Teachers’ associations are responsible for a wide range of professional development opportunities. Events include large-scale annual conferences, such as the NATE conference, regularly scheduled workshops, and intensive three to five-day seasonal institutes. They can also take the form of less-formal meetings and gatherings, classroom observations and feedback sessions, and trips to the U.S. through the International Visitors program, participants of which are selected based on their active involvement in association activities.

Many of these events add a rich cross-cultural perspective by inviting and hosting English Language Fellows and Specialists. These U.S. experts often specialize in a certain area of English language teaching – student-centered methodology, assessment, writing, information technology, to name a few – and, as such, are able to bring unique input to the event. Through the English Language Office’s small grants program for teachers’ associations, event hosts are also able to bring Russian experts. The most successful events combine the work of experts from outside of the region with a full slate of presentations by local instructors.

Various online opportunities also exist, including a suite of E-Teacher courses that address critical and creative thinking, teaching young learners, methodology, English for specific purposes, and Internet tools. In addition, further courses are offered through Lewis & Clark College and through the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Scholarships are available for all of these courses.

The English Language Office regularly works on collaborative materials development projects, many of which offer content and exercises that explore both language and Russia-U.S. cross-cultural content. Materials from Washington D.C. range from the quarterly English Teaching Forum Journal, an important tool written by and for practitioners around the world, to American literature, grammar, and English for Specific Purposes books. All of these materials are distributed for free and contain no copyright.

English Language Summer Camps are a highlight of every June and July. In most cases, teachers’ associations work closely with English Access Microscholarship sites or with an independent group of instructors, counselors and officials to conduct a two to three week immersion program for students. The English Language Office coordinates visits by Embassy staff, Fellows, Specialists and other special guests from the U.S.