Teacher Training Conference

Kutaisi State University English Studies Department is the author and initiator of many interesting projects. The hardworking department is very popular not only in Georgia but abroad as well. British and American experts highly appreciated the department earlier than Georgian colleagues but today it is very well known inside the country. The teacher training conference for the universities of Western Georgia was the definite proof of the department being a success.

The department has the many years of experience arranging workshops and seminars for Kutaisi school teachers either alone or with foreign colleagues. But this time it was different. The conference was held on the initiative of the head of KSU for university teachers and professors. In fact, all universities of Western Georgia (Batumi, Sukhumi, Poti, Zugdidi, Kutaisi) took part into the conference. It was attended by the guests of honour – Professors Rusudan Enukidze, head of the TSU English Philology Department, Professor Nino Kirvalidze, head of the ESD at Tbilisi University of European Languages and Culture, Assistant Professor Rusudan Tkemaladze, British Cuncil ELT Development manager, ETAG ntional director, Assistant Professor Manana Gigineishvili, TSU, Assistant Professor Maia Kikvidze, Batumi State University; Assistant Professor Irina Goshkheteliani, head of the  of English Philology Department, Batumi State University. There were 82 participants all together. 18 among 20 presenters were KSU ESD young teachers and 2 American instructors Jerry Peverall and Andrian Block.

The aim of the conference was to show our colleagues the way we work with our students by incorporating new methods of teaching based on communicative approach.

At the workshops we did our best to let our colleagues know how we can make the teaching process successful, progressive, and how to get the best results in all skills of teaching: listening, speaking, reading and writing. We tried to prove that interaction between speakers and listeners, or readers and writers is the aim of communicative approach. That’s why we design activities that use authentic language and involve a real exchange of information. These activities help students engage in meaningful and authentic language rather than to practice language patterns that help them meet the demands of real-life English.

The itinerary of the conference was very busy and interesting. There were three concurrent sessions in different aspects of the language at different levels. This enabled the participants to choose the one according to their interests.

Later guests were invited to the English Speaking Club where they met our students as the successful proof of all our work. They were impressed by their English, by their general knowledge and their language skills that is so difficult to achieve in non-English speaking environment.

At the end of the busy and interesting day, the guests were given the chance to visit wonderful landscape out of Kutaisi and enjoy the past with historical cathedrals once again.

The second day was as busy and interesting as the first one. Apart from attending the sessions in different modules and taking active part in it, the participants were also given the chance to see the “portfolios” of different modules and get acquainted with the way we arrange our teaching materials. They were more than impressed by what was shown: by the equipment, by the library, by the documents showing the life of the department.

At the end of the conference the participants were given certificates by the rector of KSU. He greeted the guests and wished them success in their future professional collaboration with the department.

The head of ESD, professor Madonna Megrelishvili was the last to sum up a two day conference. She thanked the participants for coming and taking active part into the conference and wished future co-operation. She also noticed that in spite of the fact that the presenters were young, they as a rule worked under supervision of older generation who share their knowledge and experience with them every day and help them improve their professional career.

The participants also made final speeches. They highly appreciated the conference as the best example of sharing knowledge and giving instructions. They thanked for this busy, interesting, fruitful and definitely useful conference. They went home with lots of ideas and a great wish to introduce the way and methods to their home universities as soon as possible.