Alumni

I am from Paraná, a city in Entre Ríos (Argentina), where I work as a teacher educator in an IELTE programme. Before the Hornby scholarship I taught English for around 15 years at all educational levels, both state and private. Right before the scholarship, I was working temporarily with the local Ministry of Education as part of the curricular committee in charge of revising the curriculum for secondary schools in the jurisdiction. I specifically chose Leeds for my MA because of the teacher education programme on offer. It was a course that would challenge me academically and would provide me with a brand-new mindset for my role as a teacher of teachers. I loved the modules I took as they addressed issues related to teacher professional development and, so, revamped my knowledge of curriculum and language teaching. Studying in Leeds helped me in more ways than I could have possibly imagined. I became acquainted with the work of authors I had never heard of before, including that of my professors, to whom I am ever so grateful. I learnt about current pedagogical realities, practices and policies but, most importantly, I understood the relevance of assessing them in the light of my own teaching context, adopting a philosophy of language teacher education that contributed to a more successful approach to language teaching in our local classrooms and schools. Being able to complete my Masters at Leeds also helped me discover what I wanted to do and what my real research interests were. The Hornby scholarship put me on a career path that keeps challenging me and taking me to the next level. I now engage in teaching experiences I had not engaged in before, such as presenting at academic events and writing for publication. Actually, my second scholarship – the TA Award – has given the chance to reconnect with the MoE and to work with practising teachers once more. For this I am forever grateful.

I am an education consultant, working on teacher education and curriculum development projects with national, international and UN organisations.  I worked with the Ministry of Education, at Yangon University and Yangon University of Education as a lecturer at the department of English, as well as with the British Council.

The Hornby scholarship was a ‘really a socially engaging, academically enriching and professionally empowering experience’.

My life changed tremendously after my MA in the UK. In addition to developing academically and professionally, I was also able to make friends with colleagues from around the world. Before the scholarship my engagement and impact was only within the institution where I worked and for the students I taught. However, after the scholarship I started to engage with colleagues beyond my own institution, city and country and making impact on the country-wide level and later even on an international scale. My life is divided into parts: before and after becoming a Hornby Scholar!

When I returned to Uzbekistan after my MA and worked at National Research Centre for Developing Innovative Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages which coordinated in-service teacher training of EFL teachers across the country. I took part in several projects on initiated by the British Council in Uzbekistan and run in collaboration of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education. I was also involved in teacher training and co-authored a textbook for in-service teacher training which was then used as the main resource for the relevant teacher training programme for EFL teachers at higher education.  In 2018, I also established an ESP teacher community through the project funded by the Hornby Alumni award. (UzTESPING- Uzbekistan Teachers of ESP Integrated Networking Group https://uztesping.uz/   more about it can also be found on https://www.facebook.com/UzTESPING/) I have been running that teacher community since then.

I am currently an associate professor at the University of Warwick. At the same time, I am continuing making impact in Uzbekistan through my initiatives and projects. I am also the coordinator of Hornby Alumni Community. These all have become possible only though the amazing developmental journey I had when I was a Hornby Scholar!

As a Hornby scholar I studied at the University of Leeds on an M. Ed. TESOL programme in 1999-2000. We proudly call ourselves ‘the Millenium Batch’!!
The Hornby scholarship and the year Leeds is perhaps the most significant turning point in my personal and professional life. It provided not just a massive exposure to a different social and academic culture, but also drew me into a large community of ELT professionals from different parts of the world and enlarged my vision and understanding of world of teaching-learning English. At a personal level, it boosted my confidence and self-image, and greatly raised my awareness and a sense of responsibility about my role as a teacher back home.

I have continued to reap the fruits of this learning upon returning home to India. In the last 25 years since the scholarship, I eventually retired as a professor from a reputed university, could set up several teacher communities and networks, have been involved in the leadership of national teacher associations, and, as a kind of icing on the cake, became a trustee of the Hornby Trust – one of the happiest developments for me. Being a member of the rich and diverse global Hornby alumni family enabled me to undertake several initiatives and research studies collaboratively with colleagues from other contexts, to learn from ideas and experiences of fellow alumni and to deepen the understanding of my own context. These collaborations have also helped me expand by professional interests in new directions – from teacher research to history of ELT to decentring ELT to rural ELT!!

I spent seven years at Kathmandu University as a lecturer of English after my first Masters in English and I was still an ‘unknown citizen’. However, in 2000, I won a Hornby Scholarship to pursue my second Master’s in Teacher Training for ELT at Plymouht Marjon University/University of Exeter, England. This experience shifted my career toward English language teacher education. Since then, I have contributed significantly to the ELT community in Nepal and beyond. I earned a PhD in Teacher Professional Development through teacher associations and took leadership positions in the Nepal English Language Teachers Association (NELTA). I played a lead role in launching Master’s, MPhil, and PhD programs in English language education and in establishing the Department of Language Education at Kathmandu University. My roles as a Professor at Kathmandu University, President of NELTA, an established teacher educator and ELT materials writer in Nepal, and a key figure in the South Asian ELT community were made possible by the Hornby Scholarship.

Before I won the Hornby Scholarship I worked as a secondary English language teacher and teacher educator in Nepal (Gorkha, Pokhara and Kathmandu) for 12 years. I was also associated with Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA). I completed MA in English Literature (Tribhuvan University) just before receiving the prestigious Hornby scholarship.

After gaining my Masters degree from Lancaster University, I started working as a visiting lecturer at various universities in London where I taught Academic English and ESOL. I worked at Goldsmiths University of London, SOAS and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine from 2003 until 2005. From January 2006, I joined The Open University as a Lecturer in ELT where I work permanently. I also completed an EdD with The Open University in 2012. Currently, I am a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Applied Linguistics (Associate Professor equivalent) and teach on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in English language and applied linguistics and supervise doctoral candidates (EdD and PhD). I have led or co-led on a number of funded international research projects focusing on academic writing, language testing, English language teacher education, mobile technology enhanced learning and English medium education/instruction, mostly in the UK and South Asia. I have published 70 research outputs in these fields (as of September, 2024).

The Hornby scholarship definitely paved my way to my career in higher education in the UK through my MA TESOL degree at Lancaster University. It helped me secure part-time jobs in Lond and then a permanent full-time job at The Open University. Without this opportunity, I would not have been in the position I am in. I am truly grateful to A S Hornby and the Trust!