About this session
As with much of the world, teachers across East Asia are responding to significant changes in education and teaching, particularly in light of the impact of Covid. For this initial panel discussion, we have gathered practising teachers from across this diverse region to share their experiences of teaching before, during and after the pandemic, identify some of the challenges of teaching during this period of change, and suggest some practical steps that teachers, in East Asia and indeed across the globe, can take to develop themselves as professionals for their own benefit and that of their learners.
Watch the recording below.
About the panelists
Panelist 1: Ha Anh Phuong (Vietnam) is both a high school teacher, and a politician. After graduating from her Master's course from Hanoi University, she decided to return to her hometown - a mountainous area - to be an English teacher. Her teaching methods focus on students’ qualification and ability, the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, and 21st century skills. In 2020, Phuong was one of the Top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize by Varkey Foundation, partner of UNESCO for her great contribution. In 2021, Phuong was selected as a member of the Vietnam National Assembly and in the top 11 excellent South East Asian teachers (being awarded the Princess Thailand Maha Chakri Award).
Panelist 2: Ilan Enverga (Philippines) is a K-12 educator & SDG advocate. Through teacher training, curriculum realignment and student empowerment initiatives, he implemented an innovative education programme at his school, ISBB, that infuses real-world civic engagement into interdisciplinary, SDG-driven, project-based learning across preschool, elementary & high school academics. His experience with private & public education, as well as in local & international education, have given him the unique lens to redesign education to solve our biggest systemic problems. He is also a Focal Point at UNESCO’s SDG4 Youth Network.
Panelist 3: Tian Renxiang (China) has been working as an English teacher and the headteacher in the largest migrant children school in Guiyang, southwestern China. He is also appointed as the lecturer of English teaching training program in rural areas of Guizhou province. His interested researching fields include English education, education policy and shadow education.
Panelist 4 Patcharin Kunna (aka Rabbit) (Thailand) started as an English teacher in 2009. Now, she is a deputy of the Foreign Language Department at Damrongratsongkroh School in Chiang Rai, Thailand. She has worked as a Thai Master Trainer for the Regional English Teaching Centre (Bootcamp) Project, a large-scale teacher development project in Thailand, since 2016 and often shares her classroom practices on several training programmes, webinars and social media. She loves motivating students to learn English by creating a friendly environment in her classroom.
Moderator: Davide Guarini Gilmartin is the British Council’s Senior Academic Manager for English Programmes, Viet Nam and Indonesia. He is currently responsible for planning, implementing and overseeing large-scale English language teacher education programmes in partnership with government and other stakeholders. He has more than 20 years of experience in the ELT sector and holds a Trinity TESOL certificate and a Cambridge Delta diploma.