Two academics from Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) School of Social Sciences visited Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, from 9 to 15 November 2025 as part of the British Council’s Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA) programme which is funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
This initiative aims to strengthen English language education across 5 Central Asian countries.
Nottingham Trent University academics deliver a training workshops for teacher trainers.
Under the AELLCA programme Nottingham Trent has been working in partnership with the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages (TNIWL), Turkmenistan’s foremost foreign language education and teacher training institute. The focus of the collaboration, which began in 2024, is on embedding inclusive teaching methodologies within the Pre-Service English Teacher Training (PRESETT) curriculum. PRESETT is the university programme that prepares future English teachers before they embark on their careers. By integrating inclusive approaches at this stage, the partnership aims to ensure that new teachers are equipped to meet diverse learner needs, and support pupils with varying abilities and backgrounds.
Dr Sarah Khan from Nottingham Trent University with teacher trainers in Ashgabat.
As part of the visit, the Nottingham Trent team observed English language teaching in 2 secondary schools in Ashgabat to gain insights into classroom practices and learner experiences. They also delivered training workshops for teacher trainers, students and alumni and worked closely with TNIWL colleagues to examine the current PRESETT curriculum and teaching materials and identify areas for improvement.
Dr Sarah Khan from NTU said
Embedding inclusive methodologies within the PRESETT curriculum is a vital step in preparing future teachers to meet the needs of all learners. Working alongside skilled and enthusiastic colleagues at TNIWL will allow us to co-create curriculum content that embeds inclusive principles and modern pedagogical approaches which will have a lasting impact on English language education in Turkmenistan.
Dr Sarah Khan delivers a workshop at the Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages .
In addition to producing new teaching and learning materials the partnership is also planning a symposium on inclusive English language teaching to be hosted by TNIWL in March 2026. As part of the project’s aim to strengthen capacity within the teaching staff, earlier this year 14 TNIWL teachers successfully sat the Cambridge English Teaching Knowledge Test.
This collaboration between Nottingham Trent and TNIWL reflects the UK’s commitment to fostering international academic exchange and advancing inclusive education globally.
