Typically, English Language Fellows spend their term teaching English to university students or adult professionals. Specialists, on the other hand, typically lead short-term projects, conducting teacher training, presenting to administrators and policy makers, or developing curriculum and evaluating local programs.
In Jordan, English Language Specialist Leslie Opp-Beckman teamed up with English Language Fellow Kevin McCaughey to conduct and intensive two-day workshop for Jordan’s Ministry of Education English Language Supervisors.
The workshops focused on individualized learning and critical thinking skills, both of which, the participants agreed, were lacking in Jordan’s language classrooms. Opp-Beckman and McCaughey used activities from “Shaping the Way We Teach English,” a multimedia package of materials developed by Opp-Beckman at the University of Oregon with support from the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs.
More than 20 supervisors from the south of Jordan attended, some traveling more than three hours to Aqaba. Almost 200 copies of “Shaping the Way We Teach English” were distributed to ministry officials, supervisors, and teachers in Jordan.