Egypt

Abdelhady Ali (2008-2009) received a CLP grant to found an American Culture Club at Gharbiya STEM School in Tanta, Egypt. Through this club, 100 students will have the opportunity to learn about American films, food, games, dance, music, sports, and holidays, as well as other elements of American culture. Students will also have the opportunity, as part of the American Culture Club, to attend workshops and field trips. Additionally, the club will purchase quality instructional materials to promote the English language program at the school.

Adel Ghattas (2017-18) received a CLP grant to conduct a project designed to introduce his students to the history of the Middle East through a rich artistic context, engaging them with the language and culture in a fun way. Mr. Ghattas worked with the global history teacher at his school to prepare and present on the Arab-Israeli conflict. After students had learned about the historical and cultural background, they watched the movie The Band's Visit and participated in classroom activities that explored the movie's characters and themes.

Mr. Ali developed an American Cultural Club at Gharbiya STEM School in Tanta, Egypt. This project included various activities, experiential learning and direct interaction that motivated and inspire students in their English learning. The CLP funding was used to bring the American English and culture to Egyptian students. The club was one of a kind in Tanta, Egypt. The American Cultural Club strives to reinforce tolerance for all people within the community and school.

Amany Kasab, current TCLP Exchange Teacher, was awarded a CLP grant to support her efforts organizing a double field trip in New York for her U.S. students and in Cairo for her Egyptian students. Students in New York will visit the Metropolitan Museum and will have a traditional Egyptian lunch in an Egyptian restaurant. Students will explore ancient Egyptian culture and practice conversational Arabic in real life situations. Students in Egypt will visit the Egyptian Museum and interact with tourists in English.

As part of a cross-cultural Critical Language Project, TCLP Teacher Tamer Elsharkawy and his students explored Alexandria, Virginia. His students shared what they learned about Alexandria, Virginia with students in Egypt and in turn, students in Egypt shared what they learned from a field trip to Alexandria, Egypt. Both groups of students practiced their target languages of Arabic and English through the project.

TCLP Arabic Teacher, Hanan Gawdet, received a Critical Language Project Grant to give Southern Lehigh Arabic students from 7th -12th grade an opportunity to focus on “Ancient and Modern Egyptian Arts.”

TCLP Egyptian exchange teacher Abla Rasslan was approved for a 3-part Arabic cultural project. The first part consisted of current H.L. Harshman Middle School students teaching other feeder school students about Arabic language and culture. The second part was the creation of an “Encyclopedia Arabia” in which 15 schools contributed projects for inclusion on topics ranging from tourist attractions, to the economy and government of the Arab world. The final part was a culminating Arabic fair, which showcased student work in Arabic class and a fashion show.

At Plymouth High School, mentor teacher Laura Koebel and exchange teacher Ez Eldin Salem designed a project in which 30 Arabic students at Plymouth High School participated in an all day event centered around Arabic studies. First, the students attended 1st and 4th semester Arabic courses at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. Afterwards, the students discussed language learning at the college level and practiced their Arabic with the university Arabic students.

TCLP host school alumna Roslynne McCarthy from the Center for Global Studies in Connecticut was awarded a CLP for a student collaborative project called Sister-schools: Expanding the Student Dialogue. The goal of this project was to create and implement a curriculum of personal interactions among students at the Center for Global Studies and Al-Salam Private Language School in Tanta, Egypt with the expertise and input of TCLP 2008 alumnus Mr. Emil Markos.

TCLP Arabic Teacher Alumnus Ahmed Mohamed was awarded a grant to implement a professional development project he designed to help other teachers in his home school district in Egypt. The project helped teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) build a pedagogical foundation, exchange best practices for EFL teaching, learn about the U.S. educational system, and share resources. Planned to be a multi-day training program, Ahmed made use of published education materials as well as those provided at no cost by the U.S. Department of State’s Regional English Language Officer.