Resources

REGIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE OFFICE MISSION  

The Regional English Language Office (RELO) supports the mission of the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy to promote mutual understanding between people through its informational, educational and cultural programs.

The Relo assists the English teaching community in the host country to build an English competent cadre of professionals, business people, and government officials who can take part in dialogues with their U.S. counterparts, participate in U.S. Government exchange programs, and cooperate with U.S. companies and organizations working with the host country.

Key RELO Programs
The English Access Microscholarship Program
Established in Morocco in 2003, active in over fifty countries around the world, this program was created by the U.S. Department of State to provide two years of supplemental English classes to deserving students who might not be able to afford them otherwise.  

In Morocco, there are classes in forty-three locations and are taught by various providers including the American Language Centers and the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English. Students have a chance to interact with Americans during extra activities like summer camp, films, and discussions. Participation in the program is competitive and is offered to selected fourteen to eighteen year olds.  Access aims to choose an equal number of boys and girls.  

Access Program Activities in Morocco 
- Access Program Alumnus  Gives Back to 
  His Commuity  
- Big Weekend for Access Morocco 
- Fifth Generation of Morocco’s Access
  Program Launches

Access Partner Websites 

- http://www.accessoujda.tk/

 E-Teacher Scholarships

Online graduate courses in Teaching English to Young Learners, Teaching English for Specific Purposes, Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web, Methods I:  Survey of Best Practices in TESOL, Methods II:  Developing EFL Literacy through Project Based Learning, Critical Thinking, and Assessment are offered every fall by various US universities.  The classes require a minimum of ten hours of work per week, for approximately ten weeks.  Participants need a high level of English proficiency and a reliable Internet connection in a location where they can work thoughtfully.  Scholarships are competitive.  If you wish to apply, complete the application and send it to RELO Ruth Petzold before the end of June.

English Teaching Forum and other ELT materials
Contact the RELO office in Morocco, or your U.S Embassy Public Affairs office elsewhere in the region if you would like to receive this magazine or purchase low-cost English teaching materials.

Support and Development of English Teacher Associations

In addition to supporting locally organized professional development events, the RELO office identifies dynamic teachers from across the region to send to the TESOL conference every year. We encourage under-represented populations, such as young teachers, women, and teachers from outside the capital, to become leaders in their ELT communities and to let the RELO office know what they are doing.  While the RELO office cannot set up English teacher association partnerships between the U.S. and North Africa, we certainly encourage and support them.

Teacher Association Activities

- RELO Office visits MATE English through Music
  Camp in Taza 

English Language Exchange Programs
The RELO office offers two popular programs that bring Americans to North Africa.
· The English Language Specialist Program provides English language specialists to host countries for a period of 2 to 6 weeks.  These specialists work on a variety of projects ranging from in-service teacher training, to curriculum design, to ESP projects. 
· The EL Fellow Program provides junior and senior academics to teach such subjects as EFL and ESP at all levels, pre-service teacher education, and other specialized courses as qualified. They work primarily at the institutional level, but can also do some outreach.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs offers exchange programs to the U.S. that are coordinated by U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Sections.

If you are interested in studying in the U.S. you can find more information at Education USA.

Resources for English Learners, Teachers, & Teacher Trainers
The sites below are not endorsed by the RELO office, but are listed to help you start exploring online ELT sites. A good way to look for new sites is to do a search with the words “learn English” at www.google.com or www.dogpile.com.

· Online dictionary with a forum for asking questions at www.wordreference.com/enfr/sixty
· Online help from volunteer teachers all over the world at www.englishforums.com/
· Articles, research papers, lessons plans, classroom handouts, teaching ideas & links at http://iteslj.org/
· Voice of America radio offers news in easy-to-comprehend “Special English” http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/
· Picture dictionary and practice activities at www.pdictionary.com/
· Learn about everything! Online encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
· Then check what you know with these fun quizzes at www.sheppardsoftware.com/index.html
· Become a better writer in English at owl.english.purdue.edu/
· Everything from lessons for students to jobs for teachers, including pages such as forums, games, quizzes, chat, help and penpals at www.englishclub.com/
· Read books online at www.gutenberg.org/ and www.short-stories.co.uk/ and www.ipl.org/reading/books/index.html
· Learn more about your profession with these short reports on topics of current interest in ELT at www.cal.org/resources/digest/
· Learn from other English teachers and learners at Dave's ESL Café www.eslcafe.com
· Ready-made lesson plans on current news www.breakingnewsenglish.com/
· There are many learner and teacher resources at the English Page www.englishpage.com
· A very rich collection of resources for teachers www.sitesforteachers.com
· Lots of American Studies resources at http://infocomm.lib.virginia.edu/amst/
· There lots of information on many current issues in the Department of State’s e-journals http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/

FAQs
Q. How can I find pen pals for my students?
A.  Hands Across the World offers this on their website at http://hatw.net/.  Click on “Class Exchange.”

Q. How can our school have a partnership with an American school?
A. Partnerships typically grow out of friendships between American and North African teachers, often English teachers because of their language skills.  There are many ways to make friends.  Get involved in projects with international links (e.g. Junior Achievement or iEARN).  Meet American colleagues on teacher-oriented websites (e.g. Dave's ESL Café or English Forums). Moroccan English teachers should apply for the Fulbright teacher exchange.  Invite local Americans to your school.  In time, a partnership may grow.  

Contact Us
American Embassy
Regional English Language Office, Rabat
2, Ave. Mohamed El Fassi
Rabat, Morocco
Tel: (212)  (0) 537 66-81-17
Fax: (212) (0) 537 66-82-84

Dr. Ruth E. Petzold, Regional English Language Officer (RELO)
E-mail: PetzoldRE@state.gov

Abdellatif Khadra, Regional English Language Office Assistant
E-mail: KhadraAB@state.gov

 

 

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