Ph.D. student from MSU Department of English sponsored by the U.S. Department of State for an International Learning Programme

A Ph.D. student from Department of English, the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of State for an International Learning Programme.

Deepali Dinesh Shahdadpuri, a Ph.D. Research Scholar of Department of English has completed "Teaching Grammar Communicatively (TGC)." It was an eight-week online teacher training course (Winter Session 2021) delivered by World Learning, SIT Graduate Institute, Vermont, United States.

The Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by FHI 360. The course was started with a compulsory 'Orientation Program' where Deepali studied about American Academic Culture and Classroom Learning followed by the core course 'TGC' that she successfully completed In the core course, she explored how to adapt the grammar instruction to meet her students' needs.

The course also focused on integrating grammar instruction with teaching language skills, varying grammar instruction to meet the needs of large, mixed ability classes and using available technology effectively to enhance grammar learming inside and outside the classroom. Deepali discussed with the participants, different challenges that the learners may have while learning grammar and discovered how she can help learners in using grammar to improve fluency and accuracy.

Deepali is the only Research Scholar from the Department of English, Faculty of Arts, who has got the benefit of such an International Learning Programme from United States in the Pandemic situation. She was also awarded with UGC's Indira Gandhi National Fellowship for Single Girl Child during her Masters (2016-18). She, then, was awarded with the University Research Fellowship and SHODH (Scheme of Developing High Quality Research) Fellowship by Education Department, Government of Gujarat.

She is currently pursuing Ph.D. based on the curriculum framework, syllabus designing and testing practices in the state universities of Gujarat under the guidance of Prof. Hitesh D. Raviya.