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Country Armenia
City Yerevan
Host Institution Russian-Armenian Slavonic University
Project Description
The EL Fellow will teach Communicative English and a theoretical course on teaching methods of communicative English and academic writing or any other course within applied linguistics to pre-service and some in-service teachers of Russian-Armenian Slavonic University. The goals are to introduce modern English teaching methodology to a traditional classroom and transfer the skills to in-service teachers of the department; contribute to the development of a democratic citizen by improving teaching of English and thus availing new information resources to the young audiences; and help establish American Studies curricula. The EL Fellow is expected to expose pre-service and in-service English teachers to new methods of TEFL. As a result of the project the host institution expects to see more aggressive usage of new methodology in TEFL at the host institution and more teachers of that institution changing their traditional approach to teaching English to a more interactive student-centered one. The EL Fellow will work closely with pre-service students during their practicum classes in order to identify the problem areas and make recommendations for improvement. Interest towards American English will be increased by introducing some basics of teaching English through American Studies. The EL Fellow will prepare two different courses for in-service and pre-service teachers: (a) Methods of Teaching Communicative English; and (b) Academic Writing for undergraduates. Another course on American Culture and Civilization will be a useful contribution to the English program. The EL Fellow will deliver workshops for teachers on the subjects of interest to teachers (targeting needs areas). The host institution expects that the EL Fellow will teach communicative English to 3rd and 4th year students of English Department; teach academic writing to 3rd year students of English Department; teach a course on American Studies to 3rd year students of English department; help develop course guides utilizing American Studies for teaching English; and train young in-service teachers of the department on new methodologies.
Anticipated Teaching Schedule:
- Communicative English: up to 4 hours weekly to 3rd and 4th year students (1 semester course offered both semesters)
- Academic Writing: up to 4 hours weekly to 3rd year students (1 semester course offered both semesters)
- American Studies: 2 hours once a week to 3rd year students (1 semester course offered both semesters)
- 4 one to two week workshops for teachers throughout the year
- Student advising, discussions with teachers, etc.
Project Objectives
Objectives related to teaching methods to pre-service teachers: learn new methods of teaching speaking and writing skills; practice the new skills through classroom activities and homework; develop skills of adapting various situations to different teaching methods; combine various methods to reach the same goal; work in teams to encourage joint results; use Internet resources to obtain new information and produce new knowledge; develop skills for critical thinking and argumentative essay writing; and develop short lesson plans to reflect critical thinking to be used in their practicum classes. Objectives related to teaching methods to in-service teachers (focusing on the young faculty who have had a short teaching experience): integrate new methods in their teaching process; identify problem areas in teaching speaking and writing and suggest solutions; increase the interest in learning English among students through team teaching and incorporation of American Studies content to the curriculum; and build a group of enthusiastic teachers who would be interested in organizing regular English workshops at the department as well as entertaining activities for students and pre-service teachers. Objectives related to promoting American Studies: expose students to the most essential periods in US history, which has led to the creation of an American nation; present cultural aspects of American life, which are different from what is being shaped by MTV and Hollywood; and share the style of the American youth life with the Armenian youth.
About the Host Institution
Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University (RAU) was established in 1999 and is managed both by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia enjoying the status of higher state educational institution of both states. The university offers undergraduate and graduate courses in 12 fields. In just a few years the university has become very competitive and managed to attract the best faculty in town and a great number of students. The university is among the leading ones in introducing educational reforms initiated by the Ministry of Education with the support of European Union. The university introduced the two-tier system long ago and now is working on credit accumulation, quality assurance and life-long learning strategies. The university values the scholarly work and has published textbooks and books authored by its faculty. The department of Foreign Languages was founded only in 2005, although foreign languages have been taught in RAU since its establishment. The department is divided into English for Specific Purposes teaching English to students from different faculties, and English as a major preparing linguists specializing in teaching and using languages for professional purposes. Placing an EL Fellow in the newly established Department of Foreign Languages will contribute to faculty development, improving teaching of English, introducing new methodologies, focusing on academic writing, and introducing new American Studies content in a Russian-language-and-literature-dominated university.
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