English Teachers from Public Schools Attend Workshop in Recife

Public Affairs Officer welcomes the English teachers

US Fellow Avraam Blum talks to teachers from Pernambuco state

On October 1st 2012, approximately 40 Pernambuco public school English teachers came together in Recife for a one-day workshop with a goal in mind: to learn how to become more efficient multipliers. The “Teachers Training Teachers” workshop was a collective initiative sponsored by the U.S. Consulate in Recife and supported by State Secretary of Education Anderson Gomes. The facilitators of the workshop were the 6 Senior English Language Teaching Fellows who are here on a 10-month contract in Pernambuco to improve English language teaching in Pernambuco’s public schools.

Around  40 of the most enthusiastic and motivated public school English teachers throughout the state of Pernambuco were chosen by the 6 teaching fellows to participate in the important workshop at ABA (Associação Brasil-América) in Recife. Some teachers traveled nearly half a day to come and learn teaching techniques from the American fellows that included bringing in their normal lesson plan for review, learning engaging teaching methods through music, and working in small and large group activities throughout the day.

Through the “Teachers Training Teachers” workshop, Pernambuco state school teachers will be able to use their new teaching skills to develop their own workshops and teach other teachers. The workshop will potentially create a domino-like effect of goodwill, where when the English language fellows finish the program and leave, the teachers will continue spreading the knowledge they’ve learned to other teachers throughout the state.

The workshop revealed some commonalities between the Brazilian English teachers and the American fellows; they both agreed that they are often overlooked for funding in their schools in favor of subjects like Mathematics and Science.  All agreed that English language acquisition is in fact an important and unique skill to have for a Brazilian student. Students who can use English proficiently enough in a working environment are much more competitive when job searching.

The “Teachers Training Teachers” workshop was a day of training and recognition for English teachers in Pernambuco.  The Consulate is grateful to Partners of the Americas PE-GA for administering the program.