1. BORGIA' 1!
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Jeremy!Borgia!
Dr.!Ralph!Brown!
IAS!399R!
15!August!2011!
English(Education(in(the(Badia(
! The!development!of!effective!English!education!is!crucial!for!the!future!development!
in!the!Badia.!Over!the!past!three!months!I!have!performed!an!initial!assessment!of!the!
current!state!of!the!Badia’s!English!program.!I!have!consulted!with!members!of!the!
community,!worked!with!employees!of!both!the!Ministry!of!Social!Development!and!the!
Ministry!of!Education,!and!taught!classes!myself.!The!experiences!I!have!had!allowed!me!to!
gain!a!basic!understanding!of!the!current!system!as!well!as!form!opinions!of!how!to!
improve!the!system.!In!the!following!report!and!proposal!I!will!present!these!findings.!It!
should!be!noted!that!my!proposals!assume!the!involvement!of!an!NGO,!such!as!Zaytoon!
International.!
! Having!had!only!limited!training!in!TEFL!(Teaching!English!as!a!Foreign!Language)!
programs,!I!consulted!other!valuable!sources!throughout!my!internship,!many!of!which!
were!online.!One!source!in!particular!has!greatly!shaped!this!report.!The!ESL!Literacy!
Network,!a!part!of!the!Bow!Valley!College!Centre!for!Immigrant!and!Intercultural!
Advancement,!has!produced!a!program!for!creating!an!effective!ESL!program.!Although!it!is!
directed!more!towards!creating!an!ESL!program!with!the!purpose!of!integrating!
immigrants!into!the!Canadian!community,!it!was!easily!applied!to!this!proposal.!I!referred!
to!it!often!throughout!the!past!three!months.!The!steps!I!will!focus!on!are:!understanding!
needs,!determining!focus,!and!demonstrating!accountability.!

2. 2' BORGIA!
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! Our!first!step!is!to!understand!the!needs!of!the!Badia!in!relationship!to!the!current!
system!of!English!education.!Growth!in!the!area!is!stymied;!the!region!lacks!many!of!the!
government!services!provided!in!the!more!populated!areas!of!the!country.!Many!of!those!
who!become!successful!leave!for!the!city!rather!than!staying!to!contribute!to!the!local!
community.!The!quality!of!education!is!lacking!in!comparison!to!cities!such!as!Amman.!
There!is!less!capital!for!business!enterprises,!and!less!of!a!reliable!market.!Although!English!
education!alone!will!not!solve!all!of!these!problems,!it!will!stand!as!the!keystone!for!further!
development!in!the!Badia.!English!education!will!open!the!area!to!new!business!and!
educational!opportunities!that!I!believe!will!significantly!accelerate!the!development!of!the!
area.!
In!determining!the!focus!of!a!future!program!we!must!first!establish!a!specific!
purpose,!shortZterm!and!longZterm!goals,!and!the!approach!for!their!achievement.!I!believe!
that!the!purpose!of!any!future!TEFL!program!should!be!to!facilitate!economic!growth!
through!effective!English!education,!which!will!generate!increased!selfZreliance!for!the!
community.!For!this!to!be!successful!the!program!needs!to!work!within!the!established!
cultural!infrastructure.!LongZterm!goals!should!include!increased!English!skills!for!all!
community!members,!improved!career!opportunities!in!the!Badia,!and!increased!selfZ
reliance!in!terms!of!government!services.!However,!it!is!unreasonable!to!expect!these!
results!within!the!first!few!years.!Thus,!specific!shortZterm!goals!must!be!identified!to!guide!
the!development!of!the!program.!Each!year!program!administrators!will!meet!to!inventory!
progress,!adjust!goals,!and!move!forward.!
! The!existing!EFL!programs!operate!primarily!through!the!Ministry!of!Education;!
English!classes!are!taught!at!the!local!schools.!The!majority!of!English!teachers!I!met!have!

3. BORGIA' 3!
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limited!knowledge!of!English!themselves.!Class!sizes!are!large!and!difficult!to!manage;!the!
students!(particularly!the!boys)!are!unruly!and!easily!distracted.!The!burden!of!learning!is!
placed!squarely!on!the!shoulders!of!the!teacher,!with!little!to!no!responsibility!placed!on!
the!students!for!their!individual!progress.!I!have!never!seen!homework!given,!and!have!
rarely!seen!students!demonstrate!accountability!within!the!classroom.!In!addition!to!these!
issues!within!the!classroom!there!are!issues!at!the!community!level!as!well,!chiefly!the!lack!
of!English!language!presence.!It!is!not!seen!as!a!necessary!skill!for!those!not!planning!on!
leaving!the!Badia!or!seeking!a!postZbachelor!education.!The!outcomes!of!the!current!
system!are!not!surprising;!a!large!majority!of!residents!have!little!to!no!English!skills.!The!
few!who!know!English!well!have!demonstrated!exceptional!personal!motivation,!lived!
abroad,!or!learned!English!later!in!a!university!setting.!I!did!not!meet!a!single!individual!
who!learned!and!maintained!English!through!the!local!school!system.!Based!on!these!
observations!I!believe!that!the!needs!of!the!Badia!in!terms!of!an!EFL!program!are:!
improvement!to!the!existing!infrastructure,!teacher!training,!community!involvement,!and!
a!focus!on!individual!student!motivation.!
! The!improvement!of!English!education!must!operate!through!existing!
infrastructure.!The!program!directors!will!consult!with!leaders!in!the!Ministry!of!Education!
to!develop!a!consistent!and!effective!curriculum,!and!will!help!to!implement!it!through!
teacher!training.!Teachers!will!also!receive!training!in!classroom!management.!These!
meetings!will!also!serve!as!an!opportunity!for!teachers!to!network!with!each!other!to!find!
out!what!has!been!working!well.!By!establishing!a!common!vision,!common!goals,!and!clear!
accountability,!teachers!can!feel!united!and!a!part!of!the!development!process.!!

4. 4' BORGIA!
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Improvement!in!adolescent!English!classes!must!be!accompanied!by!opportunities!
for!adults!to!study!as!well.!John!Myers,!in!his!article!Guidelines)for)an)Effective)ESL)Program!
stated,!“As!with!any!student,!what!happens!in!the!home!is!an!integral!factor!to!a!child's!
success.!Families!of![English!language!learners]!are!no!different!than!any!other!family!and!
should!always!be!involved!in!the!success!of!their!child's!education.!It!is!of!the!utmost!
importance!for!the!school!to!maintain!regularized!communication!with!parents!and!
families!of!ELL's!and!involve!the!families!in!order!to!maximize!the!education!and!general!
welfare!of!the!students.”!In!order!to!involve!the!parents,!as!well!as!the!community!at!large,!I!
propose!an!adult!English!class!two!to!three!times!a!week,!offered!at!a!minimal!cost.!The!
funds!from!the!fee!will!be!used!to!invest!back!into!the!program.!Additionally,!the!existence!
of!a!small!cost!will!encourage!accountability!and!motivation,!due!to!a!personal!investment.!
This!result!of!adult!English!education!will!be!greater!parental!involvement!in!education,!
helping!to!increase!adolescent!student!motivation.!It!will!help!the!parents!to!feel!included!
in!the!English!program,!and!speed!the!development!of!business!opportunities.!!
! Clear!accountability!is!crucial!to!the!success!of!this!program.!Responsibilities!must!
be!made!clear!to!all!stakeholders:!learners,!instructors,!community!members,!and!program!
organizers.!Students!must!understand!that!they!are!accountable!for!their!own!learning!
outcomes.!Homework!must!be!given,!both!as!way!to!reinforce!classroom!instruction!and!to!
develop!a!sense!of!individual!commitment!and!investment.!Instructors!must!be!
accountable!to!the!curriculum!and!to!the!specific!goals!set!at!teacher!training!meetings.!
Ministry!and!program!leaders!must!decide!who!will!be!responsible!for!what.!Who!will!take!
care!of!the!costs?!Who!will!provide!the!personnel?!Who!has!the!final!say!in!decisions?!All!of!

5. BORGIA' 5!
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these!must!be!decided!upon!before!the!program!starts,!rather!than!figuring!them!out!on!the!
way.!!
! As!this!program!is!developed,!fine!tuned,!and!implemented,!the!Badia!will!benefit!
greatly.!Enhanced!English!education!will!allow!greater!access!to!development!
opportunities!for!the!community,!as!well!as!individual!opportunities!for!improvement.!For!
this!to!be!done!right!it!will!take!a!while,!and!must!be!done!within!the!existing!cultural!
norms.!But!whatever!the!difficulties,!the!longZterm!benefits!will!far!outweigh!the!initial!
obstacles.!
!
Works!Cited!
"ESL!Literacy!Curriculum!Framework."!ESL)Literacy)Network.!Bow!Valley!College.!Web.!!
Myers,!John.!"Guidelines!for!an!Effective!ESL!Program."!Associated!Content!from!Yahoo!,!Web.!
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