Two hundred primary and secondary school teachers attended a teacher training workshop hosted by the U.S. Embassy’s Regional English Language Office (RELO) at Tivumbeni multipurpose centre recently
The event was organised by RELO and the Department of Basic Education. A group of American specialists shared with the teachers ideas around English teaching and classroom management.
Regional English Language Officer at the U.S. Embassy, Pretoria, Kevin McCaughey, said RELO promotes English language teaching and learning in 16 countries in Southern Africa.
“In South Africa, we manage exchanges, American teachers who are placed at SA universities or high schools and we collaborate with local institutions on teacher training,” he said.
He added: “We brought these American English Language Fellows together for our “midyear” meeting, where they discuss the first half of their ten-month Fellowship and plan for the second half. We had this meeting in Tzaneen, because we had worked with a curriculum advisor before on programming and because Limpopo teachers get less opportunity for professional development than those in the Western Cape or Gauteng. Most of these American teachers have trained teachers in several countries,”.
McCaughey further said that the Americans were inspired by the positive attitude and willing participation of the South African teachers.
“We hope that the South African teachers came away with some practical ideas for putting learners in the center of the Action,” said McCaughey.
Deputy Chief Education Specialist, Sam Hlungwane, said RELO plays a very important role in empowering educators.
“We are hoping that educators were motivated and that they will implement some of the strategies they got from the workshop,” said Hlungwane.
“We are grateful for the blessing of the Department of Basic Education on this project, and they provided all the food and the organization to make this happen at the teacher training center. We think programs like this help teachers develop professionally both South African and American and strengthen the partnership between our two countries,” concluded McCaughey.
