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Country Panama
City Panama
Host Institution Universidad Latina de Panama
Project Description
The government of Panama is currently undergoing an ambitious program to improve the level of English among its younger population. The need for qualified English speakers in the workforce has become increasingly more apparent as Panama enters the global marketplace and especially as it begins work on the Canal Expansion Project. Universidad Latina de Panama and the government-run English for Life program have been working for the past year on improving the level of English among high school and university students. The EL Fellow contributed to furthering their work by conducting train the trainer workshops and working on curriculum development for their program. There is still much work to be done especially since the previous EL Fellow traveled to Panama on a shortened program which served greatly to get the English for Life program off its feet but left much more work to be accomplished. The new EL Fellow will serve as an advisor on curriculum development and will help the University and program coordinators to take the English for Life program to the next step. The EL Fellow will evaluate where the program is now and help to develop a strategy of where the program should go from here to achieve the desired objectives. The EL Fellow will be responsible for conducting train the trainer workshops for the teachers who will be in charge of the English language program for high school and university students and would also serve as an advisor to the English department at the Universidad Latina de Panama where the majority of the English for Life training programs are held. The host institution, Universidad Latina de Panama, would like the EL Fellow to assist them in developing a stronger English program at their institution while at the same time advising on the English for Life program that they are partnering on with the Ministry of Education. The EL Fellow will give workshops and seminars to teachers and English/TESOL majors at the university's 4 campuses in Panama and also be available to conduct workshops at Ministry of Education English teacher conferences and workshops.
Project Objectives
The objective of an EL Fellow program is to work with the Universidad Latina de Panama and the Ministry of Education with the English for Life Program. This program is a government initiative to improve the level of English among high school and university students in order for them to be more competitive in the job market. The EL Fellow will serve as an advisor to this program and to the university for the improvement of their English language programs and will also coordinate their train the trainer program for English teachers.
About the Host Institution
Universidad Latina de Panama is one of Panama’s new and up and coming universities. It is run by a Board of Trustees and is quickly becoming one of Panama's more successful universities. With campuses throughout Panama, Universidad Latina is investing heavily in its English language programs and has partnered with the Fundacion Gabriel Lewis Galindo, an educational NGO, and the Ministry of Education to sponsor the English for Life Program.
Fundacion Gabriel Lewis Galindo is an educational NGO who is investing heavily in the modernization of the educational system in Panama. Their signature program "The 21st century educator" was a huge success and centered on modernizing the way teachers taught in the classroom. Their newest program "English for Life" was created to address the need for qualified English speakers in the Panamanian workforce. To date, the English for Life program has worked with over 5,000 teenagers and has secured jobs for those teenagers and young adults in call centers, hotels, cruise ships, and ports.
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