Programs for Underprivileged Students

The English Access Microscholarship Program is an English-language program sponspored by the U.S. State Deparment that focuses on highly motivated students from economically under-privileged families.  The program is offered in six Russian cities but we are highlighting it here with the hope that the idea inspires more Russian teachers to implement similar programs in their local schools.  For some ideas on how to implement such a program please read "D. Programs for Underprivileged Children" towards the bottom of page http://www.eltrussia.ru/articles_21_19.html under "Recent Highlights" on this website.

You can get details about the Access Program, if you go to Khasavyurt Access Program website http://www.accesskhas.ru/

At this site you will see how kids from Rostov-on-Don spent their time at the Summer School '09.

http://picasaweb.google.ru/rozina.irina/SummerCampRainbowACCESSRostov2009?feat=directlink

Russia Overview: the program offers the opportunity to share ideas with talented teachers and with exceptionally motivated teenagers in a productive and comfortable environment. These programs benefit from regular participation from visiting English-teaching Fellows, Specialists and Fulbrighters. They have attracted praise from educators, administrators and Russian and American citizens, many of whom feel it is a great contribution to English-teaching and reaching students who may not have access to special programs. This model of summer sessions and foreign language education has influenced hundreds of teachers to adopt a more interactive, student-centered approach. You may also wish to contact the English-language Office at the U.S. Embassy for more information about these teaching methods and how to reach this target pupil population.

Access Program in 2010-2012

Dear ELT Friends,

The English Language Office at the U.S. Embassy is now accepting proposals from associations and educational institutions to host an English Access Microscholarship Program in Russia from 2010 to 2012. 

The Access Program is a two-year after-school intensive English language program for teens ages 14 to 18 who are academically gifted and who are from families that cannot typically afford private tuition or other kinds of after-hours schooling.  The program emphasizes Russian-U.S. cross-cultural relations, information technology and leadership skills in a student-centered environment.  Programs use authentic, engaging materials and authentic tasks that focus on building fluency and confidence.

Proposals need to be sent to fomenkonv@state.gov by July 9th, 2010.  The criteria for evaluating the proposals include:

1.Involvement of USG exchange program alumni
2.Connection to professional English Language Teachers’ Association
3.Connection to other human resources (Fellows, special guests, etc.)
4.Ability to use Access Program as teacher training opportunity
5.Geographic diversity
6.Experience running summer camps

In addition, classes need to follow the following criteria:
180 instruction hours per year
Emphasis on cross-cultural U.S.-Russian topics
Gender parity
Student-centered approach with a focus on fluency
IT and leadership skills
Culturally and linguistically rich enhancement activities
Strong immersion summer school program

The proposal should contain the following sections:

Background information on association or institution:
(maximum 120 words)
Who are you? 
What makes the association such a good place to host an Access site?

Proposed staff, with brief bios:
(maximum 120 words)
Who will work on the program?
Do any have USG exchange program experience? 
What other cross-cultural experience do the staff have?
Who else will you request support from?  Fellows?  Specialists?  Others?

Curriculum narrative:
(maximum 200 words)
What exactly will you teach? 
What will be included in the first year?  In the second year?

Materials and IT:
(maximum 200 words)
What authentic sources will you use? 
What will you get from the Internet?
What special projects will students do on computers?  On the Internet?
How will you use the website https://alumni.state.gov?

Evaluation:
(maximum 120 words)
How will you evaluate your program’s effectiveness?

Immersion Summer School:
(maximum 200 words)
Where will you hold the summer school?
What will you do differently at the summer school (that you do not do during the year)?

Budget:

If you are a new Access site, you can include a proposal for 10 to 20 students, or 1 to 2 groups.  If you are an existing Access site, you can negotiate total the total # of students with the English Language Office.

You can find more out about the English Access Microscholarship Program at http://moscow.usembassy.gov/elo-programs.html.

Regards,

English Language Office
U.S. Embassy Moscow

Access Highlights

   
Birobidzhan Summer Camp News
Access-2010
Reporters:  Lera Syrtsova, Nikita Zamlelov, Viktor Titov

This newspaper is going to inform you about all of the most memorable events of the day-time summer camp devoted to developing English language skills among children of 14-16 age groups.
We had two gifted teachers: Svetlana Alekseyevna Semenovyh and Tamara Yakovlevna Semchuk, and our FLEX counselor Nastya Bystrova.
The term was 3 weeks long. 15 days of challenging work.
Usually in the beginning of the day we had lessons. From 12 a.m. to 1 p.m. we had a sport hour. Then, we had lunch at the local cafeteria.  After that, we had some teambuilding and directed on developing leadership skills activities. We went home at 3 p.m.
 And now a little bit more comments about some days in particular…

 the 1st day
The first day began. All children separated into 2 groups:  the “Youth” and the “Experts of English”. We had a good time together. Our group (the “Youth”) had a lesson with Tamara Yakovlevna. We completed some tests, watched a film about New York, and had some speaking work. We had a task for the day to name our groups. It was a lot of fun. We thought that the “Youth” is the best name for our group. We started to make a poster with information about our group but we didn’t finish it. This day was awesome and we hope that the whole camp will be as cool as this day. 
the  2nd day 
During the first half of the second day we were discussing our personal values. Then we shared our opinions about success and leadership qualities. We had to choose an opinion of a famous man, such as Napoleon, Rockefeller and so on. Then we went to have a lunch. After that during the second half of the day we needed to finish a group poster, it was entertaining. We decided that our poster will be made in the “South Park” style. In the end it turned out really pretty. The poster of “Experts of English” was bright and colorful. They decorated it with smiley faces.
the 3rd day
The 23rd of June was full of important events for our camp’s history. It began at 10 o’clock with a marvelous opening ceremony. Our big team separated into two groups.  Each group presented a poster about them. Pupils from school # 23 told us about their love of English language. Each of them described their own reasons to study it. “Access” group showed us a presentation about their program and people who organized it. They also mentioned their trip to the “Orlyonok” camp.  They showed a lot of pictures and sang funny songs. Most of all we liked a song about friendship. I hope that this song is going to become a future motto of our group. 
 the 4th day
This Friday was unusual. It was a very hot and sunny day and we had nice time. We went to the House of Culture and took participation in “Drugs free” day. We had to complete different tasks and compete with other schools.  It was interesting, informative and useful!  By the end of the event every single person in a group collected quite a few special coupons that we could exchange to sweets. Then, we went for lunch in the local café. After that, we went for a walk to the City Park where we had some sport activities. It was the first day that we spent outside of school completely. It was a great opportunity to get to know each other better, to start working as a team, to learn to trust each other. In my opinion, this day is going to stay forever in our memories. 
But to know for sure, in the end of the day we took a private poll with only one question in it: “How was your 4th day in this camp?”
And, unfortunately, some students didn’t share my opinion of it.  There are some examples:
1) It was very boring, the weather was hot and I think that it was organized for small kids.
                              Unknown 
2) Walk around a park was terrible. Big trees scared me and I run out of the park. 
Unknown
  
Unusual days
This week has begun very interesting. One group from our camp left for Khabarovsk to participate in the 8th FEELTA Conference but some students stayed here and still participated in their lessons. The lessons were unusual too. We spoke about English customs, families and schools. Also Nastya told us about her experience in America and the Flex program for students in general. We discussed different competitions that she went through to win and go to America for an academic year. Besides, we had our usual grammar lessons. I think that Tamara Yakovlevna is the best teacher when it comes to English grammar. But the best thing about these days was free time from lessons that we spent with our counselor Nastya. She brought us a movie “Charlie and the Chocolate factory” that we watched in English. It helped us to develop our language skills because movies and mass media are two best ways to learn everyday language and slang.  It was really interesting, amazing and funny for all of us. The weather was very hot during all of those days. We finally felt that summer came. Guys from Khabarovsk brought us their impressions and thoughts about this trip that they were eager to share.  So, we found out that on the first day of the Conference they listened to Christina Coombe’s presentation. Then, they went to the boat trip where they got a chance to speak with an American who has been living in Japan for twenty years already. They also played different English games with Elena Lubnina from the U.S. Embassy. It was unforgettable! On the second day guys showed the public their presentation. Everybody loved it! It was an obvious success. On their way home in the local train they laughed a lot. It was a lot of fun! In spite of separation, all of us had different and wonderful days which gave us a chance to share some news and emotions. 
On  the 5th of July we celebrated the Independence Day. In the morning we had quiz. First group told us about a history of the Independence Day and Second group told us about customs.  After that, we went to clean the bank of the river Bira.  The Hero of the day was Lera Krasnopolskaya, because she saved our ball and a toy of a small unknown girl. Lera as an award got “spasibo” and our respect.  All of us for successful cleaning of the bank of the river got a big and tasty cake as an award! 
On the 6th of July we had the Arbat day. Every group had their own businesses. For example, Prediction salon, tattoo salon, and so on. At the end of the game there was a shop with tasty things such as Bounty Chocolate and Chocó Pie, which we were able to buy with our earned “cash access”.
On the 7th of July we were making films and editing them. All of us had a lot of ideas and we used the best of them. It was very interesting and funny.
On the 8th of July we showed our films “Beautiful monster” and “Lovely love” to the audience. We impressed people very much. The rest of the day we spent preparing for the Closing Ceremony, which will be on the 9th of July. On the 9th of July was the last amazing day in our camp. Closing Ceremony was very beautiful. We enjoyed it very much. A lot of important guests welcomed our campers and wished us success in our future life.