The Cal State LA Egyptian Institute is a Fulbright-funded project for English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers. The Institute, held at Cal State LA from April 7 to June 24, has three components: (1) an EFL Teacher-Development Component, (2) a Personal Development Component, and (3) a Teacher-in-Training Component.

The EFL Teacher Development Component

The EFL Teacher Development Component - designed to provide the visiting Egyptian teachers a hands-on intensive orientation to the latest theories and methods of ESL/EFL instruction - will consist of four courses taught in two-hour blocks. The courses will cover the latest theories of second language acquisition related to both ESL and EFL, current teaching methods, practice teaching, curriculum and materials design, and assessment and classroom management.

The faculty will model instructional methods in teaching the academic subjects, and cooperative learning techniques will be utilized in order to provide the participants with ample opportunity to practice both spoken and written English while concentrating on the content presented.

The Personal Development Component

The objective of the Personal Development Component is to help Institute participants improve their overall English language skills and to enrich their educational experiences. This component will consist of two 1-hour workshops taught four times per week for the duration of the Institute. In these workshops, Institute participants will work on a variety of areas, including grammar performance, and pronunciation and communication skills. This component will also include a weekly Special Topics workshop to be held on Saturdays, four educational field trips, five ethnic meals outings, and five Institute Luncheons.

Teacher-in-Training Component

The Teacher-In-Training Component will include a twice-a-week Classroom Observation module and a once-a-week Reflective Teaching session. The Classroom Observation module will require the Institute participants to observe and participate actively in a variety of ESL classes, including classes for students at the junior high and high school levels. Assigning the Institute participants to a number of different classes is guided by two rationales. First, instead of limiting the Institute participants to the instructional strategies of one class and, subsequently, of one teacher, by the end of the Institute, participants will have observed a broad range of techniques which will no doubt enrich their repertoires of teaching strategies. Second, given the differences between the EFL and the ESL situations, finding a perfect match-that is finding a class that exactly reflects the teaching situation in Egypt-is an impossible task.

Participant liaisons will be assigned to accompany groups of Egyptian teachers to the observation sites. The liaisons are recent graduates of the TESOL MA Program and are practicing teachers in the Los Angeles area. They will provide assistance to the visiting teachers in understanding the nature of the instructional programs being observed.

Each Thursday afternoon, under the guidance of a TESOL Program faculty member and with the assistance of the program liaisons, the Institute participants will engage in a process of Reflective Teaching. This will require the participants to both discuss the instructional strategies observed during the week and to adapt them to the specific needs of Egyptian students in an EFL setting.