American Councils continues to be privileged to
admini ster the Teachers of Critical Languages Program of the State
Dep artment’s Bureau of Educationa l and Cultural Affairs.&n bsp; We are
pleas ed to announce that applicatio ns to host Chinese or Arabic
ex change teachers during the 2008-2009 school year are available and
can be downloaded from either [ http://www .americanco uncils.org/
]www.amer icancouncil s.org or [ http://www .tclprogram .org/
]www .tclprogram .org.
TC LP is a great program that looks to build US schools’ capacities
to offer Chinese and Arabic programs as these languages are indeed
cr itically important for both the current and future generation .
Mo reover, both China and the Middle East have rich, vibrant, and deep
cult ures and histories, and our students can learn a great deal from
them . Reciprocal ly, our exchange teachers can learn a great deal about
Ame rican culture while improving their English and gaining experience
in teaching methodolog ies. All said, it’s a great cross-cult ural
progr am that really does benefit all parties involved.
From a school’s perspectiv e, the program provides many benefits, as
well as numerous opportunit ies. Please find them listed below, forward
a s you feel best, and, of course, feel free to contact me directly with
what ever questions& nbsp;you may have:
America n Councils provides exchange teachers monthly salaries
($28,000), health care, round-trip airfare, visa support,&n bsp;and ongoing
o n-program support including in-person site visits
• &n bsp; American Councils provides exchange teachers with two-weeks of
integr ated, scaffolded , and focused methodolog ical and cultural
training in DC before the school year begins; a four-day profession al
develop ment workshop in November;& nbsp;and access to a profession al
develop ment fund for exchange teachers to acquire training, textbooks,
or materials as are relevant to their situations
•&nbs p; &nb sp; American Councils provides host schools’ participat ion in a
weekend sub-confer ence within their teachers Washington DC training.& nbsp;
Addi tionally, mentor teachers who support exchange teachers
professi onal needs and cultural adjustment receive a monthly honorarium
from American Councils
• ; TCLP includes alumni grant opportunit ies for exchange teachers
and host schools when they “graduat e” from the program in June 2009 so
that continued collaborat ion, cross-cult ural exchange, and classroom
partnershi ps can be supported
• ; &nbs p; US elementary or secondary schools, both public and private, may apply
&nb sp; Applicatio ns are welcomed from schools with existing, developing , or planned programs
• ; Applicatio ns are due May 16, 2008. ; Awards and regrets will be sent by the end of May
Bes t Regards,
Ben Dunbar
Ben Dunbar
S enior Program Officer
Teacher Programs
American Councils for Internatio nal Education
(202) 833-7522 / (202) 833-7523 (f)
[ http://www .americanco uncils.org/ ]www.ameri cancouncils .org
