We work with many ministries to help achieve their goals in the fields of education and training. See our examples and case study below.
- We work closely with the Ministry of Education on many school projects involving teacher training.
- We have worked with the Ministry of Higher Education and trained English teachers to deliver English classes to pre-sessional students.
- We have worked for the Ministry of Economic Development and developed a curriculum and trained English teachers for the Sri Lankan Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management.
- We have trained English teachers for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development in the vocational and technical education sector.
Council for Business with Britain Teacher Training Project
| Partner | Ministry of Education and Council for Business with Britain |
| Length | Six months, annually |
| Scale | 1,000 teachers, 57 mentors, 100,000 pupils |
About the project
Since 2005 the Council for Business with Britain (CBB) has worked with the British Council to deliver its successful and well regarded English Language Teaching (ELT) Project. The overall goal of this project is to improve the English language skills of pupils entering the workforce. This is achieved by training teachers in learner-centered, communicative methodology through a distance learning course. Over six months, teachers study written materials, implement new ideas within their classes and build up a portfolio. The teachers attend sessions at Regional English Support Centres (RESCs) led by British Council trained mentors who give guidance, support and feedback on classroom observations.
Advantages of the project
The project benefits both the trainers and mentors: training mentors to facilitate the CBB distance training course and training teachers through the CBB distance training course.
The project has trained a range of mentors from the Ministry of Education’s Regional English Support Centres (RESCs) ensuring a wide geographical coverage across Sri Lanka. The mentors deliver teacher training to teachers in their areas using a distance learning course (branded as ‘the CBB distance training course’) which leads to the internationally recognised University of Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT). Teachers following the training also receive a CBB / British Council certificate.
Reviews of the English Language Teaching project
One of the mentors commented "The TKT course gives the teachers an opportunity to improve their teaching skills and obtain a world recognised certificate as well. They have learnt a lot and improved their teaching skills. It is not only them, but their students have also benefitted."
Another mentor commented "As a mentor I am very confident and I have four years’ experience as a CBB mentor for TKT now. I would like to thank the CBB and the British Council for helping me to become a confident mentor. ... It is a valuable gift for me and the teachers that I train."
One of the teachers commented "I have now realised that language learning is all about learning through doing – the children do a better job now. We used to only teach the text books, but now we can also include activities which motivate the students."