Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) 4th International Conference and Exhibition in Abuja was held for English Language teachers across Africa. It was on effective ways to improve teaching skills and classroom management.
The executive secretary, National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Professor Bappa Aliyu Muhammadu, stated at the end of the event.
Represented by the head of Quality Assurance, Professor Owan Enoh, the executive secretary said participants had learned better ways of teaching English that deliver outstanding results.
“The conference has helped the teachers to learn and interact with international communities.
“I believe we are all foreigners of English language because it has coded information. Except our teachers know how to teach English very well, there will be problems in our system because the poor standard of our education today can be traced to poor language teaching,’’ he said.
The founder of Africa TESOL, Dr Okon Effiong, stated that the organisation had trained 200 international and native teachers at the event on classroom and practitioner research.
“Africa TESOL has provided a platform for teachers to present papers at its international conferences and that has built their abilities.
“We have a lot of challenges, but the opportunities are more than the challenges. As we grow, I think we will bring more benefits to the English teachers in the continent,” he said.
The president of International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) Harry Kuchah called on Africans to come up with ideas to address emerging challenges in English language teaching.
