Departing for US: Teachers attend orientation
Programme aims to improve teaching methodologies and language proficiency.
ISLAMABAD:
A pre-departure orientation was arranged for 43 teachers going to the United States (US) on scholarships this fall. The teachers have been selected under the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) and Foreign Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) programmes. The orientation was organised by The United States Education Foundation Pakistan (USEFP).
TEA is an eight-week programme and is being launched in Pakistan for the first time. It provides teachers from public schools opportunity to develop expertise in their subject areas, and build best teaching practices. A total of 37 grantees will be travelling to the US in early August for the programme, of which over a third are women (38 per cent).
The majority of the participants belong to modest and unrepresented areas of Pakistan. “This programme will help us improve our English proficiency and teaching methodology,” said Granaz Baloch from Turbat. Granaz said that she is the first female teacher to be selected from Balochistan for the two-month programme in the US.
The participants will also be placed in a two-week internship programme at a local secondary school. The internship offers courses in English as a foreign language, social studies, civics, history, mathematics and science.
FLTA is a nine-month non-degree programme that provides English language teachers the opportunity to improve teaching skills
and extend their knowledge of the US culture and society.
They are also required to teach Urdu and other local languages to the American students during their visit.
A total of six teachers will be travelling through this programme this year, of which four are female. Since its inception in 2006, 33 grantees have been sent via this programme.
“Opportunities for Pakistani students to study in the US have never been greater,” said USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar.
She congratulated the departing students.”Teachers are privileged members of the society who play a responsible role in building a nation, I am sure that you will represent Pakistan very well in the US, and return to make a difference at home,” she added.
USEFP, a bi-national commission established in 1950 by the governments of Pakistan and the United States, is one of 51 Fulbright Commissions located throughout the world. The mission of the programme is to promote mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and United States through educational and cultural exchange. Since its’ inception, more than 61 years ago, nearly 4,000 Pakistanis and more than 800 Americans have participated in USEFP administered exchange programmes, according to a handout.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.
A pre-departure orientation was arranged for 43 teachers going to the United States (US) on scholarships this fall. The teachers have been selected under the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) and Foreign Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) programmes. The orientation was organised by The United States Education Foundation Pakistan (USEFP).
TEA is an eight-week programme and is being launched in Pakistan for the first time. It provides teachers from public schools opportunity to develop expertise in their subject areas, and build best teaching practices. A total of 37 grantees will be travelling to the US in early August for the programme, of which over a third are women (38 per cent).
The majority of the participants belong to modest and unrepresented areas of Pakistan. “This programme will help us improve our English proficiency and teaching methodology,” said Granaz Baloch from Turbat. Granaz said that she is the first female teacher to be selected from Balochistan for the two-month programme in the US.
The participants will also be placed in a two-week internship programme at a local secondary school. The internship offers courses in English as a foreign language, social studies, civics, history, mathematics and science.
FLTA is a nine-month non-degree programme that provides English language teachers the opportunity to improve teaching skills
and extend their knowledge of the US culture and society.
They are also required to teach Urdu and other local languages to the American students during their visit.
A total of six teachers will be travelling through this programme this year, of which four are female. Since its inception in 2006, 33 grantees have been sent via this programme.
“Opportunities for Pakistani students to study in the US have never been greater,” said USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar.
She congratulated the departing students.”Teachers are privileged members of the society who play a responsible role in building a nation, I am sure that you will represent Pakistan very well in the US, and return to make a difference at home,” she added.
USEFP, a bi-national commission established in 1950 by the governments of Pakistan and the United States, is one of 51 Fulbright Commissions located throughout the world. The mission of the programme is to promote mutual understanding between the people of Pakistan and United States through educational and cultural exchange. Since its’ inception, more than 61 years ago, nearly 4,000 Pakistanis and more than 800 Americans have participated in USEFP administered exchange programmes, according to a handout.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 9th, 2011.