EUGENE, Ore. — Lane Community College ESOL instructor Indira Marie Bakshi was recently selected for a 10-month fellowship project training teachers and teaching English at the Asociación Tucumána de Intercambio Cultural Argentino Norteamericano (ATICANA) in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. Bakshi is one of only 200 U.S. citizens selected for the 2022-2023 English Language Fellow Program.
“It is an honor to have been chosen,” said Bakshi. “I’m excited to work with others in both teaching what I know and learning from the process about best practices and ways to engage with English Language Learners inside and outside the classroom.”
Bakshi holds a master of arts in TESOL from the University of Texas at Austin and has taught English in the United States and Mexico for more than 30 years. Her teaching experiences range from teaching basic literacy to college transition including EL/Civics, English for Specific Purposes and family literacy. She currently teaches at Lane Community College and volunteers on the Language Resources Team for the Refugee Resettlement Coalition of Lane County.
In Argentina, she will be conducting teacher trainings along with the ATICANA Academic Department on the latest TESOL methods and technique trends for English teachers in the area, providing assistance to instructors on best practices in test preparation and working with the ATICANA Academic Department on academic course development.
The English Language Fellow Program is the premier opportunity for experienced teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) to enact meaningful and sustainable changes in the way that English is taught abroad and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) with funding provided by the U.S. government. Through projects developed by U.S. Embassies in more than 80 countries, Fellows work directly with local teachers, students, and educational professionals to improve the quality of English language instruction offered at prestigious universities and other academic institutions.
Lane Community College offers classes to English Language Learners through both a community format and intensive. Classes are offered online, in person and as a hybrid to teach reading, writing, oral, and listening skills, as well as college transition and academic preparation. To register for upcoming classes, call 541-463-5253 or email at eslstudentservices@lanecc.edu.
Lane Community College educates over 15,000 students annually at six locations across Lane County and online. Students and alumni from all 50 states and 79 countries create more than an $850 million dollar impact on the local economy, helping to support more than 13,000 local jobs. Lane provides affordable, quality, professional technical and college transfer programs; business development and employee training; academic, language and life skills development; and lifelong personal development and enrichment courses.