Seminar on raising awareness of grammar among teachers

[sajiv]

Seminar on raising awareness of grammar among teachers

MADURAI: A five-day residential seminar on 'Bringing Grammar to life in the upper primary classroom' was inaugurated here on Monday. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan State Project Director R. Venkatesan inaugurated the programme, organised by The British Council in association with the A. S. Hornby Educational Trust, U.K.

Thirty teachers from Government schools from each district in the State, who were sponsored by SSA are participating in the programme. They in turn are expected to train their counterparets in their respective districts. The participants, along with Block Resource Teacher Educators, would be taking the programme to at least 60,000 teachers.

Talking to The Hindu, Alison Barret, Head, State Partnerships, Project English, British Council, said that the seminar was aimed at raising the awareness of teachers on how to use practical activities and techniques to teach grammar and accuracy in large classes and English teachers.

"Unlike other subjects, teachers struggle with teaching grammar and this seminar focuses on how to teach it through songs and games in large classes and how to supplement textbook and resources from the known surroundings while teaching."

Two representatives each from English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, Regional Institute of English, Bangalore are participating in the seminar and they are expected to work with Adrian Tennant, a senior English language-teaching expert, to develop reading materials and conduct workshops, Ms. Alison said.

Mr. Adrian, who conducts the seminar, said that the aim was to raise awareness among teachers to read things critically and we are following eclectic method of teaching with a multi-pronged approach.

The aim of this trust, established by late A.S. Hornby in 1968, was to promote English studies and provide funds for seminars and courses on ELT from Ratna Sagar, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press form part of the programme.