Madrassa English Language Teacher Training Program (MELTT)

Program Description

The Madrassa English Language Teacher Training Program was a blended online and in-person teacher training program supporting madrassa English teachers in India to develop as professionals and teach English in English using learner-centered, communicative methods.

Through MELTT, World Learning aimed to increase the capacity and effectiveness of madrassa English language teachers and teacher trainers in India, support inclusive education of students and professional development of teachers, and promote interactive, learner-centered education practices. Participants of the program completed two self-paced online courses developed by National Geographic Learning: English for Teaching and Professional Knowledge for English Language Teachers. Peer Learning Hubs (PLH) integrated experiential learning, practical activities, and reflection into the online courses. They supported teachers taking the online courses and provided a professional learning community for teachers to interact with as they completed the curriculum. In this iteration, World Learning supported the professional development of four coaches, 40 teacher trainers, and 166 madrassa teachers in India, enabling them to increase their competency in teaching English using communicative, learner-centered methods and enhance the learning experience and English fluency of students in India. 

The second phase of the MELTT Program, referred to as Professional Skills in ELT and Teacher Training, was a blended learning program designed for MELTT alumni who were well-prepared to further develop as teacher trainers. Through this program, World Learning aimed to strengthen the abilities of 60 MELTT alumni teachers, building their capacity to train over 600 English teachers to use more communicative and learner-centered methods in the classroom. The program had three stages: stage one was six weeks of virtual review and practical application of English language teaching pedagogy; stage two was a six-day in-person workshop introducing teacher training design and delivery skills; and stage three was a three-month teacher training practicum run with virtual support. As a result of this additional investment in the madrassa community, madrassa English teachers produced tested workshop plans for facilitating successful teacher training workshops; trained teachers in their communities by conducting these workshops; and got the opportunity to improve their workshops with feedback from U.S.-based training experts.