EL Fellow Program
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Country Albania
City Tirana
Host Institution Ministry of Foreign Affairs Diplomatic Academy/
EL Teachers Association
Project Description
The EL Fellow will be assigned to work at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). The Diplomatic Academy provides pre-service training to Albanian diplomats as well as a training continuum for career diplomats. The EL Fellow will use the training structure already in place to teach English through political, economic, and public diplomacy tradecraft. The EL Fellow will also develop a Media Training course that will provide Albanian diplomats with advanced English language skills a chance to hone their public speaking skills in a variety of areas; teach two groups of diplomats English through political and economic tradecraft: one group will have intermediate English language proficiency level and the other will be beginner level (the maximum enrolment will be 15 per group); lead debates on American society and culture with intermediate and advanced students to hone their critical thinking skills and extemporaneous speech; and help develop writing and research skills for employees in the Library & Information Department. In addition, the EL Fellow will work at the American Corner, provide outreach and teacher training in collaboration with the English Language Teachers Association, oversee and guest teach some secondary school classes for medressa and underprivileged public school children, provide TOEFL classes, educational advising, and participate in other special programs linked to the thematic monthly events.
Project Objectives
The MFA is working hard to improve the quality of the Albanian diplomatic service. The Deputy Foreign Minister is spearheading a broad reform effort that is designed to better equip Albanian diplomats to conduct outreach and create more effective lines of communication while posted overseas. The Diplomatic Academy needs professional support in the improvement of its curricula and teaching of junior diplomats, while offering more advanced courses for career diplomats. The EL Fellow will contribute to the development of the Academy and its students not only by just being present but by teaching English through substantive issues such as politics and economic, something which Albanian diplomats need to develop expertise in. The EL Fellow will also have opportunity to introduce a new generation of Albanian diplomats to the importance of English, American culture, politics, and economics while shaping their leadership skills through group class work, something which does not exists within the Albanian education system currently.
About the Host Institution
The Diplomatic Academy was founded in April 2004 and functions as an institution within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The mission of the Diplomatic Academy is to contribute to the vigorous support for the basic priorities of the foreign policy and the challenges, which the contemporary Albanian diplomacy is currently facing. Its primary goal is to contribute to the development of a modern diplomatic corps by training newly accepted diplomats and offering further training to practicing Albanian diplomats and civil servants working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to language courses (often of the specialized variety), the Diplomatic Academy offers courses in the culture and society of key countries, international affairs/relations, information technology, etc. Because the Diplomatic Academy is so new, many of the programs are still being formulated and others are in their piloting phases.
The English Language Teachers Association was founded in 2001 with assistance from an EL Fellow. It is the only English Teachers Association in the country. Its members are elementary and high school teachers of English and university instructors from all over the country. The association is very active and member of other ETA (English Teachers Association) network in the region. It organizes biannual international conferences and elects the new board and chair.
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