Chennai, 11 August 2025 – The British Council today hosted a dissemination event at its Chennai premises to mark the successful conclusion of the Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS), which ran from April 2024 to May 2025. The event brought together mentors and mentees from Gauhati University, IITDM Kancheepuram, and NIT Warangal, along with key stakeholders from education departments and teacher training institutes. The event also saw Professor Rama Mathew – lead mentor for ARMS – being felicitated for winning the ELTons Award 2024.
Launched in 2024, ARMS awarded grants to three Indian institutions, supporting approximately 70 mentors and mentees engaged in classroom-based research focused on ncil’s wider commitment to strengthening multilingual education (MLE) across India, recognising the importance of inclusive, language-aware teaching in improving learning outcomes. ARMS aimed to build institutional capacity for action research by creating an environment where teachers explored new approaches, reflected on their practice, made informed pedagogical choices, built confidence, and improved student learning outcomes.
Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British CouEnglish language teaching in India’s multilingual context. The scheme is part of the British Council, shared, “At the British Council, we are committed to empowering educators to become agents of change within their own classrooms and communities. The Action Research Mentoring Scheme (ARMS) exemplifies how reflective practice can drive innovation in multilingual education, fostering deeper professional growth and pedagogical excellence. We are also proud to celebrate Professor Rama Mathew, whose enduring contributions to teacher education have shaped generations of practitioners and continue to elevate the standards of teaching across India.”
Felicitated at the event, Professor Rama Mathew said, “I’m honoured by this recognition and happy to be receiving this award. The ELTons Award feels special, as it acknowledges the value of teacher-led work in complex, multilingual classrooms. It’s been a privilege to be part of a community so committed to reflective, multilingual education.”
The event featured presentations from mentors and mentees, showcasing their work and research findings, and highlighting how their interventions addressed the complexities of multilingual classrooms. The British Council reaffirmed its commitment to promoting action research as a powerful CPD tool, advocating teacher-led inquiry, and strengthening the role of multilingual education in building systemic improvements. The ARMS initiative reflects the British Council’s broader mission of fostering educational excellence through partnerships and innovation in the field.