Ashgabat, 16 October. The UK Embassy in Turkmenistan, the British Council and the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan 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 PRESETT (pre -service teacher training) curriculum.
From 13-15 October, 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 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”.
The third day, the policy dialogue event provided a forum for representatives of the leading universities that train future teachers of English, the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, 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.
“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.” – highlighted Jamilya Gulyamova, the AELLCA Programme Director, British Council.
AELLCA is implemented in five countries in Central Asia. In 20242025, 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.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2024-25 we reached 600 million people. www.britishcouncil.org. ///nCa, 16 October 2025 (in cooperation with the British embassy in Ashgabat)