Teaching coach from Sabah starts a year in the UK thanks to Hornby Scholarship and the British Council
Saleha Mersin, a School Improvement Specialist Coach from Keningau, Sabah, has been awarded a prestigious Hornby Scholarship, through the British Council, to study for a master’s degree in the UK. She will begin her MA in English Language Teaching (with a specialism in testing and assessment) at the University of Warwick on the 29th September 2014 and will study in the UK for an academic year. Saleha faced tough competition, winning one of only 11 scholarships awarded, worldwide.
Saleha worked as a teacher for 9 years before taking up her current post as School Improvement Specialist Coach early last year. Her job involves coaching and mentoring English language teachers in 11 schools across the district of Keningau, with the aim of improving the quality of their teaching. She is also responsible for planning training programmes for teachers in her state.
She is very excited by the challenge presented by the MA and hopes it will take her out of her comfort zone and expose her to new teaching techniques and methodologies. On her return to Malaysia she looks forward to sharing what she learns with her colleagues and hopefully making a real difference to English language teaching in Malaysia.
On hearing of her successful scholarship award Saleha said “I am completely humbled and at the same time overcome with joy as a recipient of the 2014 Hornby Scholarship and being placed in one of the top universities in the world. This is truly a tremendous privilege for me and I wish to express my utmost gratitude to Hornby Trust Committee and British Council for paving a new path in my conquest to achieve academic and career excellence. I don’t know what lies ahead of me but I made a pledge to myself that my top priority is to give back to society. Thank you so much for making my dream comes true!”
This year’s scholars come from 10 countries including Uruguay, Chile, Malaysia, China, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Senegal and South Africa and will all be studying together at the University of Warwick. They will study topics such as second language acquisition, research in English language teaching and language testing. The University of Warwick is located outside Coventry in the Midlands, and is consistently positioned in the top 10 UK universities and is currently ranked 7th in the UK Complete University Guide Rankings.
Hornby Scholarships are designed to support English language specialists, including senior teachers, teacher-trainers, inspectors and material writers by offering MA scholarships through the British Council to enable them to study English language, teaching theory and practice for an academic year in the UK. Graduates are then encouraged to use this knowledge to advance the teaching of English in their home countries. Applicants must have an undergraduate degree and at least five years’ hands-on experience as an English language teacher/trainer, as well as having experience with helping other teachers develop their skills.
About the AS Hornby Educational Trust
The Trust was founded in 1961 by A.S.Hornby (1898-1978), who started both the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary and the ELT Journal. His work has had a long-lasting impact on English language learning and teaching. The Trust supports the teaching of English as a foreign language, especially helping the development of teachers of English round the world. The British Council manages the Hornby programme of scholarships in the UK, Hornby regional schools and small-scale projects for English language teachers. Hornby scholarships have been offered for over 50 years. Each year about 12 scholarships are awarded from countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Scholars have come from over 45 countries in the last 20 years.
More information about the A.S.Hornby Educational Trust can be found on their website: http://www.hornby-trust.org.uk/
About the University of Warwick MA in ELT
For more information about the University of Warwick MA in ELT, please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/degrees/ma/elt/