English Language Fellow Program / Ukrainian Teacher Trainers / English Language Specialist Program / English Teaching Resource Center in Kyiv / Books for Sale / Regional RELO Resource Centers / TESOL / FORUM / Events / Contacts

ANNOUNCEMENT U.S. Embassy Announces Essay Contest! "U.S. Elections and Challenges for the Future" The deadline for submitting applications September 30, 2008 More about the Contest Application Form

The Regional English Language Office is a part of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. The main goals of the office are to offer assistance and support to English language professionals in Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova, and to enhance mutual understanding between these countries and the United States of America. Resources that this office can provide include materials for language learning, teacher training, and professional development; workshops and seminars to enhance and upgrade English language teaching; short-term American speakers and consultants and assistance with development of curricula, textbooks, and tests.

English Language Fellow Program

The The English Language Fellow Program, supported by the U.S. Department of State, provides professionally trained American teachers and teacher trainers for universities, teacher training institutes, and other institutions of language education worldwide. Fellows teach English language and implement special teacher training, methodology, and curriculum development projects.

Ukrainian Teacher Trainers

The Public Affairs Section sponsored the first Training of Trainers Course (TOT) in 2003. The trainers completed this training and are available to conduct training sessions at schools throughout Ukraine. They can be requested through the Public Affairs Section.

Speakers and Specialists

The English Language Specialist Program, a program within the U.S. Department of State English Language Programs Office, provides training for schools, universities and other academic institutions conducted by American academics in the fields of English as a Foreign Language and Applied Linguistics to schools and universities on a short term basis. Workshops, seminars and conference keynotes on topics such as curriculum development, teacher training and education, textbook development, English for Specific Purposes, and program evaluation can all be facilitated by these American experts.

English Teaching Resource Center in Kyiv

The English Teaching Resource Center (ETRC), located at the English Department of National University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv is a multi-purpose pedagogical center supported by the Regional English Language Office and the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy. It functions as a lending library and reading and seminar room. Any English teacher may become a member of this center at no charge. The ETRC has an inventory of over 4000 books and 1,000 audio and videocassettes on topics related to English teaching and English language learning.

Books for Sale

English teaching books and publications produced by the Office of English Language Programs of the U.S. Department of State are available for purchases through the Public Affairs Section.

Regional RELO Resource Centers for Ukrainian Teachers of English

During this past year, the RELO Office has been establishing and providing book donations for six resource centers for teachers of English outside Kyiv. These centers are open to English teachers of all levels. More detailed information is available at each site.

TESOL-Ukraine

Ukraine's professional organization for teachers of English is TESOL-Ukraine. Membership is open to all teachers of English. National conferences and regional conferences are held annually, with assistance from the RELO office and Public Affairs Section.

English Teaching FORUM Magazine

The English Teaching FORUM magazine is a quarterly journal published by the United States Department of State for teachers of English. In Ukraine, issues of the FORUM are included in annual membership fees for TESOL-Ukraine and are distributed by the organization. Teachers may also order the FORUM directly through Alta Book Center in Burlingame. Current and previous issues of FORUM magazine can be accessed online. The Office of English Language Programs also publishes an electronic journal called the Language and Civil Society Journal which contains content-rich material for language instruction.

HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT EVENTS

English Language Specialist Promotes Regional Security through Targeted Language Training for Ukrainian Border Guards

On June 25-27, English Language Specialist Kristen Danek provided teacher training workshops for the staff of the English Language Department at the Ukrainian State Border Guard Services Academy. The focus of these workshops was to raise participant awareness of effective English teaching techniques and to develop students' listening and speaking skills without resorting to translation during the instruction process. During her workshops, Danek focused extensively on helping participants identify current authentic English teaching resources online.

Regional Caucasus Conference Promotes Professional Development, Regional Tolerance

On June 11-13, the Regional English Language Office at U.S. Embassy Kyiv, hosted 24 English teachers from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia for a three-day conference focused on teaching English to young learners. Eight teachers from each country spent three intensive days working with Margaret Cholodecki, an English Language Fellow in Poland who has set up five Young Learner Resource Centers with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.  


Cholodecki guided conference participants through classroom management techniques and basic language learning activities for this age group. At the end of this conference each teacher had a folder filled with age-appropriate stories, songs and activities to enhance their teaching and make the process of learning English more engaging.

Ukrainian English Language Teachers Gather for Thirteenth Annual Convention

From April 14-16, 2008 190 pre- and in-service English language teachers from all regions of Ukraine gathered in Poltava for their traditional nation-wide professional event. The XIII Annual TESOL-Ukraine convention was held at the Poltava University of Consumer Cooperatives in Ukraine. The event was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and the Poltava University of Consumer Cooperatives. The opening ceremony included greetings from the Deputy Rector for Science Irina Markina, the Head of the Business Foreign Languages Department Valentyna Ishchenko, and the Regional English Language Officer Lisa Harshbarger.  


The keynote presenters were Ms. Kristen Danek from the University of North Carolina who spoke on Strategies for Reaching a Higher Language Proficiency Level and Ms. Katherine Reynolds, a Fulbright scholar from Kharkiv, who shared her ideas on Easy Development of Interactive Activities. hspace=5 src="images/relo_events.jpg" align=right>TESOL-Ukraine, a Ukraine affiliate of TESOL International, continues to be the biggest professional association of teachers of English in the country.  


Annual national conference is the major event that brings the teachers together and allows to keep the network alive, to upgrade teachers' professional knowledge, to discuss burning educational national level issues, to listen to invited international speakers as well as to present themselves and share unique classroom experience.   

English for Ukrainian Border Guards

From November 12-16, the RELO Office, in cooperation with the National State Border Guard Services Academy of Ukraine, organized a week-long workshop for English language instructors at the Academy.  


The purpose of this workshop, led by the invited English Language Specialist Debra Lee, was to help develop a course outline for a three-month English language training course that all Border Guards will be required to take beginning in February 2008. Eight Border Guards currently working at border posts in different regions of Ukraine also participated in this workshop by providing accurate information about their English language needs on the border, and trying out training activities in demo classes.  

EL Specialist provides expertise on using technology in ESP classrooms

From November 19-22, 2007, Debra Lee from the University of Tennessee, an American expert on teaching English for Specific Purposes, conducted a series of presentations and workshops in Kharkiv and Kyiv. Ms. Lee met with the EL faculty of four universities that teach future lawyers, managers, police officers, and aviation engineers. She provided the teachers with guidelines on how to match ESP students' needs with effective technically supported task-based language instruction and how to design a successful ESP program. Teachers were demonstrated LANGUAGE4LAW, a new online multimedia law and language program that uses a case-study approach to introduce the language of the law to students. ESP professors were also given the chance to compare diverse ESP programs in the U.S. and discuss the similarities of the successful ones that teach effective communication in the situations connected with professional needs.  


The participants of the workshops were familiarized with terms like wiki, podcasts, blog, and open source course management systems. They were encouraged to use technology in their ESP classes to increase student motivation. Interactive workshops provided the teachers with basic strategies on how to create ESP materials using the free authentic resources on the Web.   

RELO-Sponsored English Language Summer Day Camp Promotes Communication Skills, Student Initiative

From August 8-19, 80 high school and community college students from Mykolayiv participated in an International Outreach Camp hosted by Mykolayiv State Petro Mohyla University for the Humanities and funded jointly through the RELO and the FLEX Alumni Grants Program. 


Throughout the two-week day camp, Peace Corps volunteers and U.S. and Ukrainian trainers from the California-based NGO "International Outreach Coalition" led participants through an extensive series of activities that provided them with the English language skills needed for discussion and debate of local and global issues with larger audiences.  


At the end of the camp, outstanding participants were awarded small grants to carry on similar projects in their schools during the next academic year.


 Both participants and trainers at this Day Camp noted that one of the most important English language skills that participants learned during their two weeks together was how to support one's claims in a disagreement with logical and fair-minded discussion.

Teacher Development Summer Institute on Academic Writing

From June 18-22, 26 English language professors from throughout Ukraine participated in a RELO-funded Academic Writing Institute in Alushta, Crimea.


Throughout the week, Senior English Language Fellow Jennifer Herrin and Fulbright Scholar Lisa Morgan, based at Minsk State Linguistics University, led the participants through an extensive series of activities based on academic writing criteria at American universities.


The goal of the course was to help them in turn develop more effective courses for their own students. Both trainers guided participants through techniques that help prevent plagiarism in the classroom. This included extensive input on standard forms of citation and rhetorical organization, as well as theory about submitting multiple drafts of written work for both peer and teacher evaluation before turning in a final product.

3d Regional English Teaching Caucasus Conference on Curriculum Development

On May 14-15, 2007 the RELO Office hosted a conference on English language curriculum design related to the Bologna Process and the Common European Framework. 27 teachers and administrators from Ministries of Education, secondary schools, and universities in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia participated in the event.

Senior English Language Fellow Kristine Fredrick from Chisinau, Moldova led participants in setting up a variety of interactive brainstorming activities, putting them in groups to develop materials and activities on topics of interest to all such as promoting communicative speaking and writing skills.


Each group was then responsible for coming up with a long-term professional development plan that they could implement upon their return home. All participants expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to meet and work with each other, and stated that they would like this kind of event to be held every year.

XII Annual English Language Teacher's Conference in Kyiv

On April 21-22, 2007, 250 English teachers from throughout Ukraine met at the National Academy of Management for their 12th National Conference. RELO-funded presenters English Language Specialist Christine Canning, ELF Jennifer Herrin and Fulbright Scholar Lisa Morgan, gave popular presentations on ethical and effective test design, lesson planning, effective classroom management methods, and how to write proposals for international conferences to packed classrooms of 75-100 participants in each room.

TESOL-Ukraine membership is growing steadily. Many young professionals attended the conference, and were able to join the community of associates, to upgrade their knowledge and to listen to the invited international and local speakers.

Ukrainian Teachers Learn the Truth About Testing

Ms. Christine Canning, American Specialist on English language testing and assessment from the Berkshire Community College, conducted a series of workshops and intensive two-day trainings for tertiary and secondary level teachers. English language teachers from Kyiv, Poltava, Lviv, Melitopol, Mykolayiv, and Odesa, as well as a group of methodologists from the Ukrainian Center for the Quality of Education Assessment in Kyiv, were introduced to qualities of language tests, to ways of creating effective measurements, and preparing students for taking high stakes exams. Participants learned how to use statistics to get information about their students' performance on a test and to check the test's reliability. The following trainings were held throughout Ukraine:

April 17-18, 2007
Odesa In-Service Teacher Training Institute

April 19-20, 2007
Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy

April 21-22, 2007
National Academy of Management, 12th TESOL-Ukraine National Conference

April 24, 2007
Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy

50 English Teachers in Sevastopol Discuss Testing Reform, Helping Learners Learn

On January 9-14, 2007, 50 English teachers from throughout Ukraine participated in a Winter School at the Sevastopol University of Economics and Law, supported by the Regional English Language Office and TESOL-Ukraine association.

They had a chance to learn more about Ukrainian language testing reforms intended to fight corruption in education, and motivating their students to learn English effectively.

University professors and secondary school teachers of English were provided with an opportunity to gain exposure to innovative teaching techniques and classroom activities that their colleagues use.

New Regional English Language Resource Center opens in Yalta, Crimea

On September 22, 2006, a new Resource Center for teachers of English opened at the Crimean University for the Humanities in Yalta as a result of the competition, announced in April 2006 by the RELO office.

About 45 local officials, teachers of English, students, and media representatives gathered at the Crimean University for the Humanities to launch the center and to see the collection of English teaching materials, equipment and furniture, awarded to the University's library.

The Rector of the Crimean University for the Humanities Alexander Gluzman and the Regional English Language Officer Lisa Harshbarger spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony. The opening was followed by the methodology seminar "What Works in the English Language Classroom", conducted by RELO Lisa Harshbarger.

Like other RELO supported English Language Resource Centers, the Yalta Center will function as a reading library and seminar room for teachers of English, students, and anyone interested in English language teaching.

English Language Leadership Camp

From July 12-21st, 60 gifted, but underprivileged English language students from Slavyansk district in Donetsk region had the opportunity to practice their English, learn more about the United States and discuss civic leadership with eight Peace Corps Volunteers and local teachers of English at the Svyatogorsk English Language Leadership Camp. This project, organized by "Success," a Raihorodk-based educational NGO, was the winner of the RELO Office's Summer English Language Camp competition.

Teachers of English gather in Alushta for Second TESOL-UKRAINE and IATEFL Ukraine Joint Teacher Development Summer Institute

From June 25-July 6, 2006 fifty teachers from Ukraine, Belarus', Azerbaijan, and Moldova gathered at the Alushtinski Sanatorium in Alushta, Crimea for the Second Teacher Development Summer Institute entitled: " Teaching, Learning, Assessment: Issues and Challenges." The event was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Embassy and the British Council Ukraine.

The Institute consisted of three strands: Assessment, Teacher Development, and English for Specific Purposes. Teams of professional trainers from the U.S., Georgia, and Ukraine worked in these strands.

In the Assessment strand, Dr. Christine Coombe, English Faculty/Assessment Leader (USA) and Ms. Olha Yashenkova, Professor and Associate Chair, Linguistics Faculty, Kyiv National University (Ukraine) focused on aspects of assessment such as the test development and specifications process, assessing the four skills, statistics, and test-taking strategies. Their work was based on the aims, objectives and content of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its relationship to English language teaching in Ukraine. At the end of the Institute, Assessment strand participants made recommendations as to the content and format of the school-leaving tests that will be developed as part of Ukrainian testing reform.

Participants in the Teacher Development strand became more aware of effective classroom management techniques and ways of incorporating writing and reading activities into the curriculum. The ESP strand focused on motivating students to learn English by focusing on their immediate need to communicate in English in professional contexts. The recently introduced university module system and ESP course design based on this system was also discussed.

More pictures

Archive of the Events

Regional English Language Office

Public Affairs Section
4, Hlybochytska St.
Kyiv, Ukraine 04050
Tel: (380-44) 490-4125
Fax: (380-44) 490-4050
Regional English Language Officer: Thomas Santos
Tel: (380-44) 490-4125
Email: kyivrelo@state.gov