator at British Council Rwanda. "Because of this partnership, the public education system in Rwanda currently employs a group of competent, self-assured trainers who are prepared to provide high-quality online sessions that will serve as models for the inclusive teaching methods and teaching skills they have acquired from their e-trainers." Francois, a secondary English teacher who also enrolled in the initial group of teacher candidates, talked about his experience finishing the course as a learner with visual impairments.
"At first, I was afraid of not being able to keep up with others," he stated. "But in the live meetings, the teachers actively involved me, which made the learning process approachable. I became more proficient in speaking, listening, and writing over the course, and I also developed a deeper comprehension of English concepts. My e-trainers were all inclusive, taking into account my unique learning requirements. The in-person lessons were truly inclusive, treating both myself and my other instructors fairly and offering extra assistance so that I could take part in activities with other students."
Since 1995, NILE has trained over 70,000 teachers from more than 90 different countries, supporting thousands of educational professionals across all areas of ELT from teachers at primary to tertiary level, private language schools and government ministries.
INTO University Partnerships acquired NILE in 2006. Since then, the partnership has propelled NILE's expanding global reach, providing a range of English language education and support services to educational professionals across the world. As well as providing training courses online, in the UK, and overseas, NILE is regularly involved in the development and implementation of large-scale education reform projects around the world.
NILE will continue delivering training in collaboration with the British Council in Rwanda over the coming weeks, including a second cohort of 800 trainee teachers who will complete the program in March 2024.
"We send our best wishes to the local English teachers in Rwanda as they continue to train local secondary teachers, who we know are eager to apply their newfound knowledge," says Mike Riley, the Deputy Director of NILE.
About the company: (Experts are available for media interviews) Media contact: Davinder Kumar VP, Corporate & Public Relations INTO University Partnerships davinder.kumar@intoglobal.com About us: INTO University Partnerships connects ambitious international students with leading universities in the UK, the US and Australia. Since its inception in 2005, INTO has helped more than 150,000 students from 180 countries realise their dream of achieving a degree from a world-class university.
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Organization: INTO University Partnerships
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