Convening in Washington, D.C., 28 students from A-SMYLE, FLEX, and YES programs and from 19 countries across the world attended the second annual Workshop for Youth Leaders in Teaching English (WYLTE) from March 30 to April 5, 2014. WYLTE is sponsored by the US Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and implemented by American Councils.
Participants were selected from a highly competitive pool of over 400 applicants, demonstrating a strong commitment to teaching prior to the workshop. Most served as English tutors or teaching assistants in their home communities: from village children's programs to high school clubs and English Olympiads. Through interactive workshop sessions facilitated by AC staff and guest speakers from the ECA Office of English Language Programs, WYLTE students furthered their pedagogical knowledge in student-centered methodology, and explored effective use of technology, classroom management, organization skills, and session design and delivery.
Classroom observations at Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, an award-winning and nationally recognized school for adult immigrants, offered participants an opportunity to see best teaching practices firsthand. Throughout the week, workshop participants also received individual attention, teaching advice, and feedback from local teaching professionals with expertise in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). With the guidance of these mentor teachers, each student produced a lesson plan to "teach" their peers at the end of the week.
During discussions with leaders of ECA's Youth Programs Division and American Councils' Secondary Schools Programs, participants learned more about WYLTE's history and its far-reaching impact, as well as about resources available through the State Department's websites. ECA's Office of Citizen Exchanges Director, Mary Deane Conners, encouraged the participants to share their own background and program experiences. Students also met with their program staff, chatted online with respective program alumni about successfully implemented projects, and drafted personal alumni action plans. Over lunch, students chatted with American Councils' volunteer evaluators, who play a critical role in reading students' scholarship applications.
To round out their visit, students were guided around the National Mall, Georgetown University, and the Library of Congress, and attended a musical performance of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Ford's Theatre. The musical cast threw a special spotlight on the workshop when WYLTE mentor teacher Tom Toomey and YES student Arsalan Ghani were called on stage to try their own hand at the spelling competition!
Students came away from the week inspired and motivated to apply their newly developed teaching and leadership skills as alumni, having taken the first step by designing their own English language teaching projects. Individual action plans describe a shared goal of giving back to their home countries through English lessons, workshops, and camps with children, youth, adults, and under-served populations; and partnering with fellow alumni, local schools, and US Government-sponsored resources, such as Regional English Language Officers, American Corners, and the English Access Microscholarship Program.
One participant concluded: "During this week I did not only learn how to engage the whole class but I got a chance to actually create a lesson for my peers. It indeed helped my confidence, and it was an eye-opening experience."