English as a school subject: learning effective practices from low level primary English language teachers

This project will focus on supporting teachers with low English skills in four ODA countries (Malawi, Mexico, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh) to teach English more effectively in the primary school sector. Working with academics, teacher educators. teachers and children in the four countries, the project will first carry out interviews and focus groups to highlight barriers to learning English in the four contexts. It will then create video content and teacher education materials drawing on real classrooms to show how a translanguaging pedagogy can be integrated into class teaching. Translanguaging pedagogy is emancipatory in that it positions students and teachers not as weak language learners and teachers but rather as emergent bilinguals who use their semiotic resources to make meaning. Although gender is not the focus of this call, and nor does it have to be, we are paying attention to gender at all points, from recruiting partners in ODA countries (2 women; 2 men), recruitment of RAs and teacher educators, recruitment of teachers and contexts, and recruitment of children. Gender is specifically written into the bid in this regard.