AY 2007-2008 Projects - Europe/Eurasia

Country                       Albania
City                              Vlora
Host Institution           Technologic University Ismail Qemali

Project Description
The EL Fellow will be posted at the Technologic University Ismail Qemali.  S/he will teach lecture courses on American Civilization and American History. The two Albanian Faculty assistants will continue attending the lectures and working with the EL Fellow to revise the courses based on student feedback. They will also run a discussion seminar in collaboration with the EL Fellow. By the end of the Fellowship, the two local faculty members will have been prepared to teach these courses in a manner that reflects an American approach to teaching and learning. The EL Fellow will work with various committees involved in drafting curricula and program plans for the new graduate programs. The addition of American perspectives on these courses could prove critical in the faculty’s attempt to develop practical, relevant programs based on the latest approaches to professional teacher education and development. In addition, the EL Fellow will work at American Corner in Vlora, providing courses and workshops on Internet use, TOEFL classes, educational advising, and other special programs linked to the thematic monthly events. Albania has a Peace Corps program and is increasing the number of volunteers teaching English based on the country needs.

Project Objectives
The EL Fellow will be assigned to work at University "Ismail Qemali" in Vlora. In 2003 and 2004 an EL Fellow was placed at the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Vlora to teach courses in English Language Teaching Methods to English majors and offer in-service teacher training for teachers of English as a foreign language, and this EL Fellow will further the gains achieved at that time. Reflecting their goal of carrying out reforms mandated by the Bologna Declaration, providing instruction which encourages critical thinking and student-centered classrooms and attempting to implement a transparent, merit-based examination and promotion system for students and faculty alike, the University of Vlora is very interested in and committed to hosting an EL Fellow during the 2007-2008 academic year. The EL Fellow will teach "American Civilization" and "American History" courses and help revise respective curricula and courses in cooperation with the faculty members. The Department of Foreign Languages of the University of Vlora, in accord with Bologna reforms, has started the implementation of new curricula by introducing new courses and a credit system. The University is also expanding to include graduate level programs. Besides teaching American Civilization and American History, the EL Fellow would provide valuable input and expertise on the content of American Studies undergraduate and graduate programs. The previous EL Fellow placement in Vlora proved to be invaluable in providing badly needed expertise on integrating an ELT methods component into an evolving program, which now includes training for junior faculty. The placement of an EL Fellow for one academic year would also help with teaching and curricula review across the board and consolidate their efforts to meet the standards of the Bologna Process.  

About the Host Institution
University "Ismail Qemali" in Vlora is the second youngest public university in Albania, founded in 1994. It consists of three faculties and two departments with a total of 8,800 students. With the signing of the Bologna Agreement by the Albanian Ministry of Education and Sciences in 2003, the university started working on new curricula and programs and further training and qualification of the faculty members. 30 faculty members have finished their post-graduate studies and received an MA while 35 others are enrolled in this program and expected to receive the MA degree at the end of the 2006-07 academic year.