ELI Conducts Summer Institute For African Educators

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The UB English Language Institute (ELI) this summer is conducting a special, six-week program for 18 educators from Haiti and 10 sub-Saharan African countries.

Participants in the summer institute, which began June 5 and runs through July 14, include high-school principals and headmasters, inspectors of secondary-education systems and ministry of education officials, directors of English-language programs and regional teacher advisors and teacher trainers. They represent Haiti and the African countries of Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cóte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda and Senegal.

The program is funded by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. Janice A. Nersinger, director of overseas and customized programs for ELI, is coordinating the program.

The goal of the summer institute is to strengthen English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) programs in secondary schools in the participants' home countries by enhancing their management and organizational skills; familiarizing them with email and the Internet; broadening their understanding of U.S. institutions and culture, and assisting them in identifying, analyzing and solving the practical problems they face in the administration of EFL programs in their home countries. The four major topic/skill areas being addressed are managing teaching staff, student development, managing resources and computer skills for professional networking and development.

Instruction is being provided by faculty members from the ELI and the UB departments of Learning and Instruction, Educational Leadership and Policy, and American Studies, as well as by staff from the Office of the Vice Provost for International Education.

In addition to the five-week academic component at UB, participants will travel to New York City and Washington, D.C., for a week-long tour of relevant cultural and educational sites.