On May 3, 2013, twenty three teachers from China and Egypt were honored at a Closing Ceremony for the Teachers of Critical Languages Program (TCLP) at the American Councils headquarters. TCLP, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and implemented by American Councils for International Education, seeks to strengthen Mandarin and Arabic language instruction in U.S. schools while providing selected exchange teachers the opportunity to learn about U.S. teaching methodologies, culture, and society.
Jennifer Gibson, Branch Chief of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, thanked the TCLP teachers for their year of service, and congratulated them for their numerous professional achievements at their host schools where they spent the past year teaching Mandarin and Arabic to K-12 students across the U.S.
The TCLP teacher’s reflections also provided a foundation to inform new host schools of ways to prepare for hosting a TCLP teacher in the 2013-2014 school year. During an afternoon session, the TCLP teachers shared their experiences with administrators from sixteen new host schools who came to Washington DC to learn best practice hosting advice from first-hand sources. “The afternoon activity of speaking with teachers about the classroom was very beneficial”, said one new administrator. “I was extremely impressed with everything that was offered at the workshop. I don't think you could be a good host school without the information we received”, another administrator said.
A highlight of the workshop was the opportunity for TCLP exchange teachers to celebrate during the closing dinner. After dinner, everyone joined in to sing Chinese, Egyptian, and American songs together in one more joyful demonstration of the mutual respect and understanding that is created during the TCLP exchange.
TCLP looks forward to welcoming a new cohort of sixteen Arabic and Mandarin teachers to Washington DC on July 30, 2013 and starting another exciting year!