Jen MacArthur is the RELO (Regional English Language Officer) for Kyiv/Warsaw at the US Department of State, based at the US Embassy in Mexico City. Previously, she taught English and Education at the University of Vaasa, Finland, and the University of Bucharest, Romania, as well as elementary and high school History and ESL (English as a Second Language) in the United States. She has also facilitated numerous in-service teacher training workshops on three continents. Jen studied History and German as an undergraduate, holds additional degrees in Education (Teaching English as a Second Language) and Social Policy and Planning in Developing Countries, and speaks German, Swedish, and Spanish. Born in Scotland, Jen calls the New England state of Maine her home.
Liliia Shylo, Cultural Affair Assistant, U.S. Embassy Kyiv
Alyona Sukhinina, RELO Assistant, U.S. Embassy Kyiv
Tracy Mannon, VE Alumna
Laura Leslie first entered the world of TESOL by serving as a conversation partner for international students, while completing her undergraduate studies in Business Administration. The experience ignited an interest in language acquisition, so she earned her 120-hour TESOL certificate. In the following years, Leslie taught ESL/EFL to adults in her home state of California, to university students in China and Saudi Arabia, and to high schoolers in various summer programs. After completing an M.A. in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management from SIT Graduate Institute, Leslie oversaw the Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) and other ESOL programs at a non-profit that provided community support to families of refugees and low-income immigrants. From 2020 to 2022, she served as a Virtual English Language Fellow. First, she worked with pre-service teachers and teenage English Access Microscholarship students in El Salvador, and then she led conversation clubs for entrepreneurs in the Caribbean. Currently, Leslie teaches EFL at a Language School in Bilbao, Spain, and is a Virtual Educator for game developers in Turkiye.
The OPEN program offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in addition to its Global Online Courses (GOCs). These are free online courses designed for non-native English language teachers and open to an unlimited number of participants. The program offers both facilitated and self-paced MOOCs. Facilitated MOOCs run for 5 weeks and are facilitated by an instructor. Self-paced MOOCs include the same amount of content, but are open for 12 weeks. Participants can complete coursework anytime during this 12-week period, but instructor facilitation is limited.
Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Alumni Community of Practice
The American English FB Live Webinar Series are online teacher training seminars for professional development. They are hosted by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language Programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. This professional development program for English teachers around the globe addresses methodological topics that foster interactive, student-centered language instruction.• Each 60-minute webinar is a live, interactive online seminar • Topics are selected based on needs analyses of current issues in global English teaching • Presenters are American English teaching specialists• Participants receive practical and adaptable classroom ideas related to each topic
