About the session
This panel discussion looks at different challenges that schools, teachers, and learners have faced around the world in the past six months, as well as exploring how education systems and learning is changing in response to these challenges. We discuss how the current changes may eventually inform longer-term strategies for schools and language learning in the future.
About the panellists
Georgia K. Papamichailidou has been in the EFL industry since 2005. She is a graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece and holds an MA in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language from the University of Birmingham, UK. Coming from a broad background of teaching English and teacher training, she has an extensive experience in delivering professional development sessions publicly across Europe and online. At present, Georgia is the Assistant Director of Studies at Kaplan International English Bournemouth, where she specializes in exam preparation as well as teacher training courses. In 2017 she was awarded with the Kaplan Way Leadership award for creating and delivering a new high-quality course based on CLIL Teaching Methodology.
Graham Stanley is the British Council’s English for Educational Systems Lead for the Americas, based in Mexico City. He is author of ‘Language Learning and Technology’ (CUP, 2013) and editor of ‘Remote Teaching’ (British Council, 2019). Graham has an M.Ed. in Educational Technology and ELT (Manchester) and is newsletter editor for the IATEFL LTSIG.
Hala Ahmed is a highly experienced academic manager and teacher trainer with a strong background in communicative teaching, materials development, learning technologies and course design. In more than ten years with the British Council, Hala has been a teacher, a teacher trainer, a teacher mentor and an academic manager of a several English programmes including national and regional projects to support refugees to access higher education, build the capacity of the school teachers and teachers educators, develop and roll out the English for Interfaith Dialogue programme, strengthening teacher networks and communities of practice in MENA. She has been a speaker for several times in international conferences such as in IATEFL, IMMLE, CIES, NileTESOL and TESOL Arabia She is a certified International Quality Control Monitor for educational assessment and a certified Project Management Specialist. Aside from that, Hala enjoys practising sports, playing the guitar and singing.
Kamini Taneja is an academic manager based in West India and has worked for the British Council for more than 15 years. Kamini has extensive teaching and training experience and has worked in India and overseas. She has the experience of working on a number of large-scale government projects in schools, higher-education and conflict-affected areas to build resilience (Jordan) and in the B2B sector. Kamini has gained a number of qualifications, including the Cambridge Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (DELTA), Masters in Leadership and Management from Open University, UK and Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA). She has also done the e-moderating certificate course from the British Council and is a CELTA tutor. Kamini has presented at many conferences including TECH 17 (Vishakhapatnam), TEC 15 (Hyderabad), NILE TESOL, 2014 (Egypt), ATEL, 2013 (Lebanon), IATEFL 2012 (Glasgow) and delivered a number of webinars to internal and external audiences. Kamini loves to write with an ink pen, and is a collector of pencils and notebooks.