Jordanian educators attend teaching program at UD

Scott Stevens, director of UD’s English Language Institute, discusses interactive methods of teaching English with visiting Jordanian educators.

3:57 p.m., July 15, 2005--Fourteen educators from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan are attending a six-week program at UD’s English Language Institute.

The program at UD, which ends July 29, provides the educators with an opportunity to study interactive methods of teaching English and American culture, Baerbel Schumacher, project program manager, said.

“The program is supported with funding from the U.S. Department of State and marks the second year of this highly successful multiyear training program to connect professionals from the Middle East with colleagues in the United States and create opportunities for cultural and professional exchange,” Schumacher said.

“It helps overcome intercultural barriers because participants come with a fair amount of conceptions about the U.S and the people here, but they end up experiencing warm hospitality, which they enjoy, and also discover that we have many more similarities than differences, which frequently surprises them,” Schumacher said.

During their stay, the Jordanians will spend two weeks living with American families and share their own culture and history with various community groups such as People to People, the Newark Senior Center and summer school and summer camp students and staff.

In addition to the residential program in the U.S., program participants are required to provide training and convene one major national conference in Jordan to share methods and materials gained during the program.

The group also will be welcomed to Washington, D.C., by Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, Dina Powell, deputy assistant secretary for academic programs at the U.S. Department of State, and Karim Kawar, ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

For more information about the participants and the program, visit [www.udel.edu/eli] or call (302) 831-2674.

Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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