Since 2000 this program has initiated and supported actions to promote the English language and improve its teaching standards among children and youth from small towns and villages, thus strengthening their educational opportunities overall. The program fosters the professional development of English teachers working in small towns and rural areas as well.
“English Teaching” stimulates and develops a variety of social initiatives. Their results often surpass the initial goal, leading to the general spurring of activity in local communities. The program is aimed mostly at English language teachers working in primary schools and kindergartens based in rural areas and small towns. In the past many initiatives were organized at junior high schools, but those schools no longer exist. The program includes training sessions for teachers, coupled with the possibility of implementing projects with their pupils; it also provides help in preparing these undertakings.
Between 2000 and 2022, grant competitions addressed to small-town schools and non-governmental organizations financed 1,210 projects to organize school clubs for fans of Anglo-Saxon culture and English, create libraries with English literature and press, and form theatrical clubs. The program led to organizing numerous contests focused on Anglo-Saxon writers, culture, and history, as well as some song festivals. Children and teenagers were invited to watch English films and take part in lessons with native speakers of English. More than 74,000 pupils and nearly 5,000 teachers participated in the projects directly, and over 200,000 parents and other representatives of local communities were engaged indirectly.
The program also offers “Weekends with English Teaching,” namely methodology training for English teachers based in towns and villages with populations of up to 20,000. To date, 158 such training sessions have been organized for a total of 7,200 participants.
18 nation-wide educational meetings – English Teaching Markets – were organized for English teachers and representatives of interested institutions, organizations, schools, and publishing houses; they attracted more than 9,000 attendees. These annual meetings help expand the cooperation network of English teachers from smaller localities; they are backed up with a social media portal and regular e-news about other educational initiatives, such as grants for projects, training, or contests.
The Polish Association of Teachers of English “English Teaching” was founded in 2015, developed from the “English Teaching Ambassadors” initiative – the most active teachers participating in the program. Its main purpose is the professional development of English teachers from small towns and villages in particular, as well as advocating relevant social activity.
Between 2020 and 2022, because of the pandemic restrictions, the program offered mostly online training sessions, as well as weekly webinars held by experts and trainers in cooperation with InstaLing which attracted over 50,000 participants. Also the annual English Teaching Market meeting did not take place during that time. The 17th “English Teaching Market” meeting held in 2022 succeeded in gathering nearly 300 attendees.
English teachers who cooperate with the program were provided support in terms of methodology and techniques of remote teaching. Language projects for students, which began in September, were mostly carried out online.
The Foundation has disbursed $9,751,852, including $693,068 for the current edition of the program.