All 52 of this year’s cohort of Fulbright foreign language teaching assistants visited the Golub Farm in Cazenovia, New York.
This week, the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, is hosting a group of 52 Fulbright-sponsored foreign language teaching assistants (FLTA). The teaching assistants, who are from 24 countries, will go to colleges and universities throughout the U.S. to teach foreign languages in 2016-2017. The program has been hosted by of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics at Syracuse University every year for 10 consecutive years.
Since 2007, Syracuse University has been chosen and awarded a grant to host 50 to 60 Fulbright FLTAs from around the world, including from Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Austria, Germany, Belgium, France, Finland, Ireland, Brazil, Burma, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Egypt, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, India, Turkey and Bahrain.
The orientation is sponsored by the Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education. The orientation was led by Margo Sampson, English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) coordinator and instructor in Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) at Syracuse University from 2007-2013. Since 2014, it has been coordinated by Laura Distefano Lisnyczyj, an ESOL lecturer for LLL.
The FLTAs attend 10 large- and small-group sessions in the Whitman School of Management, totaling over 14 meeting hours. Sessions are conducted by various members of the University community, including the director of the Slutzker Center for International Services, a Human Resources director, staff from Online Learning Services, and faculty and staff from the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (LLL) and the Department of Anthropology. The orientation is designed to provide the participants with an introduction to the academic and social cultures of U.S. institutions and facilitate their transition into their placements.
