Advanced Teacher Training Program led by European academicians held at Chitkara University
The four-day Advanced CLIL International Training Program commenced at Chitkara University, Punjab, on July 22, 2019. The training program, which will continue till July 25, 2019, has been organized for in-service teachers from Government and Private schools of Pune, Pondicherry, Punjab and Manipal. Total 14 teachers from the above states are actively participating in the international teacher training program, being held at Chitkara University, Punjab Campus. The 4th issue of CLIL@India Newsreel prepared by Manipal Academy of Higher Education; and 3rd edition of CLILNewsline drafted by Chitkara University was released by the dignitaries and Host University, during the inaugural ceremony held before the commencement of the training program.
CLIL@India is a consortium of 7 universities from across India and abroad, including Symbiosis International University, Pune; Pondicherry University; Manipal Academy of Higher Education; UCLM Spain; University of Latvia; University of Milan and Chitkara University, Punjab, India. Speaking about the International Training Program, Hon’ble Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice-Chancellor, Chitkara University, said, “Chitkara University has organized the Advanced CLIL Training to facilitate gaining insights, transfer and exchange of knowledge of how CLIL is practiced in other parts of the world, so that the participating teachers get at the forefront of new learning techniques, and stay ahead of the curve.”
The International Teacher Training Program opened with a traditional lamp lighting ceremony to invoke Goddess Saraswati, followed by a keynote address by Chief Guest, Prof. Minati Panda from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. The session elaborately contributed to understanding the pedagogical concepts and importance of bilingual education for content and language development, while also giving a glimpse into the role of languages and CLIL@India which can aid the medium of instructions at various levels of education.
Dr. Sangeeta Pant, Dean, Chitkara College of Education, Chitkara University, Punjab; presented a glimpse of the course content for the upcoming 4-days interactive workshop. Educators & Experts – Dr. Vaishali Jundre, Deputy Director, ELTIS-SIFIL, Pune; Dr. Parul Sood, Assistant Professor, Chitkara College of Education; Ms. Amrutha Bellur Yathish, Research Associate, CLIL@India Project; Ms. Eeshani Kochhar, Research Associate, CLIL@India Project; Dr. Luciana Pedrazzini, Assistant Professor, Dept of Foreign Language and Literature, Universita degli Studi di, Milano, University of Milan; and Dr. Andrea Nava, Department of Foreign Language and Literature, Universita degli Studi di, Milano, University of Milan; conducted the Advanced Training on Content and Language Integration as a pedagogy, while introducing and sharing their individual CLIL Practices. The expert sessions contributed to understanding how education crosses the language barriers in a real-time scenario with the help of CLIL@India initiatives.
During the days that follow, CLIL experts will conduct group work activities to help participants create a mind map sharing information about CLIL methodology, take feedback and exchange information regarding the use CLIL methodology in their respective schools, and facilitate interviews between the participants to analyze CLIL techniques currently in use. The Training Program will culminate with the participants drafting a CLIL lesson plan, using material from NCERT textbooks, under the guidance of experts; and later present it in groups to get expert feedback.
