ELT in Albania: project evaluation and change

Abstract

After the collapse of communism, the implementation of aid for English language teaching (ELT) in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, funded by foreign aid agencies, has promoted the introduction of new methodologies and the renovation of ELT programs. Beside these new ELT developments, research has recognized several ecological issues related to the appropriateness and sustainability of ELT aid projects, such as the need for a context-sensitive approach by aid donors and the importance of carrying out formative and summative evaluation prior to and during aid implementation in these countries. This paper aims to identify and evaluate some of these issues in the design and implementation of the British Council ELT aid project at the University of Tirana in Albania. Through an analysis of the British Council project design and the appropriateness of its methodology to the Albanian social and professional context, this paper sheds light on some of the factors that account for the ephemeral nature of such projects. This research also reveals the need for the aid-providing countries to set aside the assumption that the needs of all these countries are identical, and to undertake serious research, which takes into consideration the local culture, in order to increase aid projects' relevance and effectiveness.