The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Online Professional English Network (Open Now)

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Online Professional English Network

Fall Term 2021 (Begins September 28 – November 23, 2021)
Application deadline: 12:00 p.m., July 12, 2021

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh is pleased to announce the offering of the Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program to teachers and educators who are interested in participating in an online professional development course for 8-week, online university-level courses in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). 

What courses are available? 

  1. Fostering Student Motivation and Engagement (FSME) 
  2. English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) 
  3. Teaching Grammar Communicatively 
  4. Integrating Critical Thinking into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting 
  5. Using Educational Technology in the English Language Classroom 
  6. Teaching English to Young Learners (3-10 years old) 
  7. Professional Development for Teacher Trainers 
  8. Content-based Instruction 
  9. Methodology of TESOL 
  10. Creating and Implementing Online Courses (CIOC)  

Who can apply?

Candidates must: 

  • Be a citizen of Cambodia 
  • Be an English language professional 
  • Be dedicated and committed to complete the fully funded course valued at $1,500 per participant 
  • Have strong English language reading and writing skills (minimum 550 TOEFL, or equivalent) 
  • Be living in Cambodia for the entire duration of this course 
  • Have regular and reliable access to high-speed internet connection 
  • Be able to spend 1-2 hours online per day for the duration of the 8-week course 

Course Descriptions 

Course 1: Fostering Student Motivation and Engagement (FSME)
This course is delivered by University of Oregon 

Fostering Student Motivation and Engagement (FSME) is an online course for English language educators who want to improve their teaching practices and increase their students’ level of motivation and engagement in learning English. Over the span of eight weeks, participants will develop skills to increase student motivation and engagement, acquire knowledge about differentiated instruction, develop skills to address students’ learning needs, and engage in reflection activities as a matter of professional practice. Throughout the course, participants will identify an area of need in their teaching contexts and will choose tools, strategies, techniques, and resources to try with a group of leaners to help meet that need. At the end of the course, this will become a collection of resources, or a “toolkit,” that they can use in their contexts and share with others. 

Course 2: English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)
This course is delivered by Ohio University 

English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is an online course designed to introduce you to the theory and practice of teaching disciplinary content in English. This course will help you re-develop your existing courses or create new ones that use English as the Medium of Instruction (EMI). Materials include engaging videos, practical readings, and opportunities for collaboration within the course and in your institutions. You will identify challenges that faculty and students encounter in EMI classes, and develop strategies for successfully helping students learn course content while simultaneously building or refining their English skills. In addition, you will gain confidence in teaching in English while you also become more comfortable using pedagogies that are interactive and focus on student learning. Topics include course design, syllabi development, lesson and materials creation, teaching interactively in English, and supporting learning through technology. When you complete the course, you will have a portfolio of materials you can use in your own courses. 

Course 3: Teaching Grammar Communicatively
This course is delivered by World Learning- SIT Grad Institute 

In this practice-oriented course, participants will explore how to adapt grammar instruction to meet their students’ needs. They will also focus on integrating grammar instruction with teaching language skills, varying grammar instruction meet the needs of large, mixed ability classes, and using available technology effectively to enhance grammar learning inside and outside the classroom. Participants will discuss different challenges their learners may have with learning grammar, and discover how they can help learners use grammar to improve fluency and accuracy. 

Course 4: Integrating Critical Thinking into the Exploration of Culture in an EFL Setting
This course is delivered by World Learning- SIT Grad Institute 

Exploration of culture in an EFL setting requires helping students engage in authentic situations to develop the ability to navigate across a variety of cultural. This intercultural ability requires language choices and awareness of oneself as a cultural being. It also requires critical thinking skills, which are themselves culturally defined. Using experiential learning as the organizational model, this course will engage participants in analyzing personal experiences, media, EFL textbooks, and classrooms to develop the capacity to think critically about the cultural assumptions and viewpoints embedded in their teaching content and process. After examining themselves as cultural beings and assessing learners’ needs and goals, participants will develop a concrete teaching lesson that reflects their view of teaching critical thinking and intercultural competence in their particular context. 

Course 5: Using Educational Technology in the English Language Classroom
This course is delivered by Iowa State University 

This course is designed to help English language teaching professionals around the world acquire and maintain basic knowledge and skills in technology for professional purposes through hands-on learning. It will help teachers integrate pedagogical knowledge and skills with technology to enhance their language teaching and learning through their reading, discussion, and creation of new learning activities. The course will help participants apply technology in record keeping, feedback, and assessment, and use technology to improve communication, collaboration, and efficiency by participating in online discussion and presentation. 

Course 6: Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL)
This course is delivered by George Mason University 

Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) is designed to introduce you to the theory and practice of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to young learners 3-10 years old. Through engaging videos and practical readings, you will explore approaches for teaching English to children that are not only effective but also fun and engaging. You will learn techniques for teaching new vocabulary and grammar that encourage student participation. In addition, you will gain new ideas for teaching listening, speaking, reading and writing in a meaningful context. Through learner-centered activities and group discussions, you will have many opportunities to share ideas with peers and apply course content to your learning environment. Get ready to learn about TEYL and be part of an international learning community with teachers around the world! 

Course 7: Professional Development for Teacher Trainers
This course is delivered by Arizona State University 

This course, designed for both new and experienced teachers, gives participants methods for creating, presenting, and evaluating effective teacher training workshops. You will gain tools and techniques for promoting professional development in your teaching context. Through participation in this course, you will develop your skills for delivering engaging and relevant teacher trainings. 

Course 8: Content-Based Instruction
This course is delivered by World Learning 

This course is designed for teachers who are already teaching — or are preparing soon to teach – content-based instruction (CBI) courses in English. CBI courses present teachers with the challenge of balancing the teaching of both language and content. The ideal way to strike this balance will differ, depending on the teaching context. This course is intended to help its participants meet those challenges by guiding participants through a series of practical, hands-on activities, which are supported by the necessary background and theoretical information, to prepare participants for future decision-making and problem-solving in the area of CBI. 

Course 9: Methodology of TESOL
This course is delivered by the University of Maryland Baltimore County 

This course is designed to provide participants with current methodologies for teaching English learners (ELs) of different ages in many learning contexts. Participants will discuss and practice a wide variety of strategies and techniques for teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). While exploring best practices for teaching listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including grammar and vocabulary, participants will learn how to create an effective and communicative language classroom for all learners. In addition, participants will examine what best practices means in the context of teaching English in the 21st century, where English is an international language, and the use of English incorporates modern technologies. 

Course 10: Creating and Implementing Online Courses (CIOC) 

This course is delivered by the Arizona State University  

This course will give participants powerful tools to create and deliver hybrid and fully online courses for online learners. Using the ADDIE model for curricular design, participants will first analyze (A) students, stakeholders, and objectives by writing a learner story. They will then design (D) and develop (D) the course by creating a course geography and course outline. Finally, participants will develop an action plan to demonstrate how they intend to implement (I) and evaluate (E) the English language courses they develop. The main outcome of the course is to have participants apply tools and strategies for creating and delivering online courses in their contexts.   

How to apply? 

Fill out the online application form: http://bit.ly/3lHMPU3  

For information, please contact the Public Affairs Section by email at PASExchanges@state.gov or call 023-728-248. 

Official website

1 Response

  1. I have interest to English

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