Session 01
Fiona Bartels-Ellis OBE Head of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, British Council

Equal Opportunity and Diversity in ELT: Moving Forward

Watch videos of Fiona’s first session:

Session documents

• Part 1
  Watch this clip where Fiona Bartels-Ellis sets the scene and explains what the Equal Opportunity and Diversity (EO+D) agenda is about, offers definitions and accepted meanings.

  She also introduces The Iceberg, demonstrating that many important differences are below the surface: “managing and valuing diversity means that you seek difference, value it and capitalise on it.” She also explains the ‘bottom-line’ benefits.
  watch video
   

• Part 2
  In part two, Ms Bartels-Ellis looks to the sceptics. She explains “what diversity is not.”

  Plus she asks: what is driving the EO+D agenda in ELT? She describes three views: the business, moral and legal imperatives.
  watch video
   

• Part 3
  Ms Bartels-Ellis looks at the challenges in part three,. She suggests starting with buy in from ELT practitioners, then intercultural awareness, challenging cultural contexts, more EO+D in teacher training, the ‘native-speaker’ model, lack of focus on EO+D in standard course-books and character stereotyping.

  Ms Bartels-Ellis also mentions some of the innovative work being done in this field by the British Council including the EO+D Handbook for Teachers, the Diversity Assessment Framework, Equality Impact Assessment and INSETT programmes.

  These are all referred to in detail in Fiona Bartels-Ellis’s second talk for this symposium which follows.
  watch video