Expanding ESL Training for Teachers
Limited training for English language teachers in Mexico's public schools can be a roadblock for middle school students who wish to improve their language skills. With more than 6,000 teachers of English in the Mexican school system, the opportunity for widespread improvement in student mastery is well within reach. Through knowledge exchange and technological advances, dedicated faculties at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional and Georgia State University created a framework for sustainable solutions.
The partners tackled gaps in teacher training to fulfill a critical partnership goal: creating an English Language, Learning and Teaching Distance Learning Specialization. The Specialization, which was approved by the Mexican Ministry of Education and included in the Catalogue of In-Service Course Offerings for the Basic Education Sector, is being supported in part by four Mexican scholars who enrolled at Georgia State with partnership support to earn their Master of Arts degrees in Applied Linguistics.The partners contributed to the Mexican government’s goal of training 100,000 in-service teachers in ESL.
At a Glance
Partner Institutions:
Georgia State University; Universidad Pedagogica Nacional
Region:
Latin America & the Caribbean
Dates:
Oct 2008–Sep 2011
Funding Level:
$249,923
Proposed
Cost Share:
$355,752
Success Story
With more than 6,000 English language teachers across Mexico’s public schools, the potential for middle school students to improve their language skills is well within reach; however, limited training for teachers remained an obstacle. But dedicated faculties at two higher education institutions created a framework for sustainable solutions.
