TEA alumni Conference “New Teaching Strategies in the New School Year”

TEA alumni Conference “New Teaching Strategies in the New School Year” was held on October 8, 2011 in Kyiv. The Conference was well-planned and prepared. Oleksandra Iegorova, Cultural Affairs assistant, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, sent us all the necessary information and the schedule in advance.
Arthur Evans, Assistant Cultural Affairs officer for Education and Exchanges, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, and Oleksandra Iegorova opened the Conference.
Anita Selec, English Language Fellow, Sevastopol, Crimea, conducted a workshop “Integrating Four Skills in Creative and Challenging Way”. The participants learned new strategies through doing.
Carol Haddaway, Senior English Language Fellow, Kyiv, focused on “Teaching Academic Writing”. As students write essays during their exams, teachers need to upgrade their skills in this field. Carol Haddaway gave teachers tips and formats of different kinds of essays. Her workshop was a great success.
The Conference has contributed to effective collaboration and open communication among professionals. The participants compared and discussed teaching ideas with each other during the Round table.
I made a presentation on a course for teachers of English in primary school. As there is a growing tendency in our country to start teaching English to younger children, teachers need to upgrade their teaching skills in this field. Thus, I developed a training course for Ukrainian teachers "Teaching Listening and Speaking to Young Learners during the Summer 2011 Institute, the E-Teacher Professional Development Workshop at the UMBC in July-August 2011. The course material is compiled from the U.S. Department of State E-Teacher Scholarship Program course Teaching English to Young Learners. In addition, some content is developed through the E-Teacher Professional Development Workshop at UMBC under the assistance of Joan Kang Shin ’08 Ph.D., language, literacy and culture, clinical assistant professor of education and director of TESOL Professional Training Programs in Continuing and Professional Studies. The course will be held at Lviv Regional In-Service Teacher Training Institute, Lviv, Ukraine as a part of the professional development of teachers.
TEA alumni Conferences support teachers in their professional practice by developing new competences and sharing innovative practices. We appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Embassy in Kyiv very much. Thank you for everything you are doing for us and our students.
Nataliya Nayavko,
TEA alumna,
teacher and teacher trainer, Novyi Rozdil, Lvivska oblast.

The U.S. Interagency Conference on English Language Programs in Ukraine “English Language Education: a United Approach”

The U.S. Interagency Conference on English Language Programs in Ukraine “English Language Education: a United Approach” was held on October 6-7, 2011 in Kyiv.
The atmosphere of the Conference was very positive. The participants had a chance to meet professionals in the field of English language teaching. Craig Dicker, Program Branch Chief, Office of English language Programs, opened the Conference “English Language Education: A United Approach”.
There were a lot of presentations in five educational areas; online and mobile learning, online teacher training, in-service professional development, ELT materials. During the breaks we discussed the burning issues with Michael Carrier, Director, English Language Development, British Council, Arthur Evans, Assistant Cultural Affairs officer for Education and Exchanges, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, heads of the different educational publishing companies, and other professionals.
John F. Tefft, U.S. Ambassador, made closing remarks on the first day of the Conference.
During the second day the participants outlined the strengths and resources of each working group, based on the presentations of the first day of the Conference. I participated in the discussions of ELT materials working group. A draft of an action plan that specifies mechanisms by which all members of the working group can systematically communicate about specific English teaching programs, resources, and events they involved with, has been created. It will encourage educators to work together on existing projects to enhance these programs. Learning takes place outside of class, and high-quality, original resources should be available to facilitate this process.
I believe this strategic plan will guide future communication, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration that will allow for increased synergy across the agencies and institutions involved with English teaching and teacher training in Ukraine and globally. It also addresses the goals and mission of every participating institution while capitalizing on their strengths and resources.
Alyona Sukhinina, RELO Assistant, Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, and Oleksandra Iegorova,Cultural Affairs assistant, U.S. Embassy, Kyiv, did their best to make the Conference well-organized.
Nataliya Nayavko,
Teacher and teacher trainer, Novyi Rozdil, Lvivska oblast.