Page 11 - ELG1601 Feb Issue 433

ELmiddle east supplement
February 2016 Page 11

Skype comes to Libya’s rescue

Ben Gray reports on an innovative way to deliver British Council
training to English language teachers in the war-torn country

espite turbulence and
instability in the region,
Dthe British Council
office in Libya’s capital Tripoli
is still operating with a limited
service. One of the services
we’re still delivering is our
four-week Teaching Knowl-
edge Test (TKT) course for
teachers, which, in a change
from how it normally is pro-
vided, is being delivered via
Skype video conferencing at
various universities – and has
been for the last eight months.
We first came up with the
Skype idea last year, draw-
ing on the example of the Plan
Ceibal project in Uruguay, which
provides English language teach-
ing to schools using the same Courtesy Ben Gray, British Council Libya
approach, and it was a solution to
the team and myself not being in
Libya (see the July 2015 Gazette,
page 15 for Plan Ceibal). It’s
something we may have done
at some point anyway as, when REMOTE CONTROL Misrata University holds British Council English classes delivered via Skype
we were actually based in Libya
(most of the ELT team are now jector or one of those big LCD it’s designed to work in rela- training in this way, it’s about
in Tunis, Tunisia), we were pretty TVs. As for the equipment, it tively low-tech environments. following it up with a more
much restricted to Tripoli. Using really does vary depending on the So although there have been long-term programme – simply
Skype at least allows us to do university and its resources. The problems with the connection because the universities are very
teacher training in a number of international trainer, the person we still manage. keen to carry on working with us
other cities in the region. who’s doing most of the training, So far the feedback has been in this way. They like the model
The TKT training via Skype, is in the UK, but we’ve also used very good as our teachers like the and the face-to-face element that
which started last October, takes a trainer based in Turkey. They fact that they can communicate Skype provides.
place at various universities in log on to Skype for the lesson – with the trainer via Skype, ask- Even though there is uncer-
the city. Each university pro- which is about an hour and a half ing questions and getting them tainty in Libya, there are still
vides the internet connection and per day – with the local trainer answered in real time. That has long-term opportunities for the
the room and prints the materi- in the room. After the session is been the reason why this training British Council in the region.
als – the British Council’s TKT over the local trainer continues programme has been successful That’s why it’s important more
Essentials course. The Ministry with more training. – unlike others where there has than ever that we deliver and
of Higher Education pays for the Of course there have been been no face-to-face contact. In build trust with our partners by
teachers to do the exam at the challenges, a big one being the the past, I’ve tried to do pure dis- coming up with new ideas to
end of the training. internet connection. It’s often tance learning with Libyans but make this happen. n
We tend to have about 35 to slow, and sometimes cuts off in they don’t like it very much. They
forty teachers in a room set up the middle of a session. But the need the face-to-face contact. Ben Gray is British Council
around a webcam and a big pro- good thing about Skype is that Now that we’re doing this Libya director of English

Blend helps Council Connect

Ben Gray looks at another blended learning programme in the Maghreb

n Libya we deliver LearnEng- the teachers deliver their courses course. Students also like the and use with their students.
lish Connect programmes at they refer students to the appropri- interactive element – the fact LearnEnglish Connect is
Ithe Universities of Misrata ate part of the online course and they immediately know if their being piloted in Libya at the
and Zawia, and we will expand ask them to complete the relevant answers are right or wrong. moment. However, in Morocco
to Omar Mokhtar, Sebha and module. In Libya it tends to be Both teachers and students it has been delivered since 2013
Zliten Universities. We deliver topic based. So when a particular like it as they can use their and has reached almost 10,000
pilots for 150 students in each topic is covered in the face-to-face face-to-face lessons to focus university students at four uni-
university with a view to scaling course – for example, travel and on speaking, while the online versities. It is also currently
up after they finish at the end of tourism, or using English in social course gives students practice in being delivered in Bahrain,
the year. situations, the teacher instructs her reading, writing and listening. Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya and
The way LearnEnglish is or his students to cover the rele- At the end of the course the Tunisia, and is just about to
delivered in these universities vant exercises online. The teacher students take the British Council launch in Algeria.
is quite standard. Students take then follows up in the next les- Aptis test. This provides them Results from monitoring and
a placement test and are placed son, possibly by scheduling some with a valid and reliable state- evaluation in Morocco indicate
at the appropriate level of the further supplementary activities ment of their English level based that university partners find it a
British Council’s online Path- related to the topic. on the CEFR and enables them low-cost flexible solution to deliv-
ways course, from elementary to Teachers can monitor their and their teachers to check their ering English to their students.
upper-intermediate. class’s progress on the online progress. Aptis is delivered com- For partners, co-branding with the
Students attend face-to-face course and ensure all students pletely online and consists of a British Council is very important.
courses which follow the univer- are completing the relevant sec- core language test and then four Students find the online
sity’s English curriculum. The tions out of class and that they tests focusing on each skill. course easy to use and like the
Pathways course supports this as are on track. Feedback from Also popular with students, variety of exercises and quizzes,
teachers link the contents of the the teachers gathered so far teachers and universities is the as well as being able to work at
curriculum with the contents of indicates that both they and the test certificate the students receive their own pace. There has been a
the online course. students enjoy and feel that they stating their level, co-branded by low dropout rate so far, an aver-
The British Council provides benefit from the programme. the British Council and the univer- age of 16 per cent as opposed to
initial training to the teach- Students like the range of dif- sity. This gives students low-cost 60 per cent for British Council
ers – many of whom have no ferent activities and being able certification of their English level online English courses.
experience of online or blended to complete them in their own which they can use following Using LearnEnglish Connect
learning – in using LearnEnglish time. The fact that the exercises graduation to support applications has encouraged universities to
Connect with their students. The are linked to their face-to-face for jobs or future study. look at blended and other digital
Council also provides teachers courses and that teachers are There are Aptis preparation teaching and learning solutions
and partners with ongoing peda- monitoring them means they materials embedded in the online for other (non-English) topics, and
gogical and technical support. are motivated to do the work, course and accessible to teachers also encouraged students to pursue
So, in Misrata and Zawia, as in contrast to a purely online which they can print off or adapt other study opportunities online. n