Generating and disseminating context-appropriate ELT pedagogy: A bottom up approach Language & Educational Practices Research Cluster Seminar Series Date: 24th March 2014 (Monday) Time: 2.15 to 3.45pm Guest Speaker: Dr Harry Kuchah Kuchah (University of Sheffield) Place: University of Bath main campus, Chancellors’ Building, CB 4.1 Abstract Over the last two decades, many ELT professionals and researchers have called for contextually appropriate forms of ELT pedagogy to be developed, arguing that the dominant discourse on ELT methodology, as promoted by local Ministry of Education policy makers around the world, has been largely generated in ideal (North) contexts and so does not reflect the challenging realities of the majority of language teaching and learning contexts in which they are being imposed. Despite these calls, there has been very little research that shows how contextually appropriate ELT pedagogies can be developed especially in the context of large under-resourced primary classrooms in sub-Saharan Africa. In this talk, I report on my recently completed PhD research that attempted to fill this gap by exploring the practices and perspectives of both learners and teachers about what counts as good and appropriate English language teaching in two English medium primary school contexts in Cameroon. In presenting the findings of this study, I highlight the potential contribution of a bottom-up research approach to teacher development which recognises both learner and teacher agency as well as takes account of context in the process of generating and disseminating good practice. Biodata Harry Kuchah Kuchah has worked for 14 years as ELT teacher trainer and inspector at primary and secondary levels in Cameroon. He is currently Teaching Fellow in Applied Linguistics at the School of English, The University of Sheffield. His interests are in teaching and researching young learners, context-appropriate ELT methodology, teaching large and multi-grade classes, learner autonomy and teacher development.