British Council invites primary school teacher to IATEFL
LUCKNOW :The British Council has invited a government-run primary school teacher to attend the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) conference. The conference will take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom from April 1-5.
Akansha Saxena, an assistant teacher in Primary School Agahpur, Bisrakh block, Gautam Buddh Nagar who has been serving the basic education department since 2010, got the invitation letter to take part in the conference with 3,000 other professionals from around the world. She is among the selected six people from India to attent the conference.
“On December 9, a panel interviewed me through Skype. It was a detailed interview for about 30 minutes. Finally, on December 18, I got the invitation letter from British High Commission to attend IATEFL 2019. In this international conference, more than 3,000 educators participate from more than 130 countries,” she said.
Akansha who did schooling from Government Hindi Medium School and graduated from Dayalbagh University Agra, said the selection process was tough. “Being a Hindi medium student, I had to work hard to learn English. With the help of my teachers and strong determination, it took me six months to have the competency over the language. So English is not only a language but the most beautiful experience for me,” she said.
Initially Akansha was posted in Bareilly then and in 2013 she got transferred to Gautam Buddh Nagar. “Since my school days I wanted to work for the society. After joining as a teacher, I did realize this is the best way to empower and uplift the underprivileged students. Since then I have a single philosophy
› On December 9, a panel interviewed me through Skype. It was a detailed interview for about 30 minutes. Finally, on December 18, I got the invitation letter from British High Commission to attend IATEFL 2019 AKANSHA SAXENA, asst teacher in Primary School Agahpur
in life about believing in whatever resources you have and give your best wherever you are,” she said.
To create a natural environment to learn English without any pressure, Akansha had established English learning club at her block in April 2018 where 50 government teachers come on weekly basis and it is completely free of charge. The aim is to empower teachers, share knowledge and good teaching methodology. “The success of the club gave me the confidence to set it up for the other blocks of Gautam Buddh Nagar,” she said.
But the journey was not easy. On August 24, 2018 in a road accident, Akansha lost her mother and her father was referred to AIIMS. She was the only one to take care of her father.
So it was a huge challenge for her to attend the long awaited training for getting selected for the British Council event. She chose to go for the training and as they say fortune favours the brave, she was picked for the conference.