Ohio University recently welcomed 23 teachers from Brazil for a teacher training program, hosted by the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) & Department of Linguistics and administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

OPIE is one of eighteen intensive English programs in the United States chosen to host teachers as part of a new initiative by the Brazilian government to train over 3,000 teachers for intensive English language and teacher training in the United States. The high school English teachers arrived Jan. 12 to begin a six-week professional development program.

The training includes courses in teaching methodology, computer assisted language learning, English fluency development and American culture and history. The program participants will also partake in the annual Hocking Hills Winter Hike and visits to Athens Middle School, the Ohio Board of Education and Cincinnati.

The program is a collaboration among the Institute of International Education; Brazilian sponsor CAPES, a foundation within the Ministry of Education in Brazil whose purpose is to improve the quality of Brazil’s faculty and staff in higher education; the Fulbright Commission in Brazil; and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil.

IIE President Allan E. Goodman said the program is part of a broader context of increased educational cooperation between the U.S. and Brazil.

"At a time when Brazil’s economy is expanding rapidly, and Brazil and the United States are forging unprecedented ties in trade, energy and scientific development, we look to higher education as another area where our two countries should seek much stronger cooperation,” Goodman said.

Erica Coffelt, trainer and assistant director of the program, said, "OPIE is delighted to have been chosen to host this group of teachers! I look forward to our exchange of ideas and culture throughout their stay. Hopefully, the exchange will continue even after they return to Brazil."

The Brazilian teachers join an existing group of Brazilian students at Ohio University. During the summer of 2012, OPIE provided language training to ten Brazilian undergraduates enrolled in the Brazil Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program, also administered by IIE. Five of the ten students have continued study at Ohio University, taking courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The wider STEM-focused program is projected to enroll 2,500 Brazilian students per academic year in U.S. universities for five years.

For more information about Brazilian programs at OHIO, contact OPIE at 740-593-4575.