We launched our global publication, ‘Innovations in pre-service education and training for English language teachers’, edited by Julian Edge and Steve Mann in India in February 2014. The two editors undertook a six-city book tour, after delivering the first joint plenary at the Teacher Educator Conference 2014 in Hyderabad.
Julian Edge visited Chennai (25 February), Bangalore (26 February) and Pune (28 February), while Steve Mann delivered talks in Delhi (24 February), Kolkata (26 February) and Chandigarh (28 February).
At each stop the editors met with a large number of enthusiastic audience comprising in teacher educators, English teachers and trainee teachers. The focus of volume on pre-service teacher education and training (PRESETT) of English language teachers chimed particularly with the audience as PRESETT tends to be a neglected area within the wider field of ELT.
In Delhi, Steve Mann was the keynote speaker at the ELTAI Delhi chapter’s annual conference and the book was launched at the end of the lecture. In Kolkata the book was launched by Dr Chhanda Ray, Director SCERT, West Bengal, followed by a talk on “Innovations in PRESETT” by Steve Mann. The Kolkata event saw a full house of more than 80 inquisitive participants ranging from accomplished teacher trainers, current teachers and trainee teachers. The book event in Chandigarh was co-hosted by the Regional Institute of English, attracted over a 100 people and the book received excellent press coverage in the local press.
Julian Edge kicked off his leg of the lecture tour in our Chennai library, with the book being launched by Pooja Kulkarni, State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Mission, Tamil Nadu followed by an interactive lecture. Elsewhere in Bengaluru, Mohammad Mohsin (Commissioner for Public Instruction, Karnataka) launched the book and Julian Edge’s presentation was very well received by the audience, majority of them being B Ed students. In Pune, the lanch was well attended as well where the local press also wrote about the book.
This book is part of British Council’s ‘Innovations in…’ series. The series aims to bring to the reader a range of ideas and practices in English language teaching (ELT), and to stimulate new thinking and experimentation, by providing accounts of innovative experiences from a range of international contexts.
The book is available for free download on our website. For more information on our research and other publications visit this link