From November 13-15, a multi-disciplinary, cross-generational group of scholars from Russia, Europe, Israel, and North America came together at Harvard University for the Conference on the Contemporary Russian-Speaking Jewish Diaspora to examine changing concepts of "diaspora" reflected in the movements of Russian-speaking Jewish migrants from 1970 to 2010. Language and cultural specialists, demographers, sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists from eight participating nations contributed to the discussions hosted at the Davis Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. Professor Zvi Gitelman (University of Michigan) and Liz Tarlow (Davis Center, Harvard University) co-chaired the conference, which received financial and organizational support from American Councils for International Education.
American Councils Co-Sponsors Major International Conference at Harvard University on the Russian-Speaking Jewish Diaspora
Connect Internationally with the Educational Seminars Program
The Educational Seminars Program provides short-term professional development opportunities for teachers and administrators. Current programs include two to three week reciprocal exchange programs with Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, and Uruguay and five to eight week one-way professional development programs to Greece, India, and Italy. All Educational Seminars cover airfare, program preparation, travel health care, and living costs.
Upcoming Program Application Deadlines: January 6 (India, Italy, and Greece); March 30 (Argentina, Brazil, and Thailand)
For more information and program applications, visit the Educational Seminars Program webpage , or email edseminars@americancouncils.org.
Study Language in Egypt and China with The Intensive Summer Language Institutes program
The Intensive Summer Language Institutes (ISLI) provide fellowships for American teachers to spend six weeks overseas studying intermediate and advanced level Arabic and Chinese in Alexandria, Egypt, and Changchun, China, respectively. Current K-12 teachers, community college instructors, and students enrolled in Arabic or Chinese teacher training programs are eligible to apply. Participants earn ten hours of graduate-level course credit through Bryn Mawr College. The program covers peer tutoring, round-trip airfare, and all study-related costs.
Program Application Deadline: March 2, 2012
Learn more and start an application on ISLI webpage, or email us at isli@americancouncils.org.
Host a Guest Teacher with the Teachers of Critical Languages Program
The Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP) places teachers from China and Egypt in K-12 host schools around the U.S. TCLP guest teachers instruct students in Mandarin or Arabic language and culture for one academic year. Hosting an exchange teacher allows schools and districts to build relationships with native Arabic and Chinese speakers, connect with schools overseas, increase capacity in their language programs, and bring international perspectives to their faculty and student body. TCLP provides teachers’ salaries, healthcare, roundtrip airfare, training, professional development funds, and ongoing program support. To increase the number of Americans teaching and learning these critical languages, selected host schools receive access to grant opportunities to support language-learning projects.
Program Application Deadline: January 9, 2012
Seoul Sisters: Two Americans Pursue Ongoing Critical Language Training
Since meeting on the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Program in 2009, Joanna Mills and Laura Figueroa developed a unique bond over their shared passion for the Korean language and culture. Mills and Figueroa have participated in two study abroad programs in South Korea - NSLI-Y and the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program - both administered by American Councils for International Education and funded by the U.S. Department of State. They now plan to return to South Korea on their own initiative.
TCLP Chinese Teacher Wang Xiaona Interviewed on Hopkinton, MA TV Station HCAM
TCLP Chinese Teacher, Xiaona Wang, is interviewed by Hopkinton High School freshman Amanda Madany during an episode of All About Hopkinton, broadcast on local television.
In the interview, Xiaona discusses her first impressions of the Hopkinton community, how she plans her classes, and cultural differences between Chinese and American students.
Published in All About Hopkinton.
English Teacher from China Impressed by Her Willmar, MN, Students
Tang Beiyi has found students at Willmar Senior High to be active and eager to participate in class activities.
The English teacher from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in China, said this week that she has enjoyed meeting the students and the people in Willmar this fall.
Tang will be spending the school year in Willmar, co-teaching with local Chinese teacher Todd Lynum.
Tang is the second teacher from China that Willmar Senior High has hosted in the past three years.
Tang’s year in America is supported by the Teachers of Critical Languages Program, which is funded by the U.S. State Department and implemented by American Councils for International Education.
Published in the West Central Tribune.
The online application for the Arabic Overseas Undergraduate Program in Alexandria, Egypt is live.
Arabic Overseas Program in Alexandria, Egypt. (AOP)
American Councils for International Education is pleased to announce that the online application for the Arabic Overseas Undergraduate Program in Alexandria, Egypt is live.
This program is designed for undergraduate students in the US, at the intermediate level of Arabic. To apply, please visit us at: http://programs.americancouncils.org/AOP
Southern Lehigh Students Learn an Ancient Tongue
When students enter Alshimaa Nofal's class at Southern Lehigh High School, they offer the usual greetings and pleasantries — but in Arabic.
Nofal, from Alexandria, Egypt, is one of 10 Arabic speakers selected to teach the language in the United States under the Teachers of Critical Languages Program, an initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by American Councils for International Education.
Published in The Morning Call.
Good Morning ExCEL: U.S. Ambassador and ExCEL Alumni Praise Program on Lithuanian National Television
On October 28, 2011, the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, Anne Derse, joined two ExCEL program alumni, Gabriele Papievyte and Eleonora Lekaviciute, on the Lithuanian National Television's morning show Labas Rytas (Good Morning) to discuss the positive impact that the Exchanges for Culture, Education, and Leadership (ExCEL) program is having on Lithuanian youth. The Ambassador and ExCEL alumni shared their personal experiences as exchange students and praised the power of educational exchange.
