AY 2007-2008 Projects - Americas

Country                       Guatemala
City                              Quetzaltenango (Xela)
Host Institution           Instituto Guatemalteco Americano

Project Description
The Instituto Guatemalteco Americano (the US-Guatemala binational center known as IGA) is one of the most well respected educational and cultural institutions in Guatemala. IGA employs more than seventy teachers to teach English to thousands of students of all ages in Guatemala City and in its satellite institute located in (known locally as Xela). In addition, IGA is considered the primary source of continuing education training for English teachers throughout Guatemala. Each year IGA organizes the National Teachers’ Conference (NTC), which provides teacher training and Teacher Training Certificate (TTC) workshops to over 900 ESL teachers and soon-to-be educators. The Ministry of Education recognizes both the NTC and the TTC as fulfilling the national requirement for continuing education training and for certification of English teachers. IGA is in the process of expanding and strengthening the English language curriculum and courses offerings at its satellite institute in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala's second largest city. Xela is the home to the satellite campuses of numerous national universities and has a college town atmosphere that appeals to academically minded individuals from Guatemala and throughout the world. Most of the students who study in Xela commute from surrounding towns each day and return home each night to share newly acquired knowledge with their families and neighbors. IGA established a presence in Xela several years ago, but over the last two years the institute's director (along with the support by the Embassy) has focused attention and resources on transforming IGA-Xela into the leading English language institution in the Western portion of the country. Demand for English language classes in Xela is on the rise as businesses, students and professionals begin to recognize the need for English and are actively searching for effective programs. IGA is capitalizing on the commuting-for-education movement in Xela by offering English classes to hundreds of students of all ages at local public high schools each Saturday. This proposal focuses primarily on teacher development at IGA-Xela because of the clear multiplier factor due to the institution's ability to reach young students, indigenous communities and lower income life-long learners. Although IGA has an excellent in-house training program, there is a pressing need in Xela to establish a more systemic and rigorous training process for locally hired teachers. Xela's distance from Guatemala City (four hours or more due to road damage from Hurricane Stan) and security concerns makes travel between the two cities difficult. A recent assessment conducted by a Senior Specialist highlighted IGA-Xela's potential but noted that the teachers would benefit greatly from ongoing training and a concentrated effort to evaluate the teaching standards. The EL Fellow in Xela will not only conduct teacher training courses, but also assist in curriculum development, oversee newly offered TTC courses and provide workshops through IGA-Xela to ESL professionals teaching in local academic institutions. 

Project Objectives                                         
The EL Fellow will be based at IGA-Xela where s/he will work approx. 30 hrs/wk and occasionally on Saturdays, with the local director and teachers to improve the course curriculum, strengthen teacher training and work one-on-one with current teachers to improve their classroom techniques. The EL Fellow will also work with the director on developing sessions for the Teacher Training Certificate workshops held in September and March, which attracts ESL teachers from the entire Western highlands of Guatemala. The EL Fellow will be asked to conduct two- or three-day ESL teacher trainer workshops to educators from other academic institution in Xela and in nearby provinces. IGA will provide the infrastructure (office, supplies and secretarial support) for the above mentioned outreach activities. The EL Fellow's outreach will provide IGA with recognition and prestige for being the premier provider of teacher training and development in Guatemala. However, IGA is also an educational provider in its own right, and will utilize the Fellow for their own programs. The current EL Fellow for 2006-2007, who is based in IGA-Xela full-time, believes that the institution continues to have a high level of need but she is pleased with the strong working relationship with the local director. IGA wishes to proactively utilize the EL Fellow as an outreach vehicle to consolidate its position as the premier provider of teacher training in Xela and will send the EL Fellow to local universities and other selected institutions to provide training and consultations. IGA's focus on teacher development will ensure the long-term, national impact.  

About the Host Institution
The Instituto Guatemalteco Americano (the US-Guatemala binational center known as IGA) is one of the most well respected educational and cultural institutions in Guatemala. IGA employs more than seventy teachers to teach English to thousands of students of all ages in Guatemala City and in its satellite institute located in Quetzaltenango (known locally as Xela). In addition, IGA is considered the primary source of continuing education training for English teachers throughout Guatemala. Each year IGA organizes the National Teachers’ Conference (NTC), which provides teacher training and Teacher Training Certificate (TTC) workshops to over 900 ESL teachers and soon-to-be educators. The Ministry of Education recognizes both the NTC and the TTC as fulfilling the national requirement for continuing education training and for certification of English teachers.