On Saturday 21 December 2024, the American corner of the University of Lomé was the venue for the official launch of the 2024-2025 programmes of the Togo English Teachers Organisation (TETO) and the Culture and English Promotion Association (CEPA), in the presence of numerous guests including representatives of certain departments of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (MEPS) and the US Embassy.
Launched under the theme ‘English for Real Life Skills’, the 2025 programmes aim to strengthen teachers‘ pedagogical skills, improve pupils’ English language skills, and train teachers and pupils in the concepts of digital citizenship.
To achieve these objectives, TETO and CEPA are training teachers, organising English language competitions for pupils, and running exchange programmes between Togolese pupils and pupils abroad.
As part of the teacher training programme, webinars will be held on 25 October, 16 and 27 November and 14 and 26 December 2024 on the following topics: Service Learning in Practice the case of access students in Montenegro; Competency Based Learning in groundwork for English Language Teachers; Graphic Design for English Language Teachers; Taecher and grading Speaking Skills; Judging a debate contest.
In the same vein, regional teacher training workshops will be held on 21 December 2024 for Greater Lomé and Maritime, on 25 February 2025 for Plateaux Est and Plateaux Ouest, and on 23 April 2025 for Centrale, Kara and Savanes.
The training courses will focus on ‘designing problem-solving situations and evaluation grids; drawing up an action plan for a teachers’ association; drafting and implementing a community service project; using Google and AI to teach and evaluate EFL learners’.
The competition phase is divided into three parts: the English club festival (debate, monologue, talent show); researching and solving a local problem using English (only English clubs in Greater Lomé are involved); the QUIZ Challenge (the challenge for secondary schools, the challenge for universities and the international challenge).
It is clear that the QUIZ challenge is not only taking place in Togo. It is also taking place in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire. The good news is that the final of the International QUIZ Challenge will be held in Lomé, Togo.
The activities of these 2024-2025 programmes began with their official launch on Saturday 21 December 2024 and will culminate in July 2025 with the final of the Festival of English Clubs.The pen-pal programme connects pupils from Togo, Senegal, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Maldives and the USA for exchanges.
Taking the floor for his welcome address and the presentation of the 2024-2025 programmes, the President of TETO, Mr BOTRI Amekofia Sengno , welcomed all the guests before warmly thanking the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for their support, and the Embassy of the United States of America, without which the implementation of these programmes would simply not be possible.
He went on to say that all these projects were inspired by the exchange programmes in Montana, Ohio and Florida in the USA, and those in which the President of CEPA took part in England.
These projects were also inspired by the MEPS instructions for the 2024-2025 school year.
The representative of the US Embassy, Mr DALOK, in his speech, invited the participants to go and find out about the immense opportunities that exist in the sector. He invited them to start with the free programmes in order to maximise their chances of being selected for the paying programmes.
Pascal S
