What you should know about BelNATE, the Belarusian Association of Teachers of English

Efforts to organize the Belarusian Association of Teachers of English had started as early as 1992-93 and proceeded through several years until the BelNATE conference of 1995 adopted the BelNATE articles and BelNATE got the registration of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, which was re-endorsed two more times. During the formative period it got the support of the British Embassy. Mr. Simon Ingram-Hill played an active role in encouraging Belarusian teachers of English to join the association and build up a community of professionals whose aim is to develop and support teaching the English language and Area Studies in Belarus. Ms Janet Demiray of the US Embassy was just as enthusiastic in promoting ELT, sharing US expertise in English language and Literature and providing course books and teaching materials to Belarusian colleagues. The BelNATE inauguration ceremony was attended by the Belarusian Minister of Education Prof. Vasily Strazhev and Ambassadors of UK, USA, and India who welcomed the creation of the professional organization of the Teachers of English of the Republic of Belarus. The Lexis bookstore has been a generous sponsor of specialists from the leading publishing houses and books, teaching aids and various materials that are used in the classroom.

Today BelNATE unites teachers of English of all educational tiers, academics, philologists, Ph. D. and M.A students from all the regions of Belarus and the city of Minsk. It is an associate member of IATEFL. The agreement between IATEFL and BelNATE was signed by the then IATEFL President Catherine Walter. Its goal is to provide support to and to maintain the development of its members within the ELT world. We seek to reach out to a broader audience of ELT specialists to ensure a successful future for our professional sphere. BelNATE offers its members

·        participation of in a broad network of teachers, teacher trainers and academics;

·        participation in BelNATE and IATEFL conferences;

·        involvement in special interest groups and regional events;

·        publicize expertise of its members;

·        give an opportunity to get Voices, an IATEFL magazine, at a reduced fee;

·        professional advice to those involved in curriculum and material design;

·        provide assistance to regional ELT groups in the organization of local training events;

·        representation on the BelNATE Board.

         Over 20 years the BelNATE seat has been Minsk State Linguistics University, which is not only an alma mater of the majority of ELT specialists in the country but also a generous host of BelNATE biennial conferences that address various issues connected with the status of English in the modern world, the influence of globalization on its spread, the role of information technologies in making English a lingua franca of the international community, transformations that have taken place in ELT and related fields and ways to bring effective methods of ELT into the classroom. During the 11 conferences of 1994–2014 their participants had an ample opportunity to hold fruitful discussions about the ways to improve ELT and related disciplines in Belarus using the latest teaching strategies that have been developed in recent years. Conference proceedings reflect the variety of topics dealt with at the lectures and workshops run by leading specialists from different countries and contain different practical tips that will help make lessons of English an exciting adventure into the culture, history and literature of English-speaking countries.    

         BelNATE has developed fruitful cooperation with IATEFL organizations in different countries, especially in Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, and are ready to develop global contacts that may be mutually beneficial as we also have an impressive history of effective EL teaching. Discussions concerning policies and goals for foreign languages at the national level in different countries of Europe and the USA, delivery systems by which the goals are implemented in terms of objectives, syllabi and teaching procedures as well as major issues of Culture, Literatures in English, CALL, distance learning, etc. are of great importance for both Belarusian and foreign EL teachers who greatly benefit from the exchange of ideas and their practical implementation.

Successful language teaching depends on the coordination of different interrelated elements. Having in mind major changes in the educational system, the focus is on the interdisciplinary approach to teaching English and related subjects, which, as we hope, will help us reach important curricular and instructional decisions. BelNATE provides master and demonstration classes that familiarize the participants with new approaches and educational technologies that have to be integrated into school and university curricula and teaching.

Welcome to BelNATE! Your voice matters!

Yuri Stulov,

BelNATE Chair