The U.S Embassy held a half-day workshop on Wednesday 26th March at Queen Elizabeth College for English language teacher trainers. This is an important stepping stone to give a better quality of education and a better level of English language to young English learners. The Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy, Virginia Blasser, told the participants that they have a vital role in shaping the future of Mauritius. ?I?m excited about the US government?s ability to bring today?s program to you because I believe that Mauritius is a very special place. The richness and diversity of your culture bring to every community member the opportunity to glimpse a larger world. As an American, it is a pleasure to share one of the Mauritian languages ? English ? with you all. Your students are the teachers who are going to prepare, influence and guide the future leaders and citizens of the country. And I believe that the development of the English language on this island is critical to that success.?

The resource person for the workshop was Robert Linsey, a Regional English Language Officer based at the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a master?s degree in the teaching of English as a second or foreign language from the University of California. Throughout the workshop, different methods used to teach English as a foreign language in today?s world were described. A video-based English Teacher Training series was shown. Robert Linsey discussed the best practices to be used with learners for whom English is either a foreign or a second language. The trainer needs to change his approach for better results with the learners at times. Often, the trainer and the teacher need to contextualize the language, matching the texts, activities, fears, hopes and attitudes with those of the country. The second step is to build language awareness. Activities in class are another important tool to make learners learn things by themselves and to help them become more capable. The use of integrated skills within a single session is also important. Besides using traditional ways of assessment, the teacher must try to find new methods. ?A bad teacher is like an open tap in the sink?, says Robert Linsey. Learners? feedback must also be taken into consideration.

?Problems are never welcome but there are ways of dealing with them?, as Robert Linsey puts it so well. Issues like how to manage a large class were also looked at. The trainer must also take into consideration the learners? strategies of learning based on their culture and their personality. The teacher must create a relationship of trust with his students and encourage group or pair work. Issues like how to form groups and how to assess group members were looked into.

With this initiative by the US Embassy, the future of English language looks brighter. The use of teaching extensions will change it from a formal and institutional routine to a more pleasant and dynamic activity! But, to achieve this, educators must have a real desire to improve their teaching methods. And all this can be made possible by bringing in a change at higher levels and by training English trainers first!