Nicole Walker Pareene is one of only 200 Americans selected for the State Department’s 2023–2024 English Language Fellow Program.
For her 10-month fellowship, she is training teachers and teaching public speaking to English majors at Naresuan University in Thailand. Pareene completed her MA in TESOL at the Middlebury Institute in 2015.
“I just wrapped up a reading workshop for an indigenous community in the Philippines, where we hiked in with our supplies and delivered lessons on reading and the value of it to students, parents, and teachers at a school for the community,” said Pareene. “It has been especially meaningful to work alongside my Thai colleagues in the English Department. It is amazing to see how motivated they are to improve their own English abilities and those of their students in order to help bring opportunities to them.”
I am so grateful to be here, almost a decade later, living out this dream.
Pareene said her experience at the Institute made her more comfortable stepping into a role training teachers and that she often draws on lessons and experiences shared by teachers and colleagues while preparing for workshops and events.
“I was a student at the Institute when I first set my sights on this fellowship as a professional and personal goal. I am so grateful to be here, almost a decade later, living out this dream,” said Pareene, who said her degree from the Institute made her a more competitive candidate.
She encourages those interested in the opportunity to apply.
“The fellowship offers a world of support to help you develop as an English language professional,” said Pareene.
The English Language Fellow Program is the premier opportunity for experienced teachers to enact meaningful and sustainable changes in the way that English is taught abroad. It 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.
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