The latest group of 50 Fulbright English teaching assistants arrived here yesterday to begin a 10-month assignment at schools across Terengganu, Johor and Pahang.
The U.S. Embassy said in a statement the English teaching assistants of ETAs would enrich and enhance English instruction in secondary schools by providing native speakers as models who can also offer information and insight into American society and culture.
“The ETAs will contribute by organising extra-curricular clubs and activities to be conducted in English. The ETAs will also gain a deep understanding of Malaysian culture by living and working in towns and cities throughout the states of Terengganu, Johor and Pahang,” it said.
According to the statement, the objective of this programme is to fulfill the Fulbright programme goal of increasing mutual understanding between Americans and other peoples of the world in order to foster world peace.
The ETA programme has tripled this year based on the shared commitment of U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Najib Razak to expand people-to-people exchange programmes between the United States and Malaysia.
The programme is administered jointly by the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (Macee) and the Ministry of Education.
“The ETAs come from universities throughout the U.S. and represent a wide variety of major fields and will be assigned to primary and secondary schools in every district of the states of Terengganu, Pahang and Johor. “Each ETA will have direct, sustained contact with hundreds of students in their schools,” it said.
– Bernama
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