FIANARANTSOA – The teaching and learning of English is essential to the success of the people of Madagascar. English opens a wide range of local and global educational and occupational opportunities for Malagasy students and professionals. To support these efforts, the U.S. government provides high quality professional training to English educators around Madagascar, improving their methods and resources for teaching English at the high school and university levels.
Twenty-five English teachers from southern Madagascar will meet in Fianarantsoa May 17-20 to take part in an American English Training of Trainers (AE TOT) capacity building workshop.
AE TOT is funded by the U.S. Embassy and implemented by non-profit association Lanja Omena Vokatra hAharitra (LOVA). Workshop participants will learn to use the U.S. government-developed American English teaching and learning materials available at americanenglish.state.gov. The American English website provides a wide range of free teaching resources – including lesson plans, audio books, video content, online courses, and printable games and activities – designed to enrich English teachers’ instructional methods and increase student engagement and learning in countries like Madagascar. Each AE TOT workshop features in-person sessions with U.S. and Malagasy English teaching experts, including U.S. educators working in Madagascar and Comoros on U.S. Embassy exchange programs.
Following the four-day training, participants will show English teachers in their schools and communities how to use the American English resources in their classrooms. In total, at least 175 English teachers across southern Madagascar will benefit from this workshop.
Building upon the success of previous AE TOT workshops in Antananarivo, Mahajanga and Comoros, the Fianarantsoa workshop will expand the nationwide network of expert English teachers-trainers who will lead workshops for their peers in Antsirabe, Ifanadiana, Alakamisy Ambohimaha, Fandriana, Fianarantsoa, Ihosy, Ihorombe, Sakaraha, and Toliara. Previous AETOT participants have already trained more than 920 teachers in Madagascar using American English methods and materials.
Since 2017, the U.S. government has worked like “mpirahalahy mianala” with the Government of Madagascar and Malagasy educators to improve the teaching and learning of English in Madagascar. This collaboration has led to revisions of the national high school English curriculum, professional training for 2,700 English educators, and the strengthening of American English methods and resources in high schools, universities, and English clubs across the country.