U.S. EMBASSY IN TANZANIA

Regional English Language Officer Rebecca Smoak addresses English Teaching Workshop participants at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

English Teaching Workshop participants at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

English Teaching Workshop participants at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

On January 30 and 31, Regional English Language Officer Rebecca Smoak and Regional English Language Assistant Flavia Temu welcomed to the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam 31 secondary school English teachers to a teaching workshop. The teachers are members of the Tanzanian English Language Teachers Association (TELTA). The program was organized by two recent graduates of the U.S. Department of State's Office of English Language Programs E-Teacher Online Professional Development courses. The workshop included presentations by the participants. 

The E-Teacher Program provides scholarships to qualified nominees to participate in one of seven 10-week online graduate level courses. One Tanzanian participant successfully completed the Teaching English to Young Learners course while the other enrolled in the Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) Methodology. Both courses are conducted by the University of Oregon. The new E-teachers were eager to share what they learned with their peers and enlisted the sponsorship of the U.S. Embassy's Regional English Language Office to help organize and sponsor the event. The workshop is part of the United States' commitment to partner with Tanzanian educators to promote English language instruction, and to introduce teachers to online materials and resources. Participants reported that the program was useful and insightful, especially because it provided them the opportunity to access new information and network along with their Tanzanian colleagues.