English Language

English Language Development Programs and Resources offered by the Public Diplomacy Section

The U.S. Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) maintains a collection of English language methodology and textbooks that can be checked out by English language teachers for up to two weeks at a time. Teachers are encouraged to visit American Center located on the 3rd floor of the International Business Center, Andalyp Street 70. American Center provides teachers, scholars, and government representatives with information about the United States.

American English

The American English website provides resources for teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), exploring American culture, and encouraging conversation within the global EFL community.

Forum Magazine

The English Teaching Forum, a journal for English teachers outside the United States, is published four times a year (January, April, July, and October). An on-line edition of the Forum magazine is available at https://americanenglish.state.gov/forum.
You can submit your articles to Forum Magazine by following these instructions. To be considered for publication, manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and have margins of at least three centimeters. They should also be accompanied by a statement indicating whether they have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Anything written for submission to Forum should be sent to the following address:

Mailing address:
English Teaching Forum
ECA/A/L/M
US Department of State, SA-5, 4th Floor
2200 C St. NW
Washington, DC 20037 USA
Email: etforum@state.gov

English Language Teaching (ELT) Professionals in Turkmenistan

The State Department’s Office of English Language Programs in Washington, DC, with the support of Congressional funding, has developed three programs that can bring ELT professionals to universities and other educational institutions in Central Asia. If your institution is interested in hosting a Fellow and is willing to work with the Public Affairs Section in Turkmenistan, please contact the Public Diplomacy Section.

English Language Fellows: The English Language Fellow Program recruits qualified English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to teach English in universities and institutions for one year according to the needs of the host institution. Fellows are Americans with an M.A. degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language/Teaching English as a Second Language (TEFL/TESL).

Short-term English Language Specialists: The English Language (EL) Specialist program recruits American academics in the field of TEFL/TESL and Applied Linguistics for short-term assignments (two to six weeks). Specialists may work on curriculum projects, teacher training seminars, textbook development, English for Special Purposes, program evaluation or other well-defined short projects. Institutions or organizations interested in inviting a specialist may request a specific scholar; if they do not, then the Office of English Language Programs contacts and recruits an EL Specialist from among well-known academics in the field. All program-related costs are covered by the U.S. Government.

Virtual English Language Educator Program: The Virtual English Language Educator Program offers highly qualified U.S. educators an online opportunity to support English language learning around the world, participate in public diplomacy, and build mutual connections. Virtual Educators are experienced professionals in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) who support English language teaching around the world. Virtual Educator projects range in length from a few weeks to a semester. Virtual Educators can do direct online teaching of university classes, teacher training workshops, conference presentations, conversation clubs, webinars, or other English language-related outreach activities supported by Public Diplomacy Section of the U.S. Embassy Ashgabat.

English Teaching Programs in Turkmenistan

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy supports English teaching programs in Turkmenistan through a wide variety of activities related to training, methodology, specialists, and materials.

Public Diplomacy American English Program (AEP): AEP is Embassy Ashgabat’s in-house English language program. The program alumni achieve CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) B2/upper-intermediate level of English language proficiency upon successful completion of all four learning terms throughout an academic year. AEP serves as an incubator for the embassy to prepare and identify students for USG-funded college preparatory, matriculation, and exchange programs (e.g., P4S, UCA, UGRAD, SUSI, etc.). It is also a rare opportunity for Turkmen citizens to learn about American values through cross-cultural activities and presentations, and to interact with native English speakers as well as Turkmens who possess extensive U.S. experience. Lastly, this program is unique for its intentional efforts to admit students with special needs and create an inclusive education classroom. Find more information at: AshgabatAmericanEnglishProgram@state.gov.

OPEN Program Global Online Courses offer innovative, online, graduate level classes to English teaching professionals outside of the United States. The eight weeks courses explore major areas of the academic specialty of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). For more detailed information on currently offered courses and course content go to: https://exchanges.state.gov/non-us/program/OPEN-Program.

Massive Open Online Courses: English Language Learner MOOCs assist participants at the pre-intermediate or intermediate level. These self-access MOOCs will help them improve their English skills in five major content areas including Business and Entrepreneurship, Journalism, Career Development, Media Literacy and STEM fields. Please, follow this link https://americanenglish.state.gov/american-english-moocs to find out more and register for the courses.

American English E-Teacher Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are designed for non-native English-speaking teachers of English. More information about this opportunity can be found at https://www.aeeteacher.org/MOOC.

American English Live Webinars cover a variety of topics intended for teachers of English or future teachers of English around the world. At the end of each event, participants will have the opportunity to earn a digital badge that verifies their participation. You can find information about live webinars and by subscribing to the American English for Educators Facebook page. Find more information at https://americanenglish.state.gov/ae-webinars.