During a particularly muggy August in Washington, DC, a group of 24 language teachers from Egypt and China landed in the United States many for the very first time ready to embark upon a year of teaching Arabic or Chinese in various K-12 schools across the country.
Working alongside American teachers from their host schools, the exchange teachers spent the past week learning the ropes of the US school system and what to expect in the year ahead during training orientations before the start of a school year in an entirely new classroom one across the world.
The Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP), funded by the US Department of State, brings teachers from Egypt and China to teach their language in a US classroom either elementary school or high school for an academic year. The program estimates that every year, each teacher touches the lives of 23,000 students, teachers, parents, and community members. Collectively, the teachers engage in 2,000 hours of outreach annually in places like schools, universities, senior centers, libraries, and community organizations.
Truly, a Teacher's Welcome
Warmly welcoming the teachers, host schools, and mentor teachers, American Councils President Dan E. Davidson, PhD, who is also a professor at Bryn Mawr College, quickly calmed the nerves of the new exchange teachers.
During his opening remarks, Dr. Davidson said, "I was always told that any good teacher is going to be just a bit nervous at the start of the new school year and that first time they walk out in front of their new classroom."
Dr. Davidson emphasized that, in order to be effective in a global environment, today's students will need to acquire global competencies like the ability to communicate across languages and that this cohort of teachers is uniquely positioned to represent their countries, cultures, and language to students who may have never before met someone from Egypt or China.
Language as a Gateway to Understanding
No stranger herself to the power of teachers, US Department of State Assistant Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs Ms. Evan Ryan spoke of being raised by a teacher and remembering the care her mother put into developing lesson plans for her students.
As the teachers prepare to embark to their new homes and classrooms, Secretary Ryan urged them to remember: "Teachers are key to so much. You touch lives in so many ways...and your presence here will pay wonderful dividends on cultural understanding of your countries and bring us closer together as countries."
Secretary Ryan's presence and continued support for the Teachers of Critical Languages Program confirms one of the key values of the initiative: language matters for young Americans. Dr. Davidson also added that current research supports that Arabic and Chinese are "career-defining" languages for Americans.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of TCLP. Since 2006, the program has sent 237 exchange teachers to 148 US host schools in 37 states and the District of Columbia.
About the Teachers of Critical Languages Program
The Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP), a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, is designed to increase the study and acquisition of important world languages in US schools. This program enables US elementary and secondary schools to start or strengthen a Mandarin or Arabic language program.
The program brings Chinese and Egyptian teachers to the US to teach Mandarin and Modern Standard Arabic and share their culture for an academic year. The exchange teachers receive on-going methodological observation and training opportunities, live and work in an immersive English environment, and receive a certificate of participation following their exchange.