ESL Summer Teaching Position Announcement: Short-term, summer program teaching positions (EFL) in Tbilisi, Georgia Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi Summer Program Location: Tbilisi, Georgia; GZAAT-Top rated independent school in Georgia GZAAT Summer Program Dates: July 1st to July 30th 2009 37a Chavchavadze Ave., Tbilisi 0162, Georgia •Tel: (995 32) 22 74 41; 22 78 89 Tbilisi, WavWavaZis gamz. 37a •tel.: (995 32) 22 74 41; 22 78 89 el.fosta: info@aat.ge; vebgverdi: www.aat.ge Compensation includes airfare to and from Tbilisi, Georgia, a shared apartment near school in Tbilisi, one-month food-stipend, cultural/sight-seeing trips, evening/weekend cultural events. Teachers receive recognition and letters of reference upon completion of the program. This position is appropriate for experienced teachers and/or graduate students of Education with an interest in participating in an education-based, volunteerhumanitarian mission to Georgia. Teacher/Instructor Candidates: Summer Program teaching positions at GZAAT are well suited for any experienced teacher of ESL who desires international teaching experience; or ESL trainers interested in volunteering. Great position for all education students looking to gain valuable, mentored classroom and international experience teaching English. All certified or recently certificated ESL/TESOL instructors welcome to apply; CELTA holders strongly encouraged to apply. Simmons College, SIT and UPENN Education Graduates and current graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply! Applicants should have advanced fluency in spoken and written English. GZAAT Summer Program Contact Information: Troy Fillman: GZAAT Summer Program Director Email - troy.fillman@tasis.ch or troyfillman@gmail.com Phone: Switzerland-41-91-986-5476 (please check time before calling) Interviews will be conducted via phone and email for teachers outside Switzerland Provide two references: one professional and one personal (another educator or peer); contact information for references required. Description of duties and responsibilities: EFL Instructor Position All instructors work closely with at least one Georgian ESL teacher; Georgian instructor co-teach and assist the Primary instructor in planning, preparing and delivery of course content. Each instructional “team” will consist of the following: (1) Native English Speaking EFL Instructor, (1) One Georgian EFL instructor, (1) Georgian High School Student intern/assistant (student interns are fluent in English and Georgian). Instructors Duties: participate in the assessment, placement, and delivery of content to students in assigned classes. Instructors are asked to keep a detailed written account of course materials used and content covered in each class. Instructors are also asked to attend teacher meetings (such as orientation and weekly updates with the summer
director). Instructors are responsible for submitting a binder of completed coursework and materials used at the end of the summer program. Additional minor duties may be negotiated and assigned as needed. Instructors may be asked to teach up to, but not exceeding, 4 hours a day, between the hours of 8am and 12pm. Instructors have a onehour lunch break between 12 and 1. From 1 to 3pm each day, instructors are asked to plan, prepare, and work collaboratively with their teaching assistant(s) and intern(s) in preparation for the following day. Classes are held Monday through Friday, with no duties or obligations on the weekends or after 3pm.
GZAAT Academic Summer Program Description 2009 Primary Program Objective: to provide educational services and formal learning opportunities in English and Mathematics for Georgian refugee children and orphans. The program aims are to provide at risk children early education intervention in hopes of better preparing them for meeting the requirements for entrance into a Georgian Public High School or GZAAT. Additionally, the program aims to create a continuing non-profit summer education program out of which scholarships for refugee and orphaned children may be created and endowed. Finally, the program will continue to provide educational resources and training for teachers of English and Mathematics to economically and ethnically marginalized populations in Georgia. The academic objective of GZAAT Academic Summer Program is to make the learning of English language skills a positive and valuable experience for each student regardless of his or her prior knowledge of English. Students are placed in classes based on the results of comprehensive language assessments conducted at the start of the program. GZAAT Academic Summer Program offers many levels of ESL instruction ranging from beginning to advanced. In order to provide for the individual needs of each student, teachers incorporate the specific linguistic goals and the pacing of each student's progress. Students also gain English skills while participating in less formal language settings such as planned afternoon activities. The purpose of the afternoon Enrichment Program is to integrate language learning into alternative learning activities to have fun in relaxing and creative settings. During these activities, students are no longer grouped by language ability alone; teachers and teaching assistants provide guidance that encourages students to use English during these activities. Some of the activities this summer will likely include Computer Literacy, Arts and Crafts, Community and Special Projects, and Sports. Boys and girls leave the program with improved skill in conversational speaking, listening, writing, and reading English. They also learn a great deal from each other. The Program is offered in a four-week session. Six levels of instruction are provided, from beginning to advanced.* Our multi-level curriculum serves to enhance the students' progress and development of greater competence in English. All of the morning classes emphasize the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Classes taught by our team of language
specialists are small enough to offer consistent and individualized attention to each student. Our student to teacher ratio is 15:1. In addition, we have adult teaching assistants who rotate throughout the morning classes providing individual assistance as needed. The students receive instruction and practice in areas such as verb forms and tenses, prepositions, comparative forms, conditional sentences, passive forms, and reported speech. Course work at every level focuses on the main skill areas of grammar, speaking, writing, and reading. Teachers provide students with a dynamic classroom environment that may include discussion, group work, pair work, oral presentations, listening exercises, songs, dialogues, role-play, communication games, dictation, daily journals, and structured writing assignments. Both British and American textbooks are used, and all the classes employ a variety of leveled English course materials, student workbooks, and a selection of graded readers, DVDs, and CD recordings. Students will receive a minimum of 10 hours of direct English instruction and 5 hours of guided practice with an English teacher in study sections. Although the central focus of the GZAAT Summer Academic Program is Mathematics and English Language course work, the Summer Academic Program offers much more. All students are encouraged to participate in additional elective courses and sports. Elective courses allow students to learn about other subjects in order to provide an intellectual break during the day. Sports provide opportunities for physical exercise, the development of skills, and practice in teamwork. The elective courses get students involved in watching and talking about movies (in English!), playing games, and art to offer greater opportunities for students to celebrate their talents, make friends, enjoy the company of others, while they practice speaking English. Students are strongly encouraged to speak English throughout the day; by playing and socializing in English throughout the day, students experience a more intense immersion in the language and can make excellent progress with all their skills. Students’ ages may range in from 10 to 15 years old. All students are expected to show respect for others and closely follow safety and security rules. *(Given limitations on the number of classes offered, some older and younger students may be placed in the same level. Upon arrival, students are tested and placed in the appropriate classes. Teachers are asked to participate in the assessment and placement of students into different levels.) Description of GZAAT and History The Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi was founded in 2001 by Guivy Zaldastanishvili, a Georgian businessperson who spent much of his life in the United States, and Donald Thomas, an American educator who taught at and led both public and private schools in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Receiving US State Department grants of over two million dollars, the school was founded to be a model for the transformation of Georgian education as the country of Georgia made the transition from the Soviet system to a democratic free-market economy. For education, this meant abandoning the rote methods popular during Soviet times for an interactive classroom that stresses critical analysis, writing, and creative thinking. The founding teachers at the Academy were sent to the United States where they received training and Master’s
Degrees from Harvard University and Simmons College. These teachers form the core of the Academy’s staff and are committed not only to using modern methodologies in their classes, but also to spreading these methodologies to other Georgian teachers through seminars offered through an NGO established specifically for this purpose. To date the American Academy’s Educational Development and Research Center has offered six seven-week seminars over the past three years and has presented an intensive week-long summer program in Telavi in 2005 and a similar program in Kutaisi in 2006. All together, these programs have reached over 500 local teachers. Generous U.S. State Department grants underwrote the Telavi and Kutaisi programs. In 2005, the Academy graduated its first class of seniors, and since then each class has built on the success of the previous one. The Academy now has alums attending colleges and universities throughout the US, the UK, Europe, and in Tbilisi; institutions include among these are Harvard, West Point, Middlebury, Williams, Simmons College, WPI, Bard, American University in Paris, CEU, Boccioni, and St. Andrews University in Scotland. While current western pedagogical methods are utilized at AAT, tremendous importance is placed upon fostering and maintaining a viable knowledge of and pride in the Georgian cultural heritage. To this end, Georgian history and culture are woven into the three-year history program, the three-year Russian program, and the four-year Georgian language program. In addition to this formal course work, lectures and special speakers and programs are scheduled regularly throughout the year. The Guivy Zaldastanishvili American Academy in Tbilisi has created a reputation for excellence that our current students are maintaining here in Tbilisi and our alumni at their colleges and universities in Europe and the US. We will continue to work to maintain our position as the best high school in Georgia. The American Academy in Tbilisi was eventually renamed to include the late founder’s name in 2008.