Support for English teachers and learners

Self Access Learning allows people to learn English from the comfort of their own home. By offering innovative and fun learning materials that are accessible through television, radio, home computers and mobile phones, SAL helps to engage learners and support more formal learning methods.

We have a range of  resources, online tools and materials, including:

• Learn English SMS service 
• Learn English radio - Obla Air 
• Websites 
• Apps. 

Our English for Education Systems initiative involves us working closely with teachers to raise standards of teaching English. We work directly with teachers and indirectly via teacher trainers. 

We’re making a difference by:

• developing and delivering face-to-face and online teacher training and trainer training programmes in the secondary, vocational and university education sectors
• organising teacher training courses for English teachers in vocational institutes and providing them with an opportunity to take the Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) 
• supporting professional networks such as DELTS (Developing English Language Teaching Skills)
• carrying out research into English teaching and learning in the vocational and university education sectors.

The principal aim of English Projects is to organise activities that improve English language teaching, learning and assessment.

We work with relevant partners to achieve these goals, and we are always looking for new funding partners to increase the number of activities we can organise.

We develop strong relationships with our partners and they support our activities by attending meetings, offering advice and sitting on committees.

Partners typically include:

• funding partners, such as large businesses with corporate social responsibility funds
• the Ministry of General Education 
• universities and other higher education institutions in Yemen
• private language schools
• national associations of language teachers and professional networks
• ELT sector, including publishers and consultants
• media: TV and radio stations, newspapers and magazines
• mobile service providers and internet portal owners.

RESEARCH

Research is another key area of our work in English Projects. We carry out tests, organise surveys and gather feedback and information to demonstrate how effectively our activities have delivered their intended impact. 

For example, we are able to assess learning impacts by noting people’s changing behaviour and attitudes. Do people know more following the activities we put on? Do they do things differently as a result of our work? Do they think differently about the UK and the British Council as a result of our actions?

We aim to promote public awareness of the British Council’s work in this area by:

• working with the local British Council communications team, ensuring that the English for Education Systems (EES) and Self Access Learning (SAL) activities we carry out are known about both externally and internally
• notifying local and national press and other media of upcoming activities
• writing articles for national ELT journals
• contributing to newsletters for local language teachers’ associations
• speaking at national conferences
• contributing to the monthly internal Global English News
• seeking opportunities to present the British Council’s activity in EES and SAL to the public.

We also organise and manage independent consultancies for ministries, state-owned and private organisations wishing to carry out both small and large-scale research or reviews of English language teaching and learning.