Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia partners
Nottingham Trent University with the Dovletmammet Azadi
Turkmen National Institute of World Languages.
Two academics from Nottingham Trent University's (NTU) School of
Social Sciences visited Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, from 9 to 15
November 2025 as part of the British Council's Accelerating
English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA)
programme which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Office (FCDO).
This initiative aims to strengthen English language education
across 5 Central Asian countries.
Under the AELLCA
programme Nottingham Trent has been working in partnership
with the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute
of World Languages (TNIWL),
Turkmenistan's foremost foreign language education and teacher
training institute. The focus of the collaboration, which began
in 2024, is on embedding inclusive teaching methodologies within
the Pre-Service English Teacher Training (PRESETT)
curriculum. PRESETT is the
university programme that prepares future English teachers before
they embark on their careers. By integrating inclusive approaches
at this stage, the partnership aims to ensure that new teachers
are equipped to meet diverse learner needs, and support pupils
with varying abilities and backgrounds.
As part of the visit, the Nottingham Trent team observed English
language teaching in 2 secondary schools in Ashgabat to
gain insights into classroom practices and learner experiences.
They also delivered training workshops for teacher trainers,
students and alumni and worked closely with TNIWLcolleagues
to examine the current PRESETT curriculum
and teaching materials and identify areas for improvement.
Dr Sarah Khan from NTU said:
Embedding inclusive methodologies within the PRESETT curriculum
is a vital step in preparing future teachers to meet the needs of
all learners. Working alongside skilled and enthusiastic
colleagues at TNIWL will
allow us to co-create curriculum content that embeds
inclusive principles and modern pedagogical approaches which will
have a lasting impact on English language education in
Turkmenistan.
In addition to producing new teaching and learning materials the
partnership is also planning a symposium on inclusive English
language teaching to be hosted by TNIWL in
March 2026. As part of the project's aim to strengthen capacity
within the teaching staff, earlier this year 14 TNIWL
teachers successfully sat the Cambridge English Teaching
Knowledge Test.
This collaboration between Nottingham Trent and TNIWL
reflects the UK's commitment to fostering international academic
exchange and advancing inclusive education globally.
