AY 2007-2008 Projects - Near East and North Africa

Country                                   Israel
City                                          Baqa Al Gharbia
Host Institution                       Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education

Project Description
To be competitive within the changing and dynamic labor market, students need communicative skills that address the demands and needs of a world increasingly focused around communication in English. In addition, these students need greater exposure to communicative situations based on real life interaction with native speakers of English, which assists in developing communicative competence and greater mastery of basic level speaking skills. Hosting an EL Fellow will result in improving the quality and delivery of English language courses to students at Al-Qasemi, particularly that most students come from the disadvantaged sector of the Arab community in Israel. Moreover the EL Fellow will assist tremendously in bringing about improvement in different courses.  The EL Fellow will be integrated into the English department where s/he will be in a position to promote and reinforce communicative and writing proficiency. Likewise, it is expected that the EL Fellow will address topics related to literature or methodology as the case requires. Alternatively, the EL Fellow might be appointed as a specialized expert in one discipline and thus s/he will cover certain courses in the department. The EL Fellow will be engaged to raise the level of the weak students who encounter obstacles and difficulties in mastering the language. Since s/he is a native speaker of English, it would also be advisable that s/he conducts workshops, sessions or lectures of international dimensions and relevance, such as workshops concerning conflict- resolution, tolerance, globalization, multiculturalism and other controversial subjects. The EL Fellow will accompany students in their learning process in terms of supervising their work, guiding their academic endeavors and offering assistance. The English department serves the needs of about 120 students, mostly females. The targeted students will be either first year or second year students who study to get their B.Ed. degree in English language and literature. Furthermore the English Department uniquely endorses educational programs which pertain to area student population ranging from elementary to secondary schools. Al Qasemi operates a summer camp of English each year. Various pedagogical projects and teaching units are prepared by the academy students in order to enhance and enrich language teaching instructions methods. The summer camp not only provides students with learning units, but functions as a stepping-stone which strengthens the academic and professional ties between the Academy and the surrounding schools, thus creating a highly intensive learning environment. The EL Fellow will have the opportunity to work with the Academy on such projects to assist local students to achieve a higher level of English proficiency, and to open the doors of higher education to them. The EL Fellow will stay within the Academy's premises and transportation will be organized by the college.

Project Objectives
To improve the US image within Israel's Islamic Israeli-Arab community and to provide a tool that will help Israeli-Arab students to compete with their Jewish counterparts. The Academy is a unique and quality institution located in Baqa Al Gharbia, an area deeply affected by the issues of the conflict, and placement of an EL Fellow in this area will have a great impact on the overall attitudes of the student population. This is an excellent opportunity to convey American values to students who are the future leaders of the Israeli-Arab community who are eager to make a difference. 

About the Host Institution
Al-Qasemi Academy is the only academic institution located in an Arab town in Israel that aims at developing human resources in an open, tolerant and flexible society. It also advocates issues of justice and promotes education and knowledge. Al-Qasemi Academy disseminates the message of tolerance and respect for others irrespective of their identities, perceptions, beliefs and way of living The Academy advocates issues of justice and promotes education and knowledge; yet it does not only disseminate the message of tolerance and respect for the other, it also enables its graduates to function as agents of change in the Israeli society. Al-Qasemi Academic social agenda is geared at initiating and creating opportunities for cross cultural and human dialogue to fight hatred, violence and exclusion, and stress the fact that there is no war between beliefs. The various activities workshops, meetings, conferences, study days conducted in the college aim at enhancing the understanding of the other as part of one's existence. Al-Qasemi Academy was originally founded in 1989. It started its B. Ed program in 2001. It is the only institution located in an Arab town in Israel to grant academic degree. Students specialize in Islamic religion, Arabic, Hebrew, English language and literature, mathematics, technology, computer science, early childhood education, and special education. Al-Qasemi organizational culture is based on the values of human respect and well being, cross-cultural, inter-faith dialogue, acceptance of diversity and otherness, empowerment of women, as well as appreciation of quality and excellence. The Al-Qasemi Academy, combining the legacy of Islamic culture with progress, lay down the foundations for a humanistic society of knowledge, leading cultural and humanistic growth processes of the Arab minority in Israel while aspiring to be an international academic institution, one that attracts quality faculty and students from all over the world.