The British Council and Turkmenistan Ministry look at modernising English language teaching
The British Embassy in Ashgabat, the British Council and the Turkmenistan Ministry of Education organised a training event for pre-service English teachers.
British Ambassador Mr. Stephen Conlon, Jamilya Gulyamova, the AELLCA Programme Director, British Council and Mr. Thom Kiddle, Director, Norwich Institute for Language Education at the pre-service teacher training.
The UK Embassy in Turkmenistan, the British Council and the Turkmenistan Ministry of Education jointly organised specialist training from leading institutions that prepare future English teachers.
The initiative brought together teacher educators from across Turkmenistan to explore modern English teacher qualities, curriculum standards, principles, share good practice and explore how to embed reflective practice into the pre-service teacher training curriculum.
The British Council’s Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA) programme brought together Turkmenistan’s leading academics and teacher educators.
From 13 to 15 October 2025, participants engaged in interactive sessions, including methodology lesson demonstrations, curriculum mapping, and collaborative planning for curriculum modernisation.
The training concluded with the development of action plans and joint recommendations which were shared with policy makers and other stakeholders on the 3rd day of the event.
In his opening remarks, His Majesty’s Ambassador Mr. Stephen Conlon stated:
Through Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA), the UK is proud to collaborate with Turkmenistan in modernising English language teaching, promoting continued professional development, and contributing to the development of a more inclusive and forward-looking education system.
This important initiative is funded by UK International Development from the UK Government.
On the third day, the policy dialogue event provided a forum for representatives of the leading universities that train future teachers of English, the Turkmenistan Ministry of Education, FCDO, the AELLCA project team, as well as international organisations working in the area of English/Education reform and develop further recommendations around PRESETT development in Turkmenistan.
Ms. Jamilya Gulyamova, the AELLCA Programme Director, British Council highlighted:
The programme responds to national English reform priorities in Turkmenistan, focuses on English teacher education, continuing professional development and inclusive educational practices and aims to empower teachers and learners.
AELLCA is implemented in 5 countries in Central Asia. In 2024-2025, AELLCA conducted a scoping study on CPD (Continuing Professional Development) practices for English teachers in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan to understand current provision and ma p a desirable journey – to give teachers the ownership of their professional development and encourage a CPD culture in schools.
The event is part of the British Council’s Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA) programme, which is designed to respond to national English reform agendas, focusing on English teacher education and promoting more inclusive education systems across the Central Asian region. It is funded by the UK International Development. The key academic partner of the programme is the Norwich Institute for Language Education, UK.