Making a tribute to English teachers

Out of 23 nominations, seven outstanding English teachers have been selected for the Best Teacher of English Award by the Prague Post Endowment Fund, and were recognized at a small ceremony March 19 at the American Center in Prague. Candidates were chosen based on the recommendations of their principals and students, which they submitted along with examples of class work, lesson plans, multimedia learning tools and descriptions of international projects like student exchanges and pen-pal letters.

"The level of all the nominees was really high, so the choice was not simple," says Lydie Raszková, director of the Prague Post Endowment Fund. "We focused on the teaching methods, openness to new technologies in teaching, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities and, of course, how a teacher inspires and motivates students."

"Mrs. Münchová has been teaching us English since the third grade. Her lessons are really fun. We do projects that we have a lot of fun with," says Michaela Štěpánková, sixth-grade student of award-winner Eva Münchová from Okružní elementary school in Most.

Münchová's students learn English the fun way, by using interactive technologies like Smart Board, a digital whiteboard program. Münchová says she tries to impart the important rules of the language to her students through active learning combined with exercises, but admits she sees more value in conversation and vocabulary than in grammar drills.

"I always tell my students, 'Without grammar, you'll still work it out, but without vocabulary, no way,' " she says.

Raszková says the aim of the award, now in its second year, is to recognize teachers like Münchová, who aren't afraid to use technology in the classroom and who take a nontraditional approach to teaching. The competition is only open to Czech teachers, because, as Raszková explains, the importance of teachers is not well understood in Czech society, and the endowment wants to change that.

"The teacher is a bit understated in our country when compared with the United States," she says. "So we want to encourage and appreciate the outstanding teachers from Czech schools."

Though designed to recognize Czech teachers, one of the criteria winners had to meet was to demonstrate success in arranging international projects for student participation. Miluška Karásková, a teacher at an elementary school in Hradec Králové and another of the six winners, arranged exchanges between her 11- to 12-year-old students and students from a partner school in France.

International exposure

"The French students came here for a week, and our pupils went to France for a week. During this time, it's not like the normal academic year, because we usually work on some kind of environmental project, and all communication is in English," says Karásková, who is also the principal at her school, a position she says enhances her enjoyment of teaching. "As a principal, I don't have to teach as many lessons, so, when I do walk into the classroom, it's super. It's the payoff for all those hours of paperwork I have to do."

In addition to demonstrating an aptitude for IT-teaching tools and an ability to create partnerships with schools abroad, the teachers also came highly recommended by their colleagues for their professionalism, enthusiasm and personality.

"Eva's lessons were always just as inspiring for me as Eva is as a person and colleague," says Alena Pantálková of her fellow teacher and award-winner, Eva Poláková.

Established in 1992, the Prague Post Endowment Fund aims to strengthen the links between the international business community and the local nonprofit and educational sectors. In addition to the Best Teacher of English Award, the fund also holds an annual softball tournament called "Heavy Hitters," in which leaders in the business community play to raise money for projects in Czech primary and secondary schools. Additionally, the fund distributes lesson plans to teachers throughout the country free of charge and provides online resources for schools and educators.

The honored teachers will receive a cash reward from the Prague Post Endowment Fund and the U.S. Embassy, as well as language manuals and books from another project partner, Oxford University Press.

Emily Thompson can be reached at
ethompson@praguepost.com