The 25 English Teacher Experts joined seven locally embedded U.S. Coaches in conducting a 108-hour English language training for over 420 secondary school English teachers in Uzbekistan under the English Speaking Nation: Summer Excellence Training (ESN: ESET) program. These Experts delivered seven concurrent trainings in Andijan, Namangan, Samarkand, Termez, Qarshi, Bukhara, and Urgench from August 1 – 22 at local public schools and in-service retraining centers. The objective of the 18-day training was to help local English teachers refine their English speaking, writing, listening, and presentation skills.
One of the trainings occurred in Bukhara where some of the most experienced English Teacher Experts – Alicia Bradley, Tim Hudenburg, Kitty Johnson, Lisa Wakefield, Yuta Otake worked on provision of minimal language skills and opportunity to increase the proficiency of 60 school teachers of English from Bukhara region. The training was designed to offer teachers practice in the basics of English vocabulary, grammar, speaking, listening, reading, writing, teaching common conversational patterns, practicing spoken English phrases, as well as microteaching demonstrations.
Tim Hudenburg, who was selected as the Northern Virginia gifted teacher of the year, shared his impression about the training: “The ESN Program in Bukhara has been in a word—transformative. The Blue Team Teachers from Uzbekistan have been as remarkable not only in their knowledge of English but also in terms of their kindness and willingness to share. Every day has been a joy for me as a teacher to teach but also me as a learner. I have learned so much and have loved every moment with my people.”
It is essential to highlight that Kitty Johnson taught English and methodology at Bukhara State University and led teacher training programs in Nukus, Samarkand, Tashkent, and Fergana more than twenty years ago. She stated: “It’s wonderful to be back in Uzbekistan and especially to see that some of my old students are now teachers who are participating in the ESN program here in Bukhara. Things have changed over twenty years, but the teachers are still as active and creative as ever! They are practicing their Classroom English skills and gaining confidence every day! It’s wonderful to watch them in their professional development journey!” Thus, one of the ESET participants – Zilola Rakhimova, who Kitty taught, said: “The program made a significant contribution to my professional development. I learned several methods of teaching English as a foreign language to students. As an English teacher, I found this program very helpful for my future career. I am grateful for all the efforts that our coaches made. Especially, I am thankful to Mrs. Kitty for sharing her vast experiences with us. Thanks a lot to American Councils for allowing us to participate in this project. I hope we can have more programs like this.”
Another participants – Umida Malikova, who teach English at the school #25 in Bukhara, recalled the training: “This project focused not only on supporting teachers in upgrading their language, but also it provided the youth of Uzbekistan with the necessary level English language knowledge for the effective development of the country`s economy in the 21st century.This programme has proved to be helpful in spreading high quality pedagogy standards to teachers at local public schools to utilizing a team teaching model.”
ESN program is funded by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan and implemented by American Councils for International Education in close cooperation with the Ministry of Public Education in Uzbekistan.
*The photo above was taken in 1988 during Kitty Johnson’s lesson in Bukhara.