NILE and British Council Team Up to Enhance English Teaching in Colombia

The Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) and British Council have joined forces to offer a variety of professional development programs for English language teachers in Colombia.

This initiative is the first in a series of pioneering global education projects between the two institutions, designed to improve the skills of thousands of Colombian teachers.

NILE, an internationally acclaimed teacher training division of INTO University Partnerships and one of the world’s largest providers of professional development courses for English language teaching, will lead the delivery of these education programs in Colombia, in collaboration with the British Council.

Initially, the language teacher education program will be hosted at the British Council’s state-of-the-art Park 93-based centre in Bogotá, where NILE’s professional development courses and programs will be delivered face-to-face by British Council teaching staff. These staff members will receive thorough training, mentoring, and support from NILE’s expert education consultants. The teaching is expected to commence in July 2024.

NILE’s Director, Thom Kiddle, said: “Working with British Council to launch our teacher development programs in Colombia has been inspiring. We look forward to leveraging the British Council’s network and NILE’s expertise to provide exceptional quality to language teachers and educators in Colombia.”

The initiative is expected to expand to British Council’s other two Bogota-based centres over the coming months, utilizing the spaces to their full capacity, and supporting the development of British Council’s own language education programs. This in-market presence will connect NILE’s language training experts to local teacher communities in Colombia, servicing local educators with tailored professional development solutions to address their English language educational needs.

Daniel Johnston, Business Development Manager (Americas), British Council Colombia, said: “We are thrilled to embark on this new venture at our teaching centre in Bogota. Our shared vision is to cultivate a culture of continuous learning and growth among educators, ultimately enhancing the quality of education for learners of all ages.”

“These transformative courses are designed to equip teachers and lecturers with the latest methodologies, tools, and insights necessary to excel in their profession. By leveraging the expertise of both NILE and the British Council, participants can expect unparalleled access to best practices and international perspectives.”

Programs will be provided to educators in a wide range of educational settings including kindergartens, private and public bilingual primary and secondary schools, private language schools, and institutions across the tertiary education sector.

NILE’s Deputy Director, Mike Riley, said: “The launch of NILE’s language training programs in Bogotá marks a pivotal step in NILE and British Council’s collaboration and shared goal of delivering transformative, high-quality educational experiences to Colombian teachers. We look forward to seeing wider impact on the Colombian education system, utilizing British Council’s state-of-the-art centres, extensive network of teaching professionals, and global prestige.”

The initiative was formally launched at an event at British Council’s centre in the upmarket Chico region of Bogota on 20 May. Professionals from British Council and NILE came together with local education institutes and government officials to celebrate the collaboration.

NILE’s English language teacher development programs focus on enhancing teachers’ knowledge of best practices and teaching skills in their own classes and building educational institutions’ capacity to serve their learners. Modules include classroom methodology, syllabus design, assessment practices, materials development, and academic management.

Larissa Tatiana Rico – a Curricular Unit Director & Academic Vice Rector at The University of Quindio, Colombia, and published Co-author of the English language coursebook, ‘English, Please!’ – studied Materials Development at NILE’s main centre in Norwich, UK.

Reflecting on her experience, she said: “There is no place like NILE where you can improve as a teacher, and where reflection is part of the learning process. It’s a place where interesting and challenging activities made me think as a teacher, enriching and inspiring my life through the materials development course.”

Since 1995, NILE has trained over 70,000 teachers from more than 90 different countries, supporting thousands of educational professionals across all areas of ELT from teachers at primary to tertiary level, private language schools and government ministries.

As well as providing training courses online, in the UK, and overseas, NILE is regularly involved in the development and implementation of large-scale education reform projects around the world.

INTO University Partnerships connects ambitious international students with leading universities in the US, UK, and Australia. Since its inception in 2005, INTO has helped more than 150,000 students from over 180 countries realise their dream of achieving a degree from a world-class university.