Accelerating English Language Learning in Central Asia (AELLCA), a British Council project
Between November 2025 and March 2026 the AELLCA project has seen researchers from the School of Education work with four partner universities to strengthen inclusive teaching and assessment
Dr Diana McCray from the School of Education provides an insight into the project, the process, and the final outcome.
Purpose of the project
Our project on “Promoting Inclusiveness through Gender-Aware Pedagogy in Second-Language Writing Assessment” aimed to strengthen inclusive teaching and assessment practices in pre-service English teacher training programmes in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. It focused particularly on raising awareness of potential gender bias in feedback on second-language writing and supporting teachers and trainee teachers to provide fair, constructive and inclusive feedback.
What we did and what we achieved
The project brought together Diana McCray and Diane Pecorari from the University of Leeds and four teacher trainers: Dilrabo Ahmadalieva and Kamola Muradkasimova from universities in Uzbekistan, and Asel Mamytova and Rakhat Raikyzy from universities in Kyrgyzstan.
Upon completion of this five-month project, we developed two sets of pre-service teacher training materials focusing on effective feedback in second-language writing and gender and inclusion.
Interactive workshops were delivered to approximately 100 trainee teachers across the four partner universities. Participants analysed examples of feedback, discussed inclusive assessment practices and practised providing constructive feedback on student writing. Their evaluations were used to revise and strengthen the materials.
The project produced a structured, adaptable training module comprising presentation slides, practical activities, trainer guidance and supporting resources. The module is designed for integration into existing pre-service teacher education programmes and for wider dissemination through an open-access platform.
Participants especially valued the practical and interactive nature of the workshops and reported greater confidence in giving feedback. One participant commented that the training helped them recognise that feedback is “a very important and challenging part of teaching,” while another praised the accessible handbooks, real-world examples and hands-on activities.
The project also established a strong new partnership among five universities in the United Kingdom and Central Asia. This collaboration has created opportunities for sustained curriculum development, joint research and the wider promotion of inclusive English language teacher education across the region.
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