Masum Billah :
With the slogan ‘Cooperate teachers, empower teachers, English Teachers’ Association of Bangladesh’ (ETAB) has come into being in the educational arena in general and ELT field particular. It envisions to empower all English teachers of Bangladesh enabling them to teach English effectively and interestingly and to establish a strong network among the teachers of the entire globe. Being its birth in the 21st century it wants to empower all English practitioners in Bangladesh equally irrespective of their professional stance, ethnicity and social groups through the improvement of professional and leadership skills so that they can meet the needs of 21st century English education and achieve SDG 4.
The principal objectives of ETAB are- (i) To foster brotherhood and fraternity among the teachers of all levels (primary, secondary, tertiary including general, technical and madrasah education) (ii)To establish a professional network among the teachers of all levels (iii)Decentralize leadership and practice shared leadership (iv)Improve English teaching and learning practices across the country (v)Ensure professional development and empowerment of all teachers irrespective of gender , race , faith and ethnicity (vi)To help young and novice English and other teachers grow professionally (vii) Ensure overall development of EL learners
ETAB central executive committee consists of president, three vice presidents who head three important wings such as professional development wing, research and publication wing, primary education development wing respectively. It also gives much importance to empower the female teachers of all categories and this unit is headed by a team leader. Similarly, madrasa (religious school) teachers receive huge importance from ETAB which is also guided by another team leader. The activities and initiatives of ETAB stretch around the country by the real representation of root level teachers who basically witness negligence in the society. Hence, executive committee members have been drawn from all parts of Bangladesh that claim ETAB’s specialty as no such structural pattern is practiced in any teacher association. It truly believes in empowerment of rural teachers of primary and secondary level.
Research and Publication Wing of ETAB conducts research all the year round on different educational issues such as public examination, assessment, causes of students’ absence, dropout, etc—-as our members get scattered across the country in schools, colleges and madrasas, they collect issues of research and conduct research. Professional Development Wing is comprised of a group of trainers who conduct training on pedagogy and language all the year round, both online and offline. They also work on different kinds of assessment with particular emphasis on formative and summative assessment. Madrasa and Technical Teacher Development & Empowerment Wing strives to really bring the madrasa teachers into fore and realize their potentials for utilizing in the greater interest of the nation and establishing a real bridge between the general stream and madrasa teachers. Primary Teacher Development and Empowerment Wing puts true emphasis on the development of the teachers of this level which ETAB considers the most significant level of education as these teachers develop the base of our future leaders. One or two formal trainings cannot ensure the professional development and honing the skills of teachers. They need constant observation and engagement that ETAB promises to do. The Female Teachers’ Wing of ETAB mobilizes female teachers across the country, keep in touch with them regularly, arranges regular professional development events for them in consultation with the team leader, invite all the female teachers to stand on a common platform and help them come up with their own problems and share those with the female colleagues and find out solutions.
ETAB believes and practices shared leadership. On the basis of this principle ETAB distributes leadership across the country ranging from Dhaka to the remotest parts of the country. Leaders have been identified in the divisional, regional, district, upazila and even in union/village level who cooperation with each other and directly get linked with the central ETAB executive committee. These leaders hold monthly meeting with the teachers and educational institutions of their respective areas run training, workshops, and seminars all the year round. Better performing leaders have been accommodated in the central executive committee so that they can take part in decision making process. The strategy of ETAB accommodates one international conference every year to strengthen the global network of teachers while one national/regional conference will also take place along with training, seminar, webinar, workshop, symposium, and discussion that must go all the year round.
Very recently ETAB has introduced ‘Language Club’ to include more and more teachers in the association and to extend the direct benefit of the association to the teachers scattered across every nook and corner of the country. They have really very little scope for practicing listening and speaking skills. In the classroom they have very little scope, outside the classroom they don’t have. ETAB Language Club will give members opportunities to practice English in a relaxed, informal and different environment and setting. It is contagious, if teachers speak good English, it’s a great motivation for the students to speak and follow their teachers. So, teachers need to do it first and this is why ETAB Language Club.
ETAB members will have great time to sharpen their English skills, especially listening and speaking in a total English environment. ETAB promises the professional development of teachers making them truly engaged in real life practices.
(Masum Billah works as an education expert in BRAC and is President, ETAB).
