AY 2007-2008 Projects - Americas

Country                       Mexico
City                              Mexico City
Host Institution           Normal School of Atlacomulco

Project Description
The EL Fellow will work with the Normal School of Atlacomulco for the 2007-2008 academic year. This Normal School is unique for its vision and initiative in English language teaching (ELT). Unlike most Normal Schools in Mexico, Atlacomulco requires that the students of the BA in ELT have a high level of English from the very early stages, and English is a graduation requirement. The Normal School has also implemented a pioneering English program in the experimental annex primary school. In an unprecedented effort, Atlacomulco has established its own academic exchange programs with Grossmont Community College and San Diego State University. Both students and teachers visit Grossmont Community College during the summer to perfect their English, learn about the American culture, and improve their knowledge about ELT. Although the students pay for this stay out of their own pockets, the Normal School authorities have supported them by actively seeking agreements of reduced-interest loans with local Mexican banks. The nature of the relationship with SDSU follows quite a different line. In a ground-breaking effort, Atlacomulco is looking to start the first Master’s Degree in TESOL in the Mexican Normal School system. Atlacomulco’s plan is to run the degree as a joint venture for a couple of generations, then take advantage of the knowledge acquired by the new graduate students to create its own Master’s program. Atlacomulco has also established a consortium with the other four Normal Schools that teach the BA in ELT in the state. Its leadership has been key in heightening the standards of ELT and instrumenting orchestrated programs towards the betterment of pre-service teachers. The efforts have been so successful that the Normal Schools of the state of Mexico will soon stop offering the BA in ELT for pre-service teachers on a yearly basis, as the market is now becoming saturated with high-quality professionals. The national Normal directorate and the state government have decided to redirect the Normal Schools’ efforts mostly towards in-service teachers. The Normal Schools will thus become Teacher Updating Centers (CAMs) devoted to the improvement of the teachers already in service. Under this new scheme, Atlacomulco has requested and received funds for several million pesos to establish the first of four Regional Centers for the Teaching of Foreign Languages in the state of Mexico. The work done in this first Center will serve as a model for the subsequent operation of the other three. Each center will have three main lines of work: preparing pre-service teachers every four or five years, updating and offering opportunities for advancement to in-service teachers, and offering language classes to the community. 
                                                        
Project Objectives
The EL Fellow will be responsible for working jointly with the Director of the Regional Center to create, design and orient the different programs stemming from the line of work aimed at updating and offering opportunities of advancement to in-service teachers, such as the MATESOL program with SDSU. The EL Fellow will help the Director of the Regional Center and his team in doing curricular design, establishing entrance and exit requirements, and drafting procedures to eventually implement similar operations in the other three Regional Centers. Likewise, the EL Fellow will help establish controls to keep the programs and Regional Center running on track.  

About the Host Institution
The Escuela Normal de Atlacomulco is one of the leading institutions in ELT in the Normal School system in Mexico. Several programs and initiatives started by them have served as models for the other Normal Schools in the State of Mexico, and they are always willing and happy to help any other Normals who approach them. The recently-appointed principal is a Fulbright alumnus with extraordinary vision and impetus; in the past, he has established academic links with US institutions and, not long ago, he took advantage of a special grant offered by the National Directorate of Normal Schools to make the plan of the Regional Centers come true.