Professors have been venturing outside of white-walled lecture halls to countries like Chile, India, Iran and Africa to teach English to other professors all over the globe.
Universities worldwide have started teaching curriculum in English – either partially or entirely. Various reasons for this switch include improved graduate employment, international versatility and improvement of rankings of universities, according to a report by University World News.
The Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs funds programs for particular universities in regions worldwide, including the English Language Fellows (ELF) program.
As part of the ELF program, Leeanne Langton of the English department is planning a 10-month voyage to East Africa in January.
Langton, who is fluent in the Bantu languages of Swahili and a plethora of others, graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics, which she had always known was her passion.
“Since I was a little girl, it was my dream to teach English in Africa,” Langton said.
After graduation, Langton joined the Peace Corps to pursue her dream, through which she was sent to the Comoros Islands in East Africa to teach English as a second language. It was from this mission that she was recruited for the English Language Fellowship.
Fellows volunteer for the program, a 10-month mission that requires constructing curricula, multilingual teaching and overall flexibility.
“You put yourself under pressure,” Langton said. “This is a huge honor.”
During her mission, Langton will live in housing at St. Augustine University of Tanzania. She has been advised to bring low-tech supplies and use local resources, because the availability of electricity could be unpredictable.
“I don’t know [what to bring] yet,” she said. “I’m going to try to travel light. I’ll bring my iPod with my songs and my Kindle with all my books.”
Now anticipating a fulfilling 10 months that she calls “a dream come true,” Langton was initially skeptical about pursuing a career in linguistics.
“I asked my mom what she thought of my decision to study linguistics, and she said, ‘Do what you love, and the rest will follow,'” Langton said.
She said she wants all Cal State Long Beach students to follow the same philosophy.
“I had the perfect professional life, but it wasn’t until I found what I love that I really excelled,” she said.
Alongside the ELF program, the English Language Specialist (ELS) program also aims to teach English as a second language all over the world. Through this program, Nina Ito of the American Language Institute on campus went to Chile for a short-term workshop.
Ito said that she had gone to Spain for eight years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and her experience in teaching abroad secured her the position as an English Language Specialist.
“I’m like the person that can never say no,” Ito said, “I like challenges.”
Much like Langton, Ito found many opportunities abroad once she found her passion.
“The program is good for those who want to go abroad,” Ito said. “Teaching English is an easy way to do that.”