1. Farewell to David Fay
Dear Teachers, Colleagues and Friends,
It is hard for me to digest the fact that I arrived in Russia just shy of three years ago and that I will soon be departing.
My time here has been nothing short of exhilarating. Like many of you, I grew up a child of the cold war. I knew very little about this part of the world and, due to that ignorance, had many false premonitions. As the world changed, as I grew older, and as news stories poured in, I began to learn more but was always skeptical that I was not getting the full story. I traveled in Eastern Europe in the early 90’s, and in Central Asia more recently, and felt the gravitational pull of a deep, rich culture that was only one or two border crossings away. The context of a culture I had known only through some of the greatest literature of the world now seemed within reach; my curiosity was peaked.
My dream to live in Russia came true in 2007, when I was offered the opportunity to work in Moscow as the English Language Officer. Moscow almost immediately overwhelmed me and I spent many a long hour riding in crowded metros, walking on busy streets, avoiding speeding zhigulis, and trying to find quiet corners after a long day of work and city travel. Thankfully, even in the middle of the city, such quiet corners abound – in parks, cafes and by the river. I also made my peace with the city on Sunday mornings by taking advantage of the empty streets and trying to discover new architectural marvels, neighborhoods and museums.
My true peace, however, came with each of my trips outside of Moscow – to Samara, Saratov, and Volgograd; to Elista, Rostov and Novocherkassk; to Krasnodar, Stavropol and Sochi; to Tomsk and Novosibirsk; to St. Pete, Syktyvkar and Kirov; to Kursk and Voronezh; to Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Khanti-Mansisk; to Abakan and Kyzyl; to Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski; to Ufa and Krasnya Gorka; to Belgorad, Gubkin and Kaliningrad; and to many other beautiful towns and cities in Russia. Each trip I took brought me closer to the rich tapestry of Russian life and values; each trip helped me better understand the city in which I lived; each trip brought me a richer meaning to my own culture and to all that needs to be done to bring our two countries closer together.
However, these places are not what have brought about my deep respect for Russia - it is the people, it is you. My greatest moments here have been through my work with the many associations and the undying dedication of its members, all of whom are involved in professional development on a volunteer basis after a long day of school and in-between busy schedules at home. This thirst to learn more, to better one’s own teaching and the practice of other teachers in the region, and to learn more about the cultures behind the language, are what have inspired me. I have had the great opportunity to see teachers who have hardly used a computer now find lesson content from the Internet. I have seen teachers who have never presented an idea to peers stand up and conduct one-hour workshops. And I have seen teachers who have spent nearly a lifetime lecturing to students introduce interactive activities and authentic material.
Though my time here is coming to a close, our work at the English Language Office will continue. You all know that you have a home in Moscow, at the U.S. Embassy. You all know that my two “sisters”, my two wonderful colleagues, Elena Lubnina and Natalia Fomenko, will continue to support you and all of your hard work. They will continue to look for opportunities to bring U.S. Fellows and Specialists to your cities and to find ways to help you better understand language teaching and U.S. culture, through online courses and visits to the U.S. I know that my successor, Tom Santos, will also take up your cause in late September 2010.
We are living in very fast times. All of the past seems but a moment ago. My consolation is that my chance to see you again, our shared future, will only be a moment from now.
Thank you for your dedication and drive. Thank you for your work on collaborative projects. Thank you for challenging and transforming me.
Ñïàñèáî!
Sincerely,
David
2. Midsummer NATE and FEELTA Conferences – Key Milestones in Teachers’ Associations Development
The XVIth NATE Conference “Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness” took place in Chelyabinsk in the end of June. Svetlana Sannikova, CHELTA President, and Nataliya Komissarova, CHELTA Vice –President, together with their team hosted a great event that brought together more than 500 ELT teachers from different parts of Russia. There were many events that were organized for the first time during this nation-wide Conference: a pre-NATE Conference for local teachers, DVC greetings from TESOL President, TESOL President Elect as a key speaker, wide mass media coverage, and even banners all over the city that invited teachers to take part in the Conference. Have a look at the gallery of pictures at the CHELTA site and feel the conference atmosphere. http://www.chelta.ru/gallery/glimpses-of-nate2010/category/10-june24 It is better to evaluate the results of the Conference through the feedback of the participants. Here is what Tatiana A. Komarova, Deputy Director of the Language Centre VIVA! in Togliatti wrote:
“The XVI NATE Conference “Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness”, held in Chelyabinsk in June 2010, was a fantastic event in the life of the EFL Teaching community. New methods and approaches to teaching English, interesting ideas and topics presented by the key speakers of the conference will make our work more efficient and increase student motivation. Such speakers as David Fay, Christine Coombe, Svetlana G. Ter-Minasova, Mariya V. Verbitskaya, Elena N. Solovova made the greatest impression and charged us with enthusiasm. This event has stimulated cooperation and professional communication. The Pre-NATE seminar on Testing and Assessment has helped to train a group of item writers for the Russian State Examination. Thank you so much for the support and participation in the conference.”
David Fays’ plenary “The Running Fence: A Brief Look at the Art of Teaching” made the conference participants revisit the values and beliefs of the teaching profession. ESP Round Table discussion highlighted a new ESP Program. Access Microscholarship Program team was presented by 8 sites and inspired many participants by the results of their work. A special Round Table Plenary was devoted to the Teachers’ Associations issues – Russian and American Associations leaders shared their concerns, experience and ways of enhancing TA’s building http://www.flickr.com/photos/51997362@N07/
While NATE Conference central theme was “Teacher Effectiveness”, FEELTA bi-annual Conference “From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: Global Englishes, Local Contexts” in Khabarovsk chose to cover a great variety of topics. More than 300 participants, among them about 40 guests from various countries, noted a very high level of Conference organization and a high level of presentations. Special thanks to Nataliya Maksimova and Khabarovsk FEELTA Chapter team who again excelled in taking care of numerous details and made the Conference unforgettable.
The next NATE Conference will be held in Kaliningrad and will be organized by KATE. Please check website eltrussia.ru for further details.
3. ELT-Russia.ning.com is ON – “alive and kicking”!
As you may know, Ning is now a pay service. Those who have already joined http://www.elt-russia.ning.com know how important this resource is for the EL teachers. The EL Office is sponsoring NING ELT-Russia and Access NING this academic year. Join, invite colleagues and get ready for many exciting discussions.
4. “Shaping the Way we Teach English in Russia” DVD-Rom will be Released Soon.
A new EL Office project “Shaping the Way we Teach English in Russia” is a unique teacher training video Guide that raises awareness of modern methods and techniques in EFL. The Guide offers new practices and inspires fresh approaches to language teaching and learning to the English language teachers in Russia. The authors of the Guide – David Fay, Prof. Elena Solovova and Dr. Elena Markova – created the material that will help teachers reflect on their own teaching while watching video clips of 18 lessons. These clips and corresponding questions for guided conversation will help you get the feel for new “Key ELT Issues” that make an English language class communicative, creative and effective.
Please write to Nataliya Fomenko at fomenkonv@state.gov to make a request for the copies after September 20th.
5. Don’t Forget about your Reliable Friend – English Teaching FORUM!
- The new Forum issue has an article entitled "Towards Better Group Work: Seeing the Difference Between Cooperation and Collaboration" by a Russian author! Olga Kozar. You can access the article at http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/files-folder111111/48_2-etf-towards-better-group-work-seeing-the-difference-between-cooperation-and-collaboration.pdf
- The latest ET Forum contains a great article entitled "Intercultural Training with Films". You can access it at http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/docs/files-folder111111/48_2-etf-intercultural-training-with-films.pdf
- The article “Between the ESP Classroom and the Workplace: Bringing the Gap” in FORUM issue # 3 , 2009 will be the starting point for discussing a new project during the next Umbrella Conference. Please read it and send your comments to lubninaen@state.gov if you are interested in this new initiative. http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives/2009/09-47-3.html
6. Ukrainian Cable TV
http://www.english-club.tv/ru/Home.html Might be a very nice source for brushing up English!
7. News You Can Use
TO UPLOAD OR NOT TO UPLOAD? - U.S. COLLEGES CONSIDER MAKING LECTURES FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE
Through open-courseware projects many schools already make syllabi, lecture notes and other documents freely accessible online. Posting full lecture videos as public content is still uncommon, even though hundreds of higher education institutions maintain their own YouTube channels.
Barriers to publishing lectures:
- technological challenges of recording, editing and uploading videos
- fears that class attendance would drop
- concerns about intellectual property rights
U.S. schools already posting lectures open to the public include:
- Purdue University
- University of Oregon
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Tufts University
- Yale University
For a list of Open Courseware Consortium member schools, go to:
www.ocwconsortium.org
Find out about the various aspects of this dilemma and future
prospects at: http://chronicle.com/article/More-Professors-Could-Share/64521/
Full-length article: College 2.0: More Professors Could Share Lectures
Online. But Should They? By Jeffrey R. Young, The Chronicle of Higher
Education, March 7, 2010
