Association of Teachers of English of the Czech Republic
Asociace učitelů angličtiny České republiky
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ATECR STRUCTURE
ATECR MEMBERSHIP
ATECR AIMS AND PURPOSES
ATECR SERVICES
ATECR HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS
- The Association of Teachers of English of the Czech Republic was founded in January 1990 by a group of teachers of English seeking improvement in the quality of English teaching, exchange of ideas and experience and broad cooperation on national and international level.
- The very first meeting was held on 11th January 1990 in Prague, in April 1990 the association was officially registered and in May, the first General Assembly was attended by close to a hundred teachers from many different parts of the country.
- The membership grew fast, the scope of activities widened and in February 1991 the initial efforts were crowned by the success of the First ATECR National ELT Conference and book fair in Prague, in which Czech teachers gave presentations alongside their colleagues from a number of countries of the world.
- In 1991 seventeen regional centres equipped with libraries were established across the country.
- In 1992 the Association ventured into co-organising the Third NELLE International Conference in Prague and held its Second ATECR National ELT Conference entitled Reflections and Perspectives in Hradec Králové.
- In 1992 the ATECR organised the making of a video programme named Alternatives for Teachers of English, and in 1993 the programme was repeatedly shown on a nation-wide channel of Czech Television.
- 1993 was the year of four regional conferences and in 1994 the Association organised the Third National ELT Conference entitled the Mystery of Creativity in Liberec. National events are held biennially, with regional events in the intervening years. Five regional conferences took place in 1995, and, in the same year, Prague was the venue of our first ESP Conference entitled the Multiple Choice '95.
- České Budějovice hosted the Fourth National ATECR ELT Conference named the Connections '96. In 1997 there were two regional conferences.
- In September 1998, ATECR held its Fifth National and First International Conference, Alternatives '98, in Prague with the attendance of about 600 Czech and foreign teachers.
- In September 1999, the LSP Forum, international ESP conference, was held in Prague with the participation of about 400 teachers of English for Specific/Academic Purposes from all over the world.
- The 6th National and 2nd International ATECR Conference took place in Plzeň in September 2000.
- In reaction to the decision of the Ministry of Education to start teaching foreign languages in the 4th grade, ATECR organised Language and Methodology Courses for English teachers in the 4th and 5th grades (1997-2000).
- Three Intensive Summer Methodology Courses were held in July 1999, supported by the British Council USIS and Michigan TESOL. Czech, British and American (MITESOL) teacher trainers worked intensively with Czech basic and secondary school teachers.
- In response to ATECR's Call for Help concerning the schools that had suffered damage during the savage floods in the summer of 1997, The British Council (Czech Republic), the United States Information Service, major ELT publishers and individual donors donated books and teaching materials worth about 3 million Czech crowns, i.e. GBP 55,000 (USD 86,000) to 70 primary and secondary schools in the affected area.
- The 7th National and 3rd International ATECR Conference "ELT Horizons" took place in Liberec in September 2002.
- Over the years, the Association has been attracting the attention of more and more teachers of English in the country, building its position as a partner in negotiations concerning the development of ELT in the Czech lands, as well as establishing its international relations.
- Today, ATECR represents the interests and concerns of about 700 teachers of English at all levels in the Czech Republic, is an Associate of IATEFL, member of NELLE and an Affiliate of TESOL. It cooperates with various national and international bodies and has a formal partnership agreement and working cooperation with TESOL Michigan, USA.
- The 8th National and 4th International ATECR Conference "Learning Together" took place in Pardubice in September 2004.
ATECR STRUCTURE
- The ATECR Executive Committee is comprised of an elected President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, Immediate Past President, and appointed members in charge of liaison with other organisations, heads of divisions according to types of schools, as well as some special interest groups etc. Elections take place every two years.
- Today, there are nineteen regional centres with regional representatives and new ones may be formed, according to need and interest. The status and the structure of ATECR are described in the Constitution, approved in 1990 and amended in 1991, 1994 and 1998.
ATECR MEMBERSHIP
- Membership of ATECR is open to all persons teaching English at all kinds of schools and other institutions, state or private, as well as freelance teachers, of any nationality, working in the Czech Republic. There is also institutional membership. When you join ATECR, you connect yourself with other concerned professionals who wish to upgrade the teaching of English as a foreign language in the Czech Republic. Membership is for the calendar year, January through December. As a member, you will receive the ATECR Newsletter, published three times a year as well as other information and registration materials for conferences and other professional events organised by ATECR.
- There is an annual membership fee. As a member, you can participate in all events organised by ATECR, join in the activities of a regional centre of your choice, use ATECR libraries, write contributions for the newsletter, help with the organisation of conferences, serve on the Executive Board, represent ATECR at various meetings, come up with proposals of how to improve ATECR's work or make it more meaningful to its members, and so on. To join ATECR, fill in the membership application and return it to the address on the form. Forms may be photocopied. Payment of the annual fee is also condition of membership. If you have any questions, please write to ATECR.
The address is
Asociace učitelů angličtiny (AUAČR/ATECR)
P.O.BOX 169, 11121 Praha 1
ATECR AIMS AND PURPOSES
ATECR is a non-profit organisation, created with the following purposes in mind:
- To improve the quality of English teaching in Czech schools;
- To raise the professional level of the members themselves both in teaching and language;
- To enable teachers to express freely their views in relation to the teaching of English and protect their interests against interference from higher authorities;
- To preserve the right to participate in discussion and decisions with reference to the teaching of English through our associations representatives;
- To ensure that the association provides a real forum for the exchange of views and opinions with regard to the teaching of English;
- To offer professional cooperation with TV and radio in the design and production of teaching programmes for schools at both teacher and pupil level;
- To cooperate with the British Council and the United States Embassy as well as other foreign institutions;
- To promote exchange visits, working parties and study exchanges between Czech teachers of English and teachers of English from other countries;
- To help in the re-integrating of the Czech Republic into Europe, to which by tradition and culture it has always belonged, through the medium of English language so that the traditions and aims of the country may be better understood by all;
- To ensure, through the use of English, closer cooperation with the rest of the world and an increase in greater international understanding;
- To join international teachers' organisations and become part of international professional networks;
- To support members' participation in international conferences and professional meetings.
ATECR SERVICES
- Publishing the ATECR NEWSLETTER three times a year. The Newsletter contains brief articles, announcements of ATECR and ELT events at home and abroad, reviews and information about new books and other teaching materials, teaching tips, articles reprinted from IATEFL, TESOL and MITESOL newsletters etc.
- Organising biennial national conferences and regional conferences, workshops and lectures featuring presentations by ELT professionals and sessions of practical and theoretical interests to English teachers;
- Running regional centres providing access to professional literature and facilitating contact between teachers in the given region;
- Running the ATECR lending libraries with books and audio and video material;
- Facilitating teachers' participation in international conferences, exchange study stays etc.;
- Defending the interests of English teachers through meaningful cooperation with the Ministry of Education and other governmental and non-governmental educational bodies.