Embassy of the United States

Moscow English Teachers Explore Use of Blogs and Wikis at American Center
05-13-2009. Approximately 20 English teachers attended this academic year’s penultimate “Teacher 2 Teacher” presentation “Web 2.0 Tools for English Teachers” at the American Center on May 13. T2T, run in conjunction with the Moscow English Language Teachers’ Association, will continue with a series of Web 2.0 workshops in fall 2009.

Russia’s Largest Camp Launches English Language Component
05-10-2009. Russia’s largest educational camp complex and one of the world’s largest, Orlenok, hosted English Language Officer David Fay in order to discuss future cooperation with Embassy-sponsored summer camp programs. Beginning at the end of May, the camp will begin offering English language classes to campers.

True Love… for English Teaching in Sochi, Russia
05-08-2009.  Approximately 50 students and 30 instructors at the Sochi Branch of the Moscow-based Russian University of the Friendship of Nations participated in a presentation by English Language Officer David Fay entitled “True Love or Arranged Marriage: How to Teach in a Post-Methods World.”

Turning English Teachers into ''Digital Natives'' in Perm
April 23-25, 2009. Approximately 160 English language instructors from the northern Urals region, part of Siberia, the Caucuses, St. Petersburg, Moscow and six foreign countries gathered to share ideas at the “Foreign Languages in Distance Education” conference at Perm State Technical University.

Teacher Training at the American Center in Moscow
04-15-2009.  At the American Center, approximately 30 participants were treated to a series of presentations by graduates of the “Shaping the Way We Teach English” Teacher Education Program that was run from Fall 2008 to Spring 2009 and who are now recognized as teacher educators for having participated in the course.

Access Students Selected for Year in U.S. through FLEX
 Seven English Access Microscholarship students from Novocherkassk, Elista and Ufa will spend a year as high school students in the U.S. This is the first time Access students in Russia have been chosen for the prestigious FLEX program and serves as a positive example to all 320 plus students in the program in Russia.

Reflecting on English Teaching
04-13-09. English Language Officer David Fay conducted his last in a series of ten workshops for the “Shaping the Way We Teach English” Teacher Education Program. The workshop involved all 30 participants in activities and a discussion on “Reflective Teaching.”

English Teachers Celebrate Completion of Course at Embassy
04-20-2009.  Charge d’Affaires Eric Rubin and the Rector of the Moscow Institute of Open Education delivered commencement remarks at the graduation ceremony of the “Shaping the Way We Teach English” Teacher Education Program run by the English Language Office of the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy Moscow.

English Language Fellow Exposes English Teachers to American Culture
11-03-2009. Senior English Language Fellow John Scafidi gave the 10th workshop in a series of 13 to teachers at the St. Petersburg Academy of Post-graduate Pedagogical Education. Among the topics covered were: enhancing students’ listening skills, using authentic materials in English classrooms, employing Cooperative Learning techniques and activities.

Internet Training for Access Students in Stavropol and Sochi
May 5-8, 2009.  Sixteen new English Access Microscholarship Program students in Stavropol and fourteen new English Access Microscholarship Program students in Sochi met and discussed successful learning strategies and the use of the Internet in language learning with English Language Officer David Fay.

St. Petersburg Senior English Language Fellow Outreach Program in Arkhangelsk
 Senior English Language Fellow John Scafidi was the plenary speaker for the “Language Needs and Reality: Current Debates in American Studies and Linguistics” organized by Pomor State University. His topic “Writing Skills in the Context of Global Communication” covered the role of English in today’s global society.

Stavropol English Teachers Explore Use of Internet
05-05-2009.  Stavropol State University and the newly founded Stavropol English Language Teachers’ Association hosted a two-day professional development event for English language instructors including a plenary and two workshops by English Language Officer David Fay that addressed the application of IT to foreign language instruction.

St. Petersburg Senior English Language Fellow Outreach Program in Komi
 Senior English Language Fellow John Scafidi visited the Republic of Komi for a three day workshop for teachers from Syktyvkar and nearby towns of Ukhta and Vorkuta and students attending Syktyvkar State University. Over 100 students and 50 teachers attended each of his five presentations.

Moscow English Teachers Present at 'Teacher-to-Teacher' Event
March 4, 2009. 35 English language teachers from Moscow gathered to listen to new teaching ideas. This “Teacher to Teacher” event at the American Center is the culmination of two months of teacher training by the presenters, all of whom conduct their own workshops as a follow-on to the training they received in the Shaping the Way We Teach English program

English Teachers Explore 'Learner Feedback' through ECA's 'Shaping the Way'
March 2, 2009.  Thirty English language teachers and trainers from the Moscow region took part in the 7th workshop in a series of eight that is based on ECA’s DVD-based “Shaping the Way We Teach English” teacher training program. The workshop focused on “Learner Feedback”.

English Language Fellow’s Outreach Program in the Russian Far East
 Senior English Language Fellow Allyson Kellum conducted teacher training workshops in Vladivostok, Blagoveshchensk, and Kavalerovo. Workshops covered topics of teacher differences in the US and Russia, cultural diversity, using the internet, and activities for young learners and were attended by over 500 teachers.

African-American History Month in Vladivostok Video Club
February 28, 2009.  20 participants attended the Video Club at the American Corners in Vladivostok. The film “Everyday Use,” based on the short story by Alice Walker was shown and analyzed by the participants. Further, the group listened to the famous speech “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and discussed the Civil Rights Movement.

English Language Teacher Training in Moscow
February 2-9, 2009.  30 participants enrolled in the ongoing teacher training program “Shaping the Way We Teach English” explored ways of integrating critical and creative thinking principles into their lesson plans and also discussed importance of peer observation in professional development.

English Language Online Materials at the American Center
February 4, 2009.  15 participants from various Moscow schools appreciated the presentation of online English Teaching Forum, e-journals, and post-developed materials at American Center in Moscow. Elena Lubnina presented www.eltrussia.ru, a new platform developed for all English Language Teachers’ Associations in Russia

Earlier News from the English Language Office