School of Education

The team behind the project Teaching English Multilingually through Art (TEMA) have recently had the opportunity to share their work in progress with colleagues in Indonesia. At the beginning of December 2025, Dr. Lavinia Hirsu and Dr. Dobrochna Futro, who are leading the larger TEMA team with colleagues in Vietnam, have responded to the invitation from the Professional Development for Teachers and Education Personnel in West Java to share their vision of teaching and learning English drawing on their expertise and experiences in similar contexts.

Dr. Hirsu and Dr. Futro were keynote speakers at the international seminar “Global Language, Local Impact: Reimagining English as a Foreign Language for Indonesia’s Young Learners”. The event gathered around 300 participants, including primary teachers from different schools across West Java and nearby regions. The seminar marked a significant moment as it served as an opportunity to launch the most recent policy which introduces the teaching and learning of English as a compulsory subject in all primary schools. Among other key speakers, Dr. Meliyanti, representative of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, shared her vision of the future of English teaching and learning in Indonesia, acknowledging the importance of a phased approach that puts teachers’ professional learning at its core. Drawing on their recent experience of working in primary schools in Vietnam (as part of the TEMA project) and the collaborative work with primary school teachers in Scotland, Dr. Hirsu and Dr. Futro discussed the importance of art making and cultural heritage in the context of rethinking English language learning in the primary context. Their presentation also included information about the upcoming resources that have emerged from the TEMA project which include a wide range of innovative activities built on principles of language inclusion, integration of local cultures and arts-based approaches to language learning.

The event in Indonesia enabled Dr. Hirsu and Dr. Futro to engage in numerous conversations with programmes leads of local professional training organisations to better understand the current opportunities and challenges that teachers face in the sector. As part of the internationalisation agenda, Dr. Hirsu and Dr. Futro also met with colleagues in the British Council – Indonesia to share experiences and identify potential new venues for collaboration. For the School of Education, these are key opportunities that will facilitate open and ongoing dialogues which will potentially lead to new partnerships and initiatives.

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First published: 28 January 2026