Fulbright Educational Partnership in English as a Second Language Education between Indiana University School of Education and Kabul Education University

Project Director: Mitzi Lewison

The Afghan education system has been undermined by 23 years of war. Despite the devastation, there has been an incredibly strong demand for education since the ousting of the Taliban-especially for English Education at the college level. This Fulbright Partnership Program has three major objectives:

• Curriculum Development to be accomplished by conducting a needs assessment of current ESL practices and materials at Kabul Education University (KEU) and developing a new/revised ESL curriculum;
• Faculty Enhancement for both partners to take place primarily by a combination of short- and long-term exchanges focused on ESL instruction and understanding issues of language, culture, and schooling in Afghanistan; and
• Teacher Education including the development and implementation of a series of ESL workshops to be delivered at KEU and for teacher trainers from regional pedagogical institutes in Afghanistan.

The institutional capacity of KEU to provide ESL instruction to its students (prospective teachers) and in-service teachers in Afghanistan will be strengthened. IU faculty and graduate students will have an opportunity to be a part of rebuilding the higher education system in Afghanistan and gain an appreciation of educational issues in an Islamic country.

Between February and June 2005, four Afghan faculty from KEU were based at Indiana University Bloomington and carried out the following tasks:

• Took intensive English and ESL methods classes to improve their English and gain insights into new ESL teaching methods that might be adapted to work in Afghanistan;
• Observed classes offered at the School of Education and COAS at Indiana University;
• Learned computer skills that can be used in teaching back in Afghanistan and for future communication with colleagues and professors in the U.S.;
• Prepared a 4-day ESL Workshop to be held in Kabul, Afghanistan in December, 2005 for teacher educators from regional teacher training institutions;
• Shared information about education, politics, and life conditions in Afghanistan with IU Education students and faculty, the Bloomington community, and local media;
• Visited professors' and staff's homes and went on excursions (e.g., Indianapolis and Chicago) to enhance their cultural understanding of the U.S.; and
• Took laptop computers donated by IU faculty back to Kabul.

Three graduate students, two TESOL instructors, and numerous School of Education faculty, students, and staff have participated in this project.

The first task for the 2005-06 school year is the implementation of a 4-day ESL Workshop in Kabul in December 2005 for teacher educators from regional teacher training institutions across Afghanistan. Mitzi Lewison will travel to Kabul for the workshop. We are currently seeking additional funding to support the four Afghan faculty in continuing their education-specifically, the completion of master's degrees. This funding will either allow the four, and perhaps more, Afghan faculty to come to study in the U.S. or take online courses through the School of Education's Distance Education Program. We have also made contact with the State Department's Regional English Officer, who will assist us with developing more workshops to be delivered in Afghanistan.