Arba Minch University (AMU) hosted a professional development workshop for 32 primary school English teachers on October 10, 2026, at Video Conference Room, Main Campus. The workshop was part of the British Council-supported project, Teaching English in Context: Empowering Ethiopian Teachers in Challenging Settings, a three-month nationwide initiative launched simultaneously in five cities: Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Bahir Dar, Jimma, and Arba Minch. The project aims to train 160 English teachers directly and reach approximately 1,600 more through cascading training, with a £13,000 grant from the British Council. Click here to see more photos.
Opening the workshop, Mr. Yoseph Feleke, President of the Ethiopian English Language Professionals’ Association (EELPA), emphasized sustained professional learning, institutional collaboration, and improvements in classroom practice.
Mr. Abraham Amsalu, Head of the Arba Minch City Administration Education Department, highlighted the need to strengthen instructional methods and teachers’ confidence in classroom communication.
Dr. Serekebirhan Takele, AMU Director of Academic Program Evaluation and Implementation, speaking on the event reaffirmed the University’s commitment to teacher development and educational quality.
Dr. Adanech Zemede, EELPA’s focal person and project coordinator at AMU, highlighted the importance of inclusive, learner-centered, and context-sensitive teaching, particularly in multilingual, large-class, and resource-constrained settings. The training addressed trauma-sensitive teaching, gender-responsive pedagogy, disability inclusion, multilingual approaches, and the integration of digital technologies and 21st century skills.
In a virtual session titled Adopting the British Council Resources, British Council trainer Linda Ruas introduced 14 categories of resources available to English teachers and demonstrated how to access and use them through the Council’s online platforms. She also discussed responsible artificial intelligence use, emphasizing privacy, transparency, accountability, bias awareness, and critical evaluation.
Participants Birtukan Abre and Yaekob Anjulo described the workshop as relevant to their classroom experiences and recommended extending similar opportunities to teachers of other subjects. The initiative will continue through online follow-up activities, peer collaboration, school-based observation, and cascading training. Through its collaboration with EELPA and the British Council, AMU is contributing to the continued strengthening of EELPA’s existing South Ethiopia Chapter and the expansion of professional development opportunities for teachers.
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