Mark Dorr
The English Language Fellowship program didn’t just change Mark Dorr’s place in the world; it changed how he saw it.…
English Language Programs (ELP) is a public diplomacy initiative that recruits highly trained and qualified TESOL professionals for in-person and virtual English language assignments at academic institutions around the world. The U.S. Department of State sponsors this program. Participants teach English, train teachers, develop academic and cultural programs, and much more.
Through projects set up by U.S. embassies, program participants work directly with teachers, students, and education professionals across the globe. ELP participants not only teach English and train local teachers, but also develop academic and cultural exchange projects that have a lasting impact on the communities in which they live and work.
Through English Language Programs, thousands of educators have participated in projects in over 100 countries around the world for short or long term assignments. Program participants have served in countries across Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific, Eurasia, South Asia, and the Middle East. The quality and global reach of the projects make these programs one of the most unique and prestigious opportunities available to TESOL professionals.
CIED has administered this initiative since 2005. Learn more at the English Language Programs website.
The impact of English Language Programs is felt by individuals, communities, and institutions both in the United States and abroad.
As highly trained and skilled teachers, the English Language Fellows, Specialists, and Virtual Educators who comprise ELP’s program participants enact meaningful and sustainable changes in the way that English is taught around the world. They provide valuable training to local teachers, develop sustaining educational programs, and promote mutual understanding between their host countries and the United States.
Fellows, Specialists, and Virtual Educators also report that they grow from their exchange experiences. They are challenged both professionally and personally to step outside of their comfort zone and are exposed to professional opportunities that would not be available to them outside of these programs. When their assignments conclude, they share their experiences with their colleagues and their communities to promote a global cultural and professional exchange.
As Byrne Brewerton, a Fellow in Sri Lanka and Maldives put it, “I feel that my career as a TESL professional would be nothing without this experience… In the 10 month I was away, I gained 10 years of experience.”
Mark Dorr
The English Language Fellowship program didn’t just change Mark Dorr’s place in the world; it changed how he saw it.…
Emily Ferlis
English Language Fellow in Bulgaria taught English and American culture at the University of Plovdiv. …
“It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life. First it changed my perception of the world, then it changed my perception of myself as an educator, and finally it changed my perception of myself as a person.”
Ed Leffew, English Language Fellow
Alumni Ambassador Program Welcomes Its 2022-23 Delegates
September 28th, 2022
How do you describe an experience that transforms your entire worldview? The 2022-23 Alumni Ambassadors have a few short but compelling suggestions, terms they use to convey the impact of their tenures as Fellows, Specialists, and Virtual Educators for the U.S. Department of State’s English Language Programs.…
English Language Fellow Devon Jancin Connects with Local Culture in Indonesia
July 31st, 2019
CIED’s English Language Fellow Devon Jancin lives in Central Java, a traditional, densely populated and predominantly Muslim part of Indonesia, where she is an instructor in the English Education Department at the Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Salatiga. …
English Language Specialist Connects Educators in Turkey
October 19th, 2018
English Language Specialist Dr. Paul Kei Matsuda connected with hundreds of English as a Second Language educators who traveled from around Turkey to attend his conference presentations and professional development workshops.…
The English Language Fellow Program Goes Coast to Coast
February 25th, 2016
Representatives from the English Language Programs traveled from coast to coast to attend and present at regional TESOL conferences.…