English in Action is delighted to have Dr. Rama Mathew join as the Head of Research Monitoring and Evaluation (RME) in January 2015. Dr. Mathew works as a Professor of Education in the Department of Education, Delhi University, Delhi. She was also the Dean of the Faculty during 2012-14.

Previously she taught at the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad where she was involved in English language education with specific focus on language teacher education and assessment for more than twenty years. She was Project Director of a national curriculum evaluation study (1993-98) called the CBSE-ELT Curriculum Implementation Study, which concretised the notion of teacher as researcher in actual classroom contexts. She coordinated a project on mentoring in collaboration with the Open University, UK, under the UKIERI scheme.

She has designed the English Language Proficiency Course for the students of Delhi University in which loose-leaf materials meant for adult learners have been developed and students take proficiency tests at three levels that assess all the skills of the language. She has been an invited plenary speaker at several conferences in India and other countries including the conference of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL), UK.

She has conducted workshops for English teachers in ELT pedagogy and assessment in several countries including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Turkey, Singapore, the UK and the USA. She has published many research articles in journals, books and encyclopedias. She has served on the Editorial Board of journals such as ELT Journal (UK), Language Assessment Quarterly (USA).

Her current research interests include teaching English to young learners and teenagers, teacher education, proficiency assessment and programme evaluation.

January 2015