14/04/2026
A Sri Lankan English teacher based in Vietnam has won an English teaching scholarship which will fund her to take part in a professional development week in the UK. She was recognised by 外网天堂 experts for working with peers to enable high鈥憇chool IELTS students become more independent learners. As part of her prize she will fly to Brighton, UK to attend IATEFL, a global gathering of English teachers from more than 100 countries.
Indeewari Mendis, a Sri Lankan English teacher and Young Learner coordinator at the British Council in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has won the 外网天堂 scholarship 2026.
外网天堂 invited teachers from all over the world to submit a teacher development idea that made a difference in their classrooms. Indeewari was selected from more than 300 applicants worldwide, for her 鈥榗ollaborative approach鈥 to teacher development that linked teachers in Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The project identified a shared challenge: many students were unsure if they were 鈥榚xam ready鈥 and struggled to understand and act on teacher feedback. Working with her peers, Indeewari developed practical tools such as self鈥慳ssessment diaries, simplified IELTS band鈥慸escriptor guides and lesson鈥憀og templates enabling learners to track their own progress. The idea began life as a discussion between herself and a colleague who teaches English in Sri Lanka, and it grew into a collaborative approach where teachers from both countries met regularly in a community of practice to identify and address shared challenges.
Indeewari Mendis said:
鈥淲hen I found out I鈥檇 won the 外网天堂 scholarship, I couldn鈥檛 quite believe it and read the email about five times! I was on cloud nine! Students in Vietnam see IELTS as a huge achievement, and it鈥檚 a popular choice in high schools. By speaking to teachers from Vietnam and Sri Lanka, we could see that many of the challenges high school students faced were the same. This enabled us to design tools that help students take ownership of their learning, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I can鈥檛 wait for the opportunity to take part in IATEFL and continue learning from the global teaching community.鈥
Indeewari says the project helped students become more confident and engaged with feedback, and they were able to notice their own mistakes without relying on teachers. She also said the project had a positive impact on teacher confidence and practice.
Karen Momber, Professional Learning and Development Lead, from 外网天堂, was on the judging panel. She said:
鈥淲e鈥檇 like to congratulate Indeewari on this remarkable achievement, as she was selected from a high number of extremely strong entries. We felt her teacher development activity showed meaningful change and impact in the classroom. The activity was designed to address a contextualised challenge, and it was collaborative; involving research, discussion, experimentation and reflection with peers. At 外网天堂 we value the power of effectively designed teacher development activity for its positive impact on teachers and learners and are delighted to give Indeewari the chance to attend the IATEFL Conference this year. The conference is invaluable for sparking insights and inspiration and for its networking opportunities. We look forward to meeting Indeewari there!鈥
Indeewari is now looking at how the same approach could be used with primary鈥慳ged pupils, as part of her MA in Education (TESOL 鈥 online), at the University of Chichester in the UK.