From an exhilarating ten-day train journey across Vietnam, to virtual collaborations with educators in Sri Lanka, Alumni Ambassador Paula Wilder has found life-changing inspiration through her English Language Specialist projects. “As a Specialist, I’ve met some amazing people who became my friends and opened doors to new cultural experiences,” Wilder said. “These projects deepened my understanding of both our differences and shared humanity. Professionally, they’ve enhanced my work in curriculum development and in my partnerships with international students and institutions.”
Back home in North Carolina, Wilder leads international programs at Greensboro College, where she also teaches in the MA-TESOL program. Her reach extends across North Carolina’s higher education landscape, with multiple roles at three colleges. Wilder is currently utilizing the knowledge-expanding research she did for her Specialist projects to enrich and deepen her classroom work. For example, she added the workshop on differentiation in EFL teaching that she developed in Vietnam to the TESOL graduate module she teaches at Greensboro College. After working with STEM professors in Sri Lanka on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), she modified her new resources for the international teachers she mentors at NC State University.
And then there are the invaluable intangibles she’s gleaned from her Specialist projects, such as a nuanced appreciation for adaptability and for the fine art of listening. “I think one of the notable insights that I have gained from working abroad pertains to being flexible within cultural differences,” Wilder explained. “I have realized over time that listening and observing first can be one of the most essential elements as we work to ensure mutually beneficial relationships within different cultural expectations and protocols.”
As a Specialist in Sri Lanka in 2022, Wilder facilitated weekly virtual sessions for non-English language teaching university lecturers on ways to help students develop their English skills for content-based learning. She provided the professors with activities and resources on academic writing, metacognition, presentation skills, feedback and assessment, and student-centered classrooms. In addition, she worked with EFL instructors on their syllabi and on developing a lesson plan repository for their department.
Wilder was inspired by her Sri Lankan colleagues’ resilience, as they navigated supply chain disruptions, power outages, and even food and water shortages. Some of the teachers participated in her sessions from buses and trains while on their long commutes due to fuel shortages. Wilder shared, “The Sri Lankan teachers’ positivity and dedication, even amid such turmoil, left a lasting impression,” Wilder reflected. “They gave me an incredible example to emulate.”
“Traveling by train was a unique highlight because it gave us the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Vietnamese countryside – winding through the mountains and seeing the fields of springtime flowers in bloom, with the sea and sky converging in the distance at sunset.”
In Vietnam in 2024, Wilder partnered with Specialist and Greensboro College colleague Michelle Plaisance to deliver a three-hour workshop on differentiated EFL instruction. Together, they reached more than 600 teachers across ten cities during their two-week journey. “Meeting and working with such a large number of Vietnamese English teachers from all over the country enabled us to do a better needs assessment and tailor our trainings for maximum effectiveness for teachers in different areas,” Wilder said. “Traveling by train was a unique highlight because it gave us the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Vietnamese countryside – winding through the mountains and seeing the fields of springtime flowers in bloom, with the sea and sky converging in the distance at sunset.”
Wilder hosting a cookout at her home for her Greensboro College international students (left); wrapping up a teacher training session in Taiwan through a partnership between Greensboro College and the Association of International Cultural and Educational Exchange (AICEE) (right)
If Wilder’s whirlwind tour of Vietnam often felt like a beautiful blur of teaching, travel, amazing food, and spectacular sights, she was grateful for a steadying thread throughout her trip: “The constant among the different cities was the friendliness of everyone we met,” Wilder reflected. “People were always willing to help us even if we couldn’t understand each other.” Adding to the “surreal feeling” of the trip, a film crew traveled with Wilder and Plaisance to capture their adventures and document the impact of the Embassy’s English language programs throughout Vietnam. Along the way, they met local officials, national education leaders, university administrators, Access program participants, and English Language Fellows to discuss their work and the future of English language education programs in Vietnam. “We valued the collaboration and feedback we received from our Vietnamese counterparts, and we learned a tremendous amount about their dedicated work, as well as some of the obstacles they face,” Wilder said.
Upon returning home, Wilder and Plaisance created a 12-module online course for the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) that will eventually be offered to all Vietnamese English teachers as an asynchronous learning component. The duo has continued their collaboration by delivering their workshop on differentiation in ELT to several different groups of teachers, including presenting at the TESOL International Convention in Long Beach, California.
At the TESOL International Convention in Long Beach, Wilder reconnected with her Alumni Ambassador cohort member Alison Jones (left), and shared her program experiences with booth visitors (right)
As the director of international programs at Greensboro College, Wilder organizes faculty-led international projects, study abroad opportunities, and collaboration between institutions and international partners at events and meetings. She also works on marketing and budget management. At Durham Technical Community College, Wilder teaches online classes in the continuing education program and serves as a consultant for the EAP program, which she originally developed and implemented. At NC State University, she works with teachers from different countries through the Global Training Initiative (GTI), mentoring them on best practices in pedagogy, and helping teachers of different subjects develop their English skills. She also works as an instructor in NC State University’s TESOL certificate program, giving courses in Teaching Reading, Writing, Grammar, and Vocabulary.
How does Wilder sustain such an abundance of roles, one wonders? “I love the challenge of a full schedule!” Wilder said. “And I love the variety of my roles because I enjoy meeting people from all over the world. It helps me understand different cultures, and it adds to the richness of life.”
Wilder’s desire to become an Alumni Ambassador stemmed from both her passion for adding to the richness of life and from her experience of first learning about the program from an alum at a regional TESOL conference. “Because of that interaction I had with an alum working at the booth, I applied to be a Specialist,” Wilder said. “As an Alumni Ambassador, I wanted to be that influence for others and help them see that they can also participate in a meaningful program like this.”
Stay tuned for our next featured Alumni Ambassador story with Alison Jones.