Alumni Ambassador Natasha Agrawal had been a K-12 ESL teacher in New Jersey for over 10 years when she decided to apply to be an English Language Fellow. “I wanted to keep pushing myself and expanding my teaching capacity,” Agrawal said. Selected in 2019 for a fellowship in Egypt, Agrawal took a sabbatical—offered by her district to teachers with at least seven years of experience—and embarked on a new journey of personal and professional growth that she knew would enrich her career when she returned to her students and colleagues a year later.
At her host institution, Al-Azhar University, Agrawal taught English courses to faculty and provided weekly training to in-service teachers at the English Language Resource Center. She found her students eager to learn and improve their English language skills, as many of them were applying for scholarships abroad. “In addition to working on professional skills, my students were also very interested in learning about different aspects of American culture,” Agrawal said. As a teacher trainer, Agrawal helped facilitate her colleagues’ transition from teaching with textbooks to implementing project-based learning and communicative lessons.
Facilitating a professional development workshop on teaching reading at the Harvest International School in Alexandria, Egypt
For her secondary duties, Agrawal trained teachers in various cities around Egypt and helped host events at the American Center in Cairo, such as conversation clubs, movie nights, and holiday-themed parties. She was also active with NileTESOL, providing professional development workshops on a variety of topics including jigsaw classrooms, academic writing, and reading comprehension. In January 2020, she gave the plenary address at the NileTESOL Annual Conference on Experiential Learning to over 3,000 educators.
Agrawal described the wonders of her cultural immersion experience in Egypt as ‘beyond imagination.’ On a trip to Luxor with her Egyptian colleagues, she explored the tombs, temples, and customs of the ancient pharaohs. Taking walks around Old Cairo and visiting museums, she learned about the local art and architecture. One of her most memorable experiences, she reports, was visiting the mosques with her Arabic teacher. “Cairo is nicknamed ‘The City of a Thousand Minarets’ because mosques from every era are visible here—ancient, medieval, modern—highlighting the architectural styles of the times,” Agrawal said. “Stepping inside the mosque with gentle music playing and sunlight streaming through the colored glass windows onto a white marble fountain, seeing the community of women of all ages holding hands and praying together, this was a beautiful experience to be a part of.”
Presenting at Nile TESOL in Cairo in 2020 and spending time with colleagues afterwards
Unfortunately, Agrawal’s fellowship was cut short by the global pandemic, but time has shown how much she packed into those six amazing months and the lasting impact the experience has made on her life. One of the unique aspects of Agrawal’s fellowship was that it prompted her to contemplate her identity as being both Indian and American in a new light. “When I first headed to Egypt, I kept thinking, okay I need to represent America,” Agrawal said. “But then once I got there and discovered how much Egyptians love India too, I realized I can share both of my cultures!” Discussing Indian food, clothing, and movies were part of her daily interactions.
Returning from her fellowship inspired by this experience of sharing her dual heritage, Agrawal started a podcast with a friend called ‘Chai and Chat’ featuring the personal narratives of American Indian women from around the U.S. Agrawal also began taking Indian classical dance lessons. “It’s great exercise and practice in focus and meditation,” she said. “Plus it allows me to connect with my Indian community through our enjoyment of music and dance!”
Visiting the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (left); in the tomb of Rameses IV in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor (right)
Back in her New Jersey classroom, Agrawal applied to the English Language Specialist Program and was selected for a project working virtually with teachers in Mexico in 2021. For this project, she helped teachers implement strategies for teaching English through drama. With her many years of experience teaching English through theater, Agrawal used her project to consolidate her ideas and sequence them in a way that is conducive to students and teachers who are new to the concepts. “The project made me think deeper about using performance skills for critical thinking and social and emotional learning,” Agrawal said. “Teaching with theater techniques can help teachers build confidence, create classroom connections, and foster empathy. And it is such a fun way to develop language skills, too!” Invited to give a virtual plenary speech on the topic, Agrawal demonstrated strategies to accommodate the diverse classrooms for over 100 Mexican teachers who attended from all around the country.
The curriculum creativity and innovation Agrawal honed during her Fellow and Specialist projects continue to play a central role in her teaching. After attending a three-day training on Sustainable Development at The College of New Jersey, she implemented a gardening project at her school, teaching her students how to grow vegetables in hydroponics kits in their classroom. Using a weather station donated by a local professor, she had her students begin recording and graphing temperatures to measure changes. “Every morning the students give weather reports on Google Meet where the whole school can see it live,” Agrawal said. “They practice their public speaking skills and provide information about the temperature, wind speed, rainfall, and the moon phases.”
Facilitating a workshop on ‘Using Toys to Teach Character Analysis’ for Mexican elementary school teachers
The curriculum creativity and innovation Agrawal honed during her Fellow and Specialist projects continue to play a central role in her teaching. After attending a three-day training on Sustainable Development at The College of New Jersey, she implemented a gardening project at her school, teaching her students how to grow vegetables in hydroponics kits in their classroom. Using a weather station donated by a local professor, she had her students begin recording and graphing temperatures to measure changes. “Every morning the students give weather reports on Google Meet where the whole school can see it live,” Agrawal said. “They practice their public speaking skills and provide information about the temperature, wind speed, rainfall, and the moon phases.”
As an MA-TESOL instructor at The College of New Jersey since 2017, Agrawal has also been using her program experiences to stimulate discussion and expand her students’ perspectives on what their careers could be. “Sharing my experiences of working with educators in Egypt and Mexico helps my students understand how ESL is different in different places,” Agrawal said. “Their interest in this was so strong that some of my students in New Jersey started tutoring my Egyptian students online, initiating new global connections!”
Clockwise from top left: installing the hydroponics kit with a colleague; receiving the school’s weather station (bottom right); students’ garden in bloom (bottom left)
Agrawal has also begun working with mentee teachers and sharing her program experiences with her longtime colleagues. “My fellowship enabled me to transition from teaching elementary school to teaching adults, and it also broadened my understanding of teaching in different contexts,” she reflected. “I enjoy sharing this knowledge with colleagues, encouraging them to seek out new challenges.”
My fellowship enabled me to transition from teaching elementary school to teaching adults, and it also broadened my understanding of teaching in different contexts.
Interacting with prospective applicants and catching up with program alumni at TESOL 2023 in Portland, Oregon
As one who has been both mentor and mentee, Agrawal knows the value of staying connected and learning together. She maintains close contact with many students and colleagues from her projects, and fosters new teaching connections each year. “Now, I’m enjoying connecting with my cohort of Alumni Ambassadors,” Agrawal said. “Together we’ve been able to share our experiences with the broader TESOL community. I like being part of it all. I like contributing to intercultural connections.”
Natasha Agrawal was an English Language Fellow in Egypt, 2019-2020; a Virtual Educator in Egypt, 2021; and an English Language Specialist in Mexico, 2021. She has over 20 years of experience in teaching English in India, Egypt, Mexico, and the U.S. She has presented at various conferences, including TESOL International. Additionally, she is an adjunct at The College Of New Jersey where she teaches graduate courses, and trains teachers for their ESL certification in New Jersey. Currently, she teaches English to refugee and immigrant children in Trenton, New Jersey.
Stay tuned for our next featured Alumni Ambassador story with John Bunting.