Enhancing teacher professional development using mobile technologies in a large-scale project: a case study of Bangladesh

Mobile technologies have been influencing the field of education including language learning for almost a decade. The literature on mobile technologies for education reports a number of case studies that examine various aspects of mobile learning. However, the use of mobile technologies for teacher professional development, particularly in developing economies, is rarely reported. This talk will present a case study of the English in Action (EIA) project, a UK government funded English language development project in Bangladesh, and its use of mobile technologies which not only provides teachers with the ‘trainer in the pocket’ that helps them achieve pedagogical changes in the classroom but also serves as a tool for improving their own English language competence. In this talk, I will show examples of how EIA as a large-scale language development project has successfully employed mobile technologies to promote more communicative language teaching practices in primary and secondary schools in Bangladesh, taking into account the socio-cultural context of the country. A particular focus of the talk will be on the design and implementation of audio and video teacher professional development materials for MP3 players (Phase II) and mobile phones (Phase III). I will demonstrate how EIA has innovatively used mobile technologies for English language teacher professional development by meeting the needs of classroom teachers. I will also present implications of the EIA project for English language teacher development projects intending to deploy mobile technologies in both developed and developing countries.