The ESN Team recently finished trips to all regions of Uzbekistan, conducting TOEFL testing for the ESN program as well as meeting regional Core Teachers, Regional Peer Mentor Teachers, and ESN Coaches from February 12-28. The team divided up into three groups, covering from western Karakalpakstan to the eastern Fergana Valley and everywhere in between. In addition to conducting over 800 TOEFL tests, the ESN team met with ESN Coaches in the regions who are conducting professional development workshops for local English language teachers and ESN program participants.
ESN Coach Mina Gavell in Urgench shared how she will “deliver a general workshop on using American English (AE) board games. We will analyze how the games are played, how to give instructions, analyze them for relevant objectives and pre-teaching content, and finally explore adaptions for mixed levels and activities for extension.” Mina shared more details about her workshop, saying, “It's about 90 minutes long. The audience will be secondary school teachers. I plan to also use this opportunity to learn more about the needs and interests of the Nukus school teachers through a survey, discussion, and possibly interviews. This will help me plan future workshops in the area. While in Nukus, I also plan to observe trainings at the training center there and do classroom observations at the schools."
Another ESN Coach, Kendra Staley, plans to “first observe sessions at the teacher training center and at secondary schools, then conduct workshops based off of observations. I've observed 5 English classes at 4 different secondary schools in Samarkand city and will conduct a workshop at the center about ways to encourage students to collaborate to produce their own original, unmemorized spoken and written language. While I've noticed many excellent teaching practices and activities, this is one area that can be improved upon.” Stay tuned for future updates from the ESN Coaches.