Please check out the story by Yusif Aliyev, an ACCESS teacher from Jalilabad. He’s just back from a three-week teachers’ exchange program which took place in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on November 1-23, 2014. I was satisfied with the workshop and my trip to America. In two words, the program was very nice. I enjoyed every minute of my trip to Arkansas, met many interesting people, and learned a lot of new things which I will teach to my students, friends, family, and to other teachers in Azerbaijan. I also shared many things about Azerbaijan. I had the opportunity to observe teaching and lessons in the American schools, as well as to exchange opinions and to discuss the differences and similarities between the Azerbaijani and American education systems with my counterparts attending the program. I enjoyed speaking to the students there a lot. I told them about Azerbaijan, its culture, and its people. I explained to the students some of Azerbaijan’s traditions and holidays, such as Novruz, and explained the colors of our flag. I also taught the teachers the game called Flew Flew Flew Flew which is an Azerbaijani game. They enjoyed the game and said they knew nothing about it. I was surprised that the schedule only changed once. They gave us a free evening on one of the days to allow us more time to prepare our food. I cooked levangie, and everyone liked it. They said they hadn’t tried the meal before. Here’s one more thing that I will remember and cherish forever, and that was the graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, we received the certificates that were signed by the Governor of Arkansas, and the Secretary of the State. I used the opportunity and thanked all involved on behalf of my home city Jalilabad, our Ministry of Education, the two embassies and the people of Azerbaijan for putting this wonderful program together. I learned a lot and I am going to share what I have learned with my peers and my students, as well as my family in Jalilabad. Among the new things that I learned were the games that are for use with the ESL classrooms. I learned how to teach in small groups. I learned how to make blogs on the Internet. This is the project that I would like to try with my students. I learned about the freedom that American students have in classrooms. Another thing that surprised me during my visit was how friendly people were to strangers and to me. I thought people would not greet me or invite to their homes because they don’t know me. But the people waved, smiled, and said hello to me even though they didn’t know me. At the libraries, it was very interesting to see how librarians attend to the users, and that parents and children go to libraries together, and that the parents leave them there. The same was at the church. I plan to use what I have learned in America here in Jallilabad, Azerbaijan. I will give a presentation at an AZETA conference to English teachers, and will also share what I have learned with my students. I have a real understanding of American culture and the American people. I am so much changed by my experiences and by this program.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 06:15:00 +0000
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