Welcome to March, the Conference Special Issue of Choutari 2013! 

Editorial

As it has been the convention from past years, this issue of Choutari focuses on the (18^th) International conference of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) which was recently held partly in Kathmandu, the capital of the country, and partly in Janakpur, also known as the capital of Mithila Kingdom in ancient times. The theme of the conference was ‘Transformations in ELT: Contexts, Agents and Opportunities’. The conference which was attended by participants and presenters from 18 different countries including U.S.A, U.K, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Poland, Pakistan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Japan, Iran, Indonesia, India, China, Bangladesh and Australia. I thank everyone who contributed to this issue on behalf of my fellow Choutari editors. I hope that readers will find the varied contents of this issue interesting.

The first entry here is the presentation material of Dr. Richard Smith, the keynote speaker, who is a professor from Warwick University, UK. Dr. Smith also facilitated the plenary on ‘Teaching Large Classes’, and building on the plenary, he also facilitated a smaller workshop on teaching and researching large classes during the concurrent sessions.

The second item includes the presentation materials (along with brief blurbs) provided by another keynote speaker, Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall from Maryland University, U.S.A. who delivered her key speech on ‘Preparing Global Citizens for the 21^st Century: The Role of Content-Based Language Instruction.’ Dr. Crandall facilitated two plenary sessions: the first entitled ‘The Expanding World of the ELT Professional: Opportunities and Challenges’ and the second ‘Culture as Content in the ELT Classroom: Helping Learners Develop Intercultural Competence’.

Associate Professor Ganga Ram Gautam, who is also one of founding members of NELTA, made his observation and reflections on the key speeches delivered by key speakers Dr. Richard and Jody’s speeches on the conference theme and preparing global citizens for the 21st century: The role of content based language instruction respectively.

The next entry is a contribution by Mandira Adhikari, who was a rapporteur at the conference. Ms. Adhikari reflects on the plenary and concurrent sessions she had attended during the conference of NELTA. She shares how the conference turned beneficial to  her personal as well as professional development.

Choutari asked the participants who attended the mega event of ELT about one thing they are taking away from the conference to their classroom. The compilation of their responses, as another blog entry of this month, reflects why a teacher needs a professional association like NELTA – which is also a lesson for those who missed the conference.

We have also included a blog entry from Madhav Kafle  who shares his stance on monolingual policies in multilingual states like Nepal and its implications for language Teaching urging Choutari readers for joining the thread of discussion. 

What an incredible work Nepalese youth icon Rana has done establishing English medium School, which teaches children free of charge! The written documentary with YouTube video contributed by Apar Poudel will make us feel inspired and motivated to do something different for our community, society and the country.

Here’s the table of contents for convenient navigation:

• First keynote speaker’s presentation, Dr. Richard Smith, Warwick University, U.K.
• Second keynote speaker’s presentation, Prof. Dr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall, Maryland University, U.S.A.
• Observation on the key speeches of the conference, by Ganga Gautam
• A rapporteur’s reflection on the 18th Int’l Conference of NELTA by Mandira Adhikari
• From the Conference to the Classroom: Participants’ views (compiled by editor)
• Monolingual Policies in Multilingual states: Implications for language Teaching by Madhav Kafle
• Nepalese youth icon Rana’s love for change: Teach children free of charge by Apar Poudel

—–

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the contributors including the Choutari Team for their support and contribution. Thank you all for your continuing effort and contribution to NeltaChoutari, and we expect more contributions of yours on Chouatri for the next issue ahead. Please share with us any new ideas you think is better to make Choutari better.

We always welcome your constructive feedback to make our publications more reader friendly in terms of the content and issues in ELT. I urge you to join the professional conversation on Choutari by posting comments or sharing among your circles via social media networks like facebook, twitter, google plus, pressing likes under the blog entries you have read and printing for those who lack the internet access to the webzine.

Enjoy Reading!

Praveen Kumar Yadav

On behalf of Choutari Team