Belta confce concludes

direction that the English teaching profession needs for its promotion, says a press release.

The participants debated various issues ranging from the need to revise the nature and format of examinations at all levels to the selection of appropriate course materials and the professional development of teachers.

Chaired by Prof Fakhrul Alam, the discussion was participated by Dr Niaz Zaman, Dr Arifa Rahman, Dr Dil Afroze Quader, Dr Rubina Khan, Prof Hamidur Rahman and Dr Ravinder Gargesh of Delhi University.

Basing their opinion on the insights developed through experience, the speakers felt that introduction of any change has to be a process that involves not only policy makers but also stake-holders like employers, business community, parents, teachers and students.

Change is always a slow process but it is necessary and has to be sustainable if it were to have a positive effect, they added.

The theme of the conference was 'ELT in context: Future Directions.'

It was attended by nearly 300 ELT practitioners from all over Bangladesh.

There were also participants from India, Australia and the United States.

The conference had 45 presentations consisting of papers (less academic and more practical), workshops, forum discussions as well as demonstrations and displays.

Many of the presentations were concurrent sessions, with three running simultaneously. As a result, a variety was on offer to suit different tastes.

Topics ranged from low resource classrooms to the potential of the Internet for increasing literacy, from culture and language to pedagogy and the teaching of the sub-skills of English.

Appropriately for Belta, pedagogical issues like methodology and testing appeared to be the focus.

The conference provided a rich, action-packed meeting ground for English teachers from schools, colleges and universities from all the regions.