English Language Fellow Natalie Monkemeier was asked by AMIDEAST to do a professional development workshop for local teachers once every other month. Natalie met with teachers for two and a half hours on Saturday mornings to discuss classroom management, teaching pronunciation, and enhancing student engagement and motivation in the classroom. Participants were happy to be able to discuss the topics and share their ideas, and they walked away with activities and techniques to implement in their classes right away.
Most of the courses that Tunisians take in university are theoretical, and consequently AMIDEAST wanted to provide more practical workshops for their professional development. Director of the English Language Department at AMIDEAST, Amy Mabrouk, commented, “It’s always productive when you can get a group of teachers together in one room to share their challenges, successes, and ideas.”